Edmond Chan blog

Benchmarking against the tests and metrics I chose in the previous post was quite a humbling experience!

Here are the tests/metrics and my initial test scores:

Resting heart rate.

Angelique measured my pulse on my wrist. The Mayo Clinic article suggests counting the beats in 15 secs and converting this to the beats per minute. Mine is 16 beats in 15 secs, so 64 in a minute.

Fastest time to run 1.5 miles (2.4km)

This is a key test I think as it measures aerobic fitness. Here’s a screenshot from the Mayo Clinic article that shows what different times mean:

And from the Men’s Health article on the same test:

The Scorecard:

12 minutes or more: Slow

Between 10 and 12 minutes: Ordinary

10 minutes or less: Endurance excellence

https://www.menshealth.com/fitness/a19534622/fitness-level-tests/

I did my initial measurement on the treadmill and I scored 13:00 mins flat. Which is slow!

Number of press-ups to fatigue

From the Coach Mag article, these are what your max press-up scores mean:

My score was 30 which puts me in the Good range. However, I revised this down after I saw a video about how the Royal Marines do their press-ups. They do ones where their hands are shoulder-width apart. I’ve always done mine a bit wider. This makes my elbows point out to the side when going down. The Royal Marine way is to do them so that your elbows stay close to your body when going down. Here’s the video:

And here’s another video confirming I’ve been doing press-ups wrong all my life!

Doing press-ups their way, I cranked out an arm-trembling 20, which puts me in the Average bracket.

Sit up test – max number in a minute

From the Mayo Clinic article:

I did 26 in a minute which is quite weak. From the table above, I should have scored around 37 in a minute.

I’ve used the technique and form that the Royal Marines use to make sure I’m doing them right:

Flexibility – sit and reach test

This is where I really struggle! My hamstrings are tight! My lower back is a bit fragile too, since putting it out a few years ago. I think my back problems stem from being too inflexible around my hamstrings, meaning that my range of movement is too limited and I instead put too much pressure and strain on my lower spine to achieve the range of movement.

Here’s how to do this test: get a tape measure and lay it on the floor. At the 15 inch point, put a pen or ruler across the tape at right angles. Sit down along the tape with your leg straight out and with your soles flush to the pen or ruler at the 15 inch mark. Reach forward as far as you can and note the measurement.

Mayo Clinic interprets the results this way:

I scored 3.5 inches, which is shockingly bad! Definitely need to improve this.

Waist circumference

This was humbling! My jeans from Uniqlo and shorts from Asos each say that I’m a 32in waist. I’ve suspected for years that brands massage our egos when it comes to waist size.

Measured at the widest point of my waist and above the hip bone and below the bottom rib, my waist measurement read……….

39.5 inches. WTF! I’m 5 foot 6! With a belly of that?!

This becomes even more pressing with the next test:

Measure Up. 

This is your waist circumference divided by your hip/butt measurement. 

From the Men’s Health article:

Take a look at yourself. If your belly is growing faster than your butt, you have bigger problems than figuring out how to get a tan without taking off your shirt. The more fat your body stores in your midsection, the higher your risk of heart disease. And this much we know: Fit men don’t get heart disease.

https://www.menshealth.com/fitness/a19534622/fitness-level-tests/

And this is the scorecard:

The Scorecard:

0.92 or higher: Your wife and kids are going to miss you

0.82 to 0.91: Ordinary

0.81 or less: Flat and happy

https://www.menshealth.com/fitness/a19534622/fitness-level-tests/

My hip measurement (taken at the widest point) is 40 inches.

My waist measurement is 39.5 inches, making my waist to hip ratio: 0.9875.

BMI

Using the NHS BMI calculator which takes into account my age and ethnicity, my BMI is 27.9 which is at the upper end of Overweight.

Touch the Rim. I’ll have to find a high thing to jump and touch. 

Plank. 

From Coach Mag:

How to do it: Hold your body in a straight line from head to heels. Keep your feet together and your elbows beneath your shoulders. Look straight down and brace for as long as you can. Focus on keeping your hips from sagging. When they do the test is over.

https://www.coachmag.co.uk/exercises/full-body-workouts/1861/6-tests-fitness

Time	Level
More than 2min	Excellent
75sec–2min	Good
45–75sec	Average
Less than 45sec	Poor

My initial score was 1 min and 1 second, which puts me in the average bracket.

Bodyweight Squat. 50 or more is Excellent 

1km run. 3min or less is Excellent 

500m row. 

From Coach Mag:

What it targets: Your cardiovascular system and muscle co-ordination between the upper and lower body

How to do it: On a Concept2 rowing machine, select level ten resistance. Sit upright with your shoulders back and core braced. Drive with your legs.

https://www.coachmag.co.uk/exercises/full-body-workouts/1861/6-tests-fitness

Time	Level
1min 30 sec or less	Excellent
1min 31sec–1min 44sec	Good
1min 45sec–1min 59sec	Average
2min or more	Poor

I did the 500m row in 2min 08 seconds, which is Poor!

Pull-ups. 

From Coach Mag:

How to do it: Grip the bar overhand, extend your arms fully and let your body hang. Pull up until your chin is over the bar, squeezing your lats. Lower again without swinging. The test is over when you can’t maintain perfect form.

https://www.coachmag.co.uk/exercises/full-body-workouts/1861/6-tests-fitness

Reps	Level
12 or more	Excellent
8–11	Good
4–7	Average
3 or fewer	Poor

I did 3 pull-ups on the initial test, which is Poor.

Next

Trying to improve these test results as much as possible in a month!

It’s time for another challenge and life experiment. They always seem to come back to fitness.

I’ve been running about 15 miles a week for a few months now but not really seeing a difference to the belly, so I started to think about trying a different approach. I was thinking about how fit is it possible to get in one month?

What do we mean by ‘fit’? A Google search led me to a few interesting articles. This post will feature three of these articles and pick out the tests and metrics I’ll focus on:

1. How fit are you? See how you measure up (Mayo Clinic)
2. 10 Standards to Assess Your Fitness Level: Before you stamp yourself “in shape,” make sure you can pass these fitness tests (Men’s Health)
3. Six Ways To Test Your Overall Fitness (Coach Mag)

Mayo Clinic

Here’s the one from the Mayo Clinic: How fit are you? See how you measure up

This article talks about measuring yourself against these standards:

(BTW I’ve written “Do this” next to the measures I’m going to use in the experiment):

1. Resting heart rate (Do this)
2. Fastest time to run 1.5 miles (Do this)
3. Number of press-ups to fatigue (Do this)
4. Sit up test – max number in a minute (Do this)
5. Flexibility – sit and reach test (Do this)
6. Waist circumference (Do this)
7. BMI (Do this)

Men’s Health

Here’s the article from Men’s Health: 10 Standards to Assess Your Fitness Level: Before you stamp yourself “in shape,” make sure you can pass these fitness tests

The 10 standards of fitness MH lists are:

1. Bench pressing 1.5x your body weight. For me that’s 120kg which is tough. My PB is around 85kg, which the article says is ‘Ordinary’. I don’t have access to gym at the moment, so I will leave this test for now and focus on the similar test of maximum pushups.
2. Run 1.5 Miles in 10 Minutes. The article says 12mins and above is ‘Slow’, which is 8min/miles. I run around 9.30min/miles for a 4 mile run, so according to this metric and MH’s standard, I’m definietly slow! (Do this)
3. Touch the Rim. I’ll have to find a high thing to jump and touch. (Do this)
4. Leg-Press 2.25 Times Your Weight. My PB is 130kg so well short of this currently. Like with the bench press test above, I don’t have access to a gym at the moment, so I’ll focus on the similar bodyweight squat test below.
5. Swim 700 Yards in 12 Minutes. Unfortunately, the pools are closed around here because of COVID restrictions.
6. Do 40 Pushups. I think the maximum press-ups to fatigue in the Mayo article above is more interesting.
7. Measure Up. This is your waist circumference divided by your hip/butt measurement. (Do this)
8. Run 300 Yards Sub 1 Minute. Not sure where I’d find a flat 300 yard bit of track. That’s 275m. I’ll think about this one a bit more.
9. Touch Your Toes. Similar to the Sit and Reach in the Mayo Clinic article above. (Do this)
10. Toss a Basketball 75 Feet Kneeling. Not sure how to replicate this.

Coach Mag

And finally, here’s an article from Coach Mag: Six Ways To Test Your Overall Fitness

The 6 standards of fitness they recommend as a measure are:

1. Plank. More than 2min is Excellent (Do this)
2. Bodyweight Squat. 50 or more is Excellent (Do this)
3. Press-ups. 50 or more is Excellent (Do this)
4. 1km run. 3min or less is Excellent (Do this)
5. 500m row. 1min 30 sec or less is Excellent (Do this)
6. Pull-ups. 12 or more is Excellent (Do this)

So the tests I’m going to do and try to improve on are:

1. Resting heart rate (Do this)
2. Fastest time to run 1.5 miles (Do this)
3. Number of press-ups to fatigue (Do this)
4. Sit up test – max number in a minute (Do this)
5. Flexibility – sit and reach test (Do this)
6. Waist circumference (Do this)
7. BMI (Do this)
8. Run 1.5 Miles in 10 Minutes. The article says 12mins and above is ‘Slow’, which is 8min/miles. I run around 9.30min/miles for a 4 mile run, so according to this metric and MH’s standard, I’m definitely slow! (Do this)
9. Measure Up. This is your waist circumference divided by your hip/butt measurement. (Do this)
10. Touch the Rim. I’ll have to find a high thing to jump and touch. (Do this)
11. Touch Your Toes. Similar to the Sit and Reach in the Mayo Clinic article above. (Do this)
12. Plank. More than 2min is Excellent (Do this)
13. Bodyweight Squat. 50 or more is Excellent (Do this)
14. 1km run. 3min or less is Excellent (Do this)
15. 500m row. 1min 30 sec or less is Excellent (Do this)
16. Pull-ups. 12 or more is Excellent (Do this)

In the next post in this series, I’m going to measure where I am for each of the tests in the previous section above.

What tests would you do for yourself? How fit do you think you are right? Let me know in the comments below!