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Simple Fitness Tests To Take Right Now
by Chris Shugart | Today
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Living Better
Health & Longevity
Back in the day, I knew a lot of guys who adopted that motto. And over the years I've
watched a lot of those guys achieve their goals. They got really big and then died...
some before the age of 50.
Here are four simple, science-backed tests that you'll either pass easily or fail. If you
fail, I'll have some terribly blunt advice for you at the end.
Gather up four of your male friends. Statistically, one of you will die from a heart-
related problem. Let's make sure it's one of the other bastards. Start with the easiest
of the four tests. (You just gotta be able to pass this one.)
The Rules
Start a timer and walk (don't run) up four flights of stairs. That's 60 steps.
No stopping and resting.
Remember, this isn't a sprint to the top. Just walk and make sure you can sustain
that pace.
2. Measure Your Belly
Some health researchers believe that a person who's not obese or even overweight
– as measured by the questionable Body Mass Index – can still have an unhealthy
level of body fat, particularly in the abdominal area (2).
We're talking about visceral adipose tissue – fat stored inside the abdominal cavity
and around your internal organs. It causes insulin resistance and leads to dying in
an assortment of unpleasant ways.
The Test
If the circumference of your waist measures more than half your height, you're
overfat.
Admittedly, this is a very strict test. Not many people can pass it. Now, we can balk
and say that this test is just plain mean, that it doesn't consider our strong, muscular
core... or we can admit that we've gotten a little chubby and need to reel it in.
3. Do 40 Good Push-Ups
Men who can do this aren't very likely to die in the next 10 years. Men who can do
less than 10 are far more likely to be pushing up daisies within the next decade (4).
This test was devised by some nerds at Harvard after conducting a 10-year study.
Surprisingly, push-up capacity was more strongly associated with cardiovascular
disease risk than the results of the standard submaximal treadmill test.
Muscular strength has been shown to have an "independent protective effect" for all-
cause mortality. That just means testing your heart health isn't just about slogging
away on a treadmill.
The Rules
Do one set of as many unbroken push-ups as you can with good form (chest
to floor every rep).
The test is over as soon as you fail to get another full rep, or if you have to
take a 2-3 second break to get another rep.
This isn't saying that doing push-ups prevents cardiovascular disease. Rather, push-
up ability is merely indicative of having the kind of upper-body strength that provides
cardioprotective benefits.
Being able to crank out 40-plus push-ups in a single set is also a decent metabolic
conditioning test and a test of relative strength.
The Test
Run one mile on the treadmill with the speed set at 6 miles per hour. That's a 10-
minute mile.
Now, do NOT just go out and run a mile as fast as possible then collapse. That's not
the idea. The goal is to be able to SUSTAIN that exact pace for 10 full minutes.
People who identify as runners will laugh at this one. Too easy. But this is a great
test for strong lifters – those of us that only run away from bears and toward naked
women wearing G-strings made of pearls. (That's a thing, look it up.)
As lifters, it's pretty easy to slack off on our cardiovascular fitness in favor of heavier
one-rep maxes. But to live long and prosper, we need a balance. The goal is simply
to be able to pass this test with relative ease and ALWAYS be able to pass it as we
age.
May I bypass the hypersensitive, woke bullshit and just tell it like it is? Yeah?
Thanks.
If you can't pass these tests it's most likely because you're just too fat. And you're
probably too fat because your diet sucks.