Push-up test

Measures muscular endurance of the upper body (anterior deltoids, pectoralis major, triceps).

Equipment: Watch with a second hand.

Preparation: Warm up by doing a few light jumping jacks and arm circles.

Procedure: Place both hands on the floor, about shoulder-width apart, with fingers pointed forward.

Place a 3-inch sponge or small box under your chest, or have a partner put his or her fist under your chest.

Lift your knees, so that your weight is supported on your palms and toes. Your legs, buttocks and back should be in a straight line. (If this is too difficult, keep your knees on the floor and do a modified push-up, with your body in a straight line from knees to ears. Let your feet come off the floor and cross them at the ankles or leave them slightly apart.)

The push-up begins in this "up" position. Bend your arms and keep your back straight as you lower your body to the floor until it touches the sponge or your partner's fist.

Push back up to the "up" position. This counts as one complete push-up.

Perform as many correct push-ups as you can in one minute. Any resting should be done in the "up" position.

Sit-up test

Measures abdominal muscular endurance.

Equipment: Exercise mat or padded surface, watch with a second hand.

Preparation: Warm up with easy movements such as walking in place.

Procedure: Lie on your back on a padded surface with your legs together, knees bent and heels flat on the floor, with fingers laced and held behind the head or hands cupped behind the ears.

Have a partner hold your feet down firmly, or secure them under a bed or a bar.

Contract your abdominal muscles and raise your upper body off the floor until your elbows touch your knees.

Go back down until your shoulder blades touch the floor. This is one sit-up.

Perform as many correct sit-ups as you can in one minute. Be sure to avoid pulling on your neck with your hands, and breathe as normally as possible. Any resting should be done in the "up" position.

Note: Full sit-ups with feet secured are done for the purpose of testing abdominal strength. To strengthen the abdominal muscles, crunches are the preferred exercise. When doing crunches, don't have your ankles held down and use your abdominal muscles to curl yourself up only until your shoulder blades lift off the floor.

Sit-and-reach test

Measures flexibility of the lower back and hamstrings.

Equipment: 12-inch box (or step), yardstick.

Preparation: Place a yardstick on the box (or step) so the 15-inch mark is flush with the edge of the box. Have someone hold the yardstick there or secure it with tape.

Warm up with some easy movements and light stretching.

Procedure: Take off your shoes and sit with your feet placed squarely against the box, straddling the yardstick with one end closest to your groin. Keep the feet no wider than eight inches apart and toes pointed directly toward the ceiling.

Place one hand on top of the other, with the tips of the middle fingers even, and lean forward slowly with your legs straight, reaching as far forward along the yardstick as you can. Don't bend your knees, and be sure to exhale as you lean forward.

Hold the position for at least one second, being sure not to bounce, lunge or bob.

Your score is the point at which your fingertips touch the yardstick at maximum reach, recorded to the nearest quarter of an inch.

Perform the stretch three times and use the best of the three scores.

12-minute aerobic test

Measures cardiovascular endurance.

Equipment: Comfortable walking shoes, watch with second hand, indoor or outdoor track.

Preparation: Do not eat a heavy meal or smoke for at least two hours before the test.

Warm up for several minutes by walking at an easy pace, then stretch gently.

Procedure: Using the inside lane of the track, cover as much distance as possible in 12 minutes. You may walk, jog or run.

Record the distance you covered. (Each completed lap is a quarter of a mile.)

Cool down by walking at a comfortable pace for several minutes.

How to score

Push-ups (by age group)

Number of push-ups

Men: full body push-ups

20-29 30-39 40-49 50-59 601

Superior

62 52 40 39 28

Excellent

47 39 30 25 23

Good

37 30 24 19 18

Fair

29 24 18 13 10

Poor

22 17 11 9 6

Very poor

13 9 5 3 2

Women: modified push-ups

20-29 30-39 40-49 50-59 602

Superior

45 39 33 28 20

Excellent

36 31 24 21 15

Good

30 24 18 17 12

Fair

23 19 13 12 5

Poor

7 11 6 6 2

Very poor

9 4 1 0 0

Women: full push-ups

20-29 30-39 40-49

Superior

42 39 20

Excellent

28 23 15

Good

21 15 13

Fair

15 11 9

Poor

10 8 6

Very Poor

3 1 0

Aerobic power tests (by age group)

Number of miles

Men

20-29 30-39 40-49 50-59 603

Superior

1.81 1.77 1.71 1.62 1.57

Excellent

1.65 1.61 1.54 1.45 1.37

Good

1.54 1.49 1.42 1.33 1.24

Fair

1.45 1.39 1.33 1.25 1.15

Poor

1.34 1.29 1.23 1.15 1.05

Very poor

1.06 1.13 .98 .92 .82

Women

20-29 30-39 40-49 50-59 604

Superior

1.61 1.53 1.45 1.33 1.35

Excellent

1.45 1.38 1.32 1.21 1.18

Good

1.33 1.27 1.21 1.13 1.07

Fair

1.25 1.21 1.13 1.06 .99

Poor

1.16 1.11 1.05 .98 .94

Very Poor

.94 .93 .89 .83 .81

1-Minute sit-ups (by age group)

Number of sit-ups

Men

20 20-29 30-39 40-49 50-59 605

Superior

62 55 51 47 43 39

Excellent

51 47 43 39 35 30

Good

47 42 39 34 28 22

Fair

41 38 35 29 24 19

Poor

36 33 30 24 19 15

Very Poor

27 27 23 17 12 7

Women

20 20-29 30-39 40-49 50-59 606

Superior

55 51 42 38 30 28

Excellent

46 44 35 29 24 17

Good

36 38 29 24 20 11

Fair

32 32 25 20 14 6

Poor

28 24 20 14 10 3

Very Poor

25 18 11 7 5 0

Sit and reach flexibility (by age group)

Distance of reaches

Men

20 20-29 30-39 40-49 50-59 607

Superior

23.4 23 22 21.3 20.5 20

Excellent

21.7 20.5 19.5 18.5 17.5 17.3

Good

19 18.5 17.5 16.3 15.5 14.5

Fair

16.5 16.5 15.5 14.3 13.3 12.5

Poor

13.2 14.4 13 12 10.5 10

Very Poor

9.4 10.5 9.3 8.3 7 5.8

Women

20 20-29 30-39 40-49 50-59 608

Superior

24.3 24.5 24 22.8 23 23

Excellent

22.5 22.5 21.5 20.5 20.3 19

Good

21.5 20.5 20 19 18.5 17

Fair

20.5 19.3 18.3 17.3 16.8 15.5

Poor

18.5 17 16.5 15 14.8 13

Very Poor

14.5 14.1 12 10.5 12.3 9.2

Body Mass Index Test

An approximate measure of adult body composition. (No home test can perfectly measure how much of your body is fat and how much is muscle and bone. This test may be invalid for extremely muscular, athletic individuals.)

Equipment: Body weight scale, measuring tape or yardstick.

Preparation: Wearing minimal clothing, measure your body weight. Measure your height without shoes.

Procedure: Check for your BMI on this chart or multiply your weight in pounds by 703. (For example, if you weigh 149 pounds, multiply 149 x 703 to get 104,747.)

Multiply your height in inches by your height in inches.

(If you are 65 inches tall, multiply 65 x 65 to get 4,225.)

Divide the first answer by the second answer to get your Body Mass Index. (104,747 divided by 4,225 is 24.8.)

Scoring: Less than 19 Underweight

19 - 25 Normal weight

25 - 29.99 Overweight

30 or higher Obese

Body mass index, measured by height and weight

21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31

5 feet 107 112 118 123 128 133 138 143 148 153 158

5 feet 1 111 116 122 127 132 137 143 148 153 158 164

5 feet 3 118 124 130 135 141 146 152 158 163 169 175

5 feet 5 126 132 138 144 150 156 162 168 174 180 186

5 feet 7 134 140 146 153 159 166 172 178 185 191 198

5 feet 9 142 149 155 162 169 176 182 189 196 203 209

5 feet 11 150 157 165 172 179 186 193 200 208 215 222

6 feet 1 159 166 174 182 189 197 204 212 219 227 235

6 feet 3 168 176 184 192 200 208 216 224 232 240 248

Source: National Center for Health Statistics