Testing My Fitness...

     So, I finally went and bought Fitness for Dummies by Suzanne Schlosberg and Liz Neporent. Yay! Or rather, my mother bought it for me when  I asked her if she and I could stop by the Books-A-Million when I was stuck in Pinellas county because of car troubles. Either way, I now have this book in my possession. Unfortunately, I looked down at it to check the spelling of the authors name and saw "Bestselling authors of Weight Training For Dummies." Where was that book when I was searching the store for the right book? Even thought I did not find the weight training book, I am glad to have found Fitness. My original goal was to try to weight train every day, but I really think my underlying goal was to get fit. Therefore, the book that I now own is a much better fit for my life than the weight training would have been.
     So what does this mean for my exercise experiment? It means that I now have a book to reference when I try to create a fitness routine for myself. My last blog post was basically on the first chapter of the book. This post will be on the second chapter of the book and the results that I received after attempting some of the fitness tests that they suggested.

Chapter 2: Testing Your Fitness (their title, not mine)

This chapter begins with a wonderful statement made by the authors about the general population's views on exercise:

We constantly hear people say, "I'm so out of shape. I need to lose weight." But that's like telling a travel agent, "I'm in Europe. I need to get to Africa." Your travel agent needs to know the specifics: Are you in Rome? Berlin? Madrid? Do you want to go to Cairo? Cape Town? The Kalahari Desert? Before you embark on a fitness program, you need to know your starting point with precision. A fitness evaluation gives you important departure information. 

They are basically saying that before one begins a fitness routine, they must know where their current health and fitness levels are so they can realistically figure out what their  "destination" or health and fitness goals are going to be. For example, if you cannot walk on a treadmill for five minutes without getting winded, it is unrealistic to think that you will be able to run a mile by next week. I think this is a very important thing to point out, because I too simply say "Ugh, I'm so out of shape. I need to lose weight." But I never have any solutions or real end goals in mind.

I also think that having fitness tests in chapter two is an ideal place for it in this book. It is always best to make sure that you are healthy enough to exercise before you do so. It is also a good idea to know what you are currently able to do and not do. This is important so you do not hurt yourself by jumping into something that your body is not ready to do. So, since I am planning on starting a fitness routine, I thought it prudent to test my fitness...as the book suggested.

The book first suggested that I go to the doctor and get my blood pressure and overall health checked out at a doctor. Haaaahaaa!!! The authors actually thought that I not only have the money to pay for a doctor's visit, but that I have the gas to get there too? Very funny authors...very funny. Fortunately for me, right underneath the doctor section is a section titled " Assessing your health history yourself." Most of the tests under this section I could actually find out for myself: resting heart rate, waist circumference, upper body strength, core strength, flexibility, and balance. Some of the other tests I need some help with: my blood pressure (could be done at Publix), lower body strength (the chapter didn't tell me how I could assess this), and my body fat percentage (probably very high).

So what did I find out? (That I'm not afraid to share with the internet)

• I found out that I have a resting heart rate of around 72 beats per minute. This is in the average range, but could be much better.

• I found out that I could do 20 push-ups before my swim-injured (yes..it can happen) arm gave out on me. This is in the "average" range for women aged 20-29, according to the tables in the book. 

• I found out that I could do 51 crunches before a muscle somewhere in my ribs starts to hurt. Is that normal? 51 crunches falls into the "excellent" range for women under 35 years old. I thought this was pretty awesome, until I attempted what the book calls the "plank" position. This position tests your core strength. The longer you can hold the position, the stronger your core is. To get into the plank position, you: 

  kneel on the floor on your hands and knees so that your palms are directly under your shoulders and your knees are directly under your hips. Bend your elbows and place the bottoms of your forearms on the floor; clasp your hands together...Next pull your bellybutton in toward your spine and extend your legs out behind you so that you're now balanced on your forearms and the underside of your toes...Your legs can either be squeezed together or a small distance apart, whichever is most comfortable for you. 

  I really enjoyed this exercise, but I was severely surprised to find out how much I struggled with it. I was only able to stay in the position for 27 seconds. 

  
  

  
  

• I learned that everywhere on my body, with the exception of my shoulder and upper back, needs either some work or a lot of work when it comes to flexibility. I was not at all surprised by this since I am severely out of shape. I also accredit the fact that my shoulders and upper back are so flexible to the fact that I was a varsity swimmer through-out high school (which was two years ago).
• Finally, I learned that I have very good balance. I passed all of the balance tests with flying colors. I accredit this to years and years of ballet lessons. 

Now what?

Now, I make my plan. Wish me luck! I'll let you know more about it in my next blog.