Exercise testing, part two
With a general view of your fitness from anthropometric tests, in part one of this series, we move into tests specific to balance and endurance.
Some of these exercise tests can be tried at home while others can be done with a coach or fitness professional.
Balance tests
Stork & Flamingo
These two similar tests involve balancing on one leg. They are both total body, static balance tests.
Stork is a modified tree pose, foot resting on the knee, hands on hips and heel raised to balance on the ball of the foot. Flamingo lifts a knee forward with the foot held close to the buttocks, while balancing on a low beam. Each is scored based on time.
You can follow the instructions on the Runner’s World video below to try the stork test at home. And there’s a bonus exercise to help you improve your score.
Y-balance
This test also has the subject balance on one leg, but uses a special piece of equipment that measures the reach of the free leg as it is moved through space. It combines static and dynamic balance, and especially ankle stability. Ideal results show symmetrical reach at all three points.
A similar test that can be rigged up at home is the Star Excursion Balance Test. This uses eight points instead of three and is a bit more subjective in its scoring.
Balance beam
How well can you walk the length of a standard balance beam in 6 seconds? This test of dynamic balance is graded on how well you perform. Walk without hesitation in less than six seconds and you have an excellent score of 5 points; if you walk slowly, unsteadily or you fall off, you lose points.
Endurance tests
These tests focus on aerobic endurance and come in two varieties: testing to exhaustion and intermittent tests.
Rockport walk test
If you are not especially fit, this is a good test to begin with, is suitable for all ages, and can be self administered. Walk 1 mile on level ground as fast as possible and time yourself with a stopwatch. At the end of the mile, take your pulse (or wear a heart rate monitor, if you have one). If you also know your weight, you can calculate your VO₂max with the equation below:
Women
VO₂max = 139.168 − (0.388 × age) − (0.077 × weight in lb.) − (3.265 × walk time in minutes) − (0.156 × heart rate)
Men
VO₂max = 139.168 − (0.388 × age) − (0.077 × weight in lb.) − (3.265 × walk time in minutes) − (0.156 × heart rate) + 6.318
Beep test
This is a shuttle run test where you run between cones as many times as possible. The “beep track” sets the pace, starting slow and speeding up. This test can be done on your own if you have 20 meters and a music player for the audio track.
Download the beep test audio for free from Top End Sports.
Scoring is based on the number of shuttles completed. An excellent score for men is over 13 or over 12 for women. Results are closely correlated to VO₂max. You can use the online Beep Test VO₂ calculation here.
30–15 intermittent
The setup is quite similar to the Beep Test, but alternates running for 30 seconds with walking for 15 seconds. The intermittent test gauges the ability to repeat and recover, as many athletes do in team sport.
Vmax & VO₂max
These two tests estimate aerobic performance for athletes. It is a test to exhaustion at high intensity. VO₂max is intended for athletes and is the non plus ultra of endurance tests, but requires specialised equipment along with extreme fitness, which is why other tests aim for correlation and calculation to achieve an estimate.
Vmax is a simple version that uses a treadmill (or swim bench, etc) and a stop watch. Speed for the treadmill is increased every few minutes until the athlete reaches exhaustion. The score is based on the final speed maintained for one minute.
VO₂max is similar but adds a ventilator and collection system to the apparatus. The amount of oxygen used is calculated from measurements of ventilation and the amount of oxygen and carbon dioxide in the exhale. This test must be undertaken at a facility with the necessary equipment.
Are you gaining insight into your level of fitness? Next, we’ll give you some strength and flexibility tests.
Kilter is HasGeek’s humble attempt to provide a space for reasoned debate on how your body actually works, and how you can find your own path to good health via better nutrition, fitness and habits.
Tickets for Kilter are available. Buy them here:
If you want to propose a talk at Kilter 2017, submit your talk here.
