Do it At Home Classic Fitness Tests. Squatting
by Tanya Zilberter

How did old good doctors know all about their patients' heart conditions long before the treadmills, ECG machines, heart rate monitors, and like pushed them out of medical offices?

Do it At Home Classic Fitness Tests.

Tests 1. Squatting

How did old good doctors know all about their patients' heart conditions long before the treadmills, ECG machines, heart rate monitors, and like pushed them out of medical offices? They have had their arsenal of tests that were simple yet reliable. Nowadays doctors have something better, but we still can use those classical tests.

This is how to check out your fitness level by simply doing squats. Read carefully to do it safely.

Sit quietly for a few minutes, and then measure your resting heart rate (RHR.)

For men it is safe to do this test if their HR is below 75, for womenit can be up to 80. If your hear rate is higher than that, do the followingmeasurement first.

Squat all the way down, keeping your back straight and lifting your arms forward parallel to the floor. Stand straight again. Repeat 10 times, atone-second intervals. Immediately after the tenths squat, measure your after-testheart rate (THR.) If your THR exceeds your RHR by 50 percent, you need tosee your doctor for professional check-up. Perhaps, you need a cardio fitnessrehabilitation program.

Those whose RHR was in safe limits and those whose THR after the above exercise was not 1.5 times higher than their RHR, may proceed to the main test which is similar to the above test, just twice as long.

Squat all the way down, keeping your back straight and lifting your arms forward parallel to the floor. Stand straight again. Repeat 20 times, atone-second intervals. Immediately after the twentieth squat, measure yourTHR.

Take you THR and divide it by your RHR. Estimate your fitness using the table:

THR/RHR

Fitness Category

1.25 or less

Excellent

1,26 to 1.50

Good

1.51 to 1.75

Fair

Above 1.75

Bad (consult your physician)

 


 

 
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Jul 11 2002, 02:22:01
   
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