MILO BRYANT: Adult test for fitness smart but not perfect
Just when you thought the government had forgotten about the fitness level of us "experienced" folks, it comes out with standards.
Two things:
1. It's about time.
2. The government almost got it right.
The President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports recently released a new Adult Fitness Test, similar to the President's Physical Fitness Challenge that a lot of folks took as kids in elementary school. This will give them a chance to see if their fitness level remains in the 99th percentile (or 50th, depending on where you fell).
It includes four categories:
• Aerobic fitness - or how efficiently the heart and lungs get oxygenated blood to our muscles.
• Body composition - in this case, the measure of body fat in relation to height and weight.
• Flexibility - the ability of our joints to move in their correct range of motion.
• Muscular strength and endurance - the ability to move weight throughout a range of motion.
People are supposed to perform a timed 1.5-mile run or 1-mile walk, figure their body mass index, do a sit-and-reach test and push-ups (until you can't do anymore) and one minute of sit-ups.
Though I'm not the biggest fan of standards, it's good for many of us to have something to go on. Standards give us a number to surpass, a hurdle to overcome. They let us know in clear terms what the next level is. Many of us need that. If we don't have it, we're usually spinning our wheels, caught in a cycle of not knowing exactly why we're working out.
I love this test for that reason. Fitness enthusiasts or those wanting to get there have something concrete to help guide them.
Now the problems.
This is a test for folks who already work out. People who don't and the sedentary aren't eager to take this test and probably won't.
And if we actually take the test, odds are good we will be discouraged if we don't see the percentiles we want to see.
It's great to have a goal of reaching a certain percentile, and many will be able to achieve that goal with the new standards. But for many, it'll be a goal to get our rumps off the couch more than once a week.
One more gripe. Could we please get rid of body mass index? Especially for this test?
First off, a high percentage of the people taking the test are in decent, good or great shape - meaning they're going to have a higher lean body weight-to-fat ratio. This means their BMI numbers will be so off, they're moot. Then I'm sure the folks not taking the test really don't want to see their BMI. They don't need another number telling them how out of shape they are.
For those wanting to take the test or find out more about it, visit www.adultfitnesstest.org.
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• Strength Milo Bryant and has Conditioning two National Association certifications. He appears on KOAA's Comcast Channel 9 most Wednesdays at 4 p.m. You can contact him by e-mail at milo.bryant@gazette.com or read his blog at
milobryant.blogspot.com
