Defining and Measuring Physical Fitness

Cardiovascular endurance
The more cardiovascular endurance a person has, the longer their healthy life expectancy. People who regularly exercise aerobically are at reduced risk of developing coronary heart disease or type 2 diabetes. With two to three hours of cardiovascular exercise per week, you are less likely to get colon cancer. And physically active women suffer less from breast cancer than sedentary women. In addition, the bones of an active person remain strong, protecting them from osteoporosis. When you have good aerobic capacity, your heart rate is low. Our hearts work less hard to pump blood, so we have more energy for our activities and less fatigue at the end of the day.
The mile walking test: It is a matter of timing the number of minutes taken to walk a distance of 1 mile with a brisk pace. The odometer of a car or bicycle can be used to measure the distance beforehand on a flat course. The test can also be done in four laps on a 400 m track.
Muscle strength test
To improve posture and balance. It also gives us more strength in our daily activities, such as picking up our baby and carrying our grocery bags. Good muscle strength also reduces the risk of injury. The abdominal muscles act as a natural strap that stabilizes the posture, fixes the pelvis and supports the viscera. It is worthwhile to strengthen these muscles, especially to restore balance with the back muscles and avoid lumbar injuries. Muscle strength increases our basic metabolism and, therefore, our daily caloric expenditure. The higher the proportion of muscle cells, the more calories are expended at rest.
The half-righting test: To perform this test, lie on your back, arms along your body and knees slightly bent. The chin is raised and the trunk straightened by sliding the hands to the kneecaps and completely lifting the shoulder blades off the ground. Then we get back to the ground. The maximum number of repetitions is performed in 60 seconds.
Pump testing: By leaning on your hands and knees, with your back straight, you can correctly perform as many push-ups as possible. The test ends when the movements can no longer be performed correctly after two consecutive tests.
Flexibility Test
Flexible muscles allow fluidity in the execution of movements and greater joint mobility. Good flexibility reduces the risk of injury because a flexible muscle reacts better to sudden stretching. Good muscle flexibility helps maintain good posture. Stretching exercises also help to reduce tension.
Test of the flexion of the trunk in a sitting position: To do this, sit with your legs stretched out and your feet about 30 cm apart and leaning against a wall or piece of furniture. The trunk is tilted slowly forward, without bending the knees. We try to go as far forward as possible with our hands.
Body composition test
While our bodies need a certain amount of fat to function properly, excess fat can be harmful to our health, especially when it accumulates around the viscera. This is why body composition is a determinant of physical fitness.
We measure our waist circumference in cm. The size is not that of our pants, but the narrowest part of the trunk opposite the last two floating ribs. Waist measurement is the most commonly used test to assess body composition because it gives an idea of abdominal fat reserves. Studies have shown that this fat is the most harmful to the cardiovascular system. This result is combined with the body mass index (BMI). To calculate our BMI, we divide our weight in kilograms by our height in square meters. For example, if we are 1.64 m tall and weigh 66 kg, our BMI will be 24.5.