Fitness assessments are a very important part of any exercise program. They provide you with a benchmark from which you can base future results or give you feedback about your progress. Fitness testing can help motivate you to continue your current exercise routine or perhaps indicate a reason to change your exercise program.

The tests that we use are proven safe and reliable measures. They will give a you a very good idea of your current level of fitness. Each participant will receive a complete report summarizing the results of each test. The report not only highlights your current status, but will also provide recommendations for future success.

Fitness assessments should be done periodically to determine where changes should be made in your current diet and exercise program. Every three to six months is a good interval for testing.

Body Composition

Body composition is measured using the skin-fold technique. A caliper is used to “pinch” three sites on the body. For males, the three sites are the chest, the abdomen, and the thigh. For women, the sites are the triceps (back of the arm), above the hip, and the thigh. Clients do not need to undress for this test. The three measurements are added together and compared to the person’s age, gender, and weight for a percentage of body fat

Cardiovascular Fitness

Aerobic capacity or cardiovascular fitness can be measure by an 8-minute walking test on the treadmill. During the test you walk on a level treadmill for 4 minutes at a comfortable pace. After 4 minutes, the elevation on the treadmill is raised to 5%, while the speed remains the same. After a total of 8 minutes on the treadmill, your heart rate is measured. The final speed and the heart rate are compared to determine the cardiovascular fitness level of the client.

Flexibility

Flexibility of the lower back and hamstrings is measured by the sit-and-reach test. You’ll sit on the floor and are asked to push a small metal plate as far forward as they comfortably can. The distance you can move the plate is measured to determine the your degree of flexibility.

Muscular Endurance

Muscle endurance is measured two ways; the push-up test and the sit-up test. For the push-up test, you are asked to do as many push-ups as you can safely and correctly do without resting. Males use a full push-up position, while females use a modified push-up position. The sit-up test requires you to complete as many full sit-ups as can be correctly and safely done in one-minute.

Muscular Strength

Strength is measured by the grip-strength test. You are asked to squeeze a metal hand grip as hard as you can. The amount of force placed upon the grip is registered and recorded.

Resting Metabolic Rate

Resting Metabolic Rate (RMR) is simply the calories that your body burns while in a resting state. If you do nothing but sit on the couch all day, it is the energy that your body needs to maintain the functioning of your internal organs and muscle mass. To know your RMR is to know your calorie requirement baseline. This baseline will account for 60% to 75% of your daily calorie expenditure. Digestion of food and physical activity will account for the remaining 25% to 40% of daily calorie expenditure.

The RMR test at Mettler will be held in a private room where the participant will lie down in an inclined position. The participant will be allowed a 10 to 15 minute rest period so that the RMR will be more accurately recorded. While the participant is resting a Certified Personal Trainer will enter variables such as age, weight, desired weight, and sex into the testing device. After the rest period the participant will place nose clamps over the nose and insert a breathing tube into the mouth. The RMR test will detect how many calories you burn through the oxygen that you exhale. The test calculates the oxygen consumption by measuring the volume of air that is exhaled and the concentration of oxygen in that air. The amount of calories burned for a given amount of oxygen exhaled is about 5 calories for every milliliter of oxygen expired.

When the test is completed the Certified Personal Trainer will go over the results with the participant. Not only will the test give you an accurate resting metabolic rate, but it will also give you an estimation of how many calories you burn through your daily activities and how many calories you burn through exercise. It will also give you an estimation of how long it will take you to achieve your goal weight.