Do you remember doing the President’s Physical Fitness Test when you were a kid? Every year you’d run a mile and do sit-ups and chin-ups. In the end, you were deemed fit or not.
Well, you’ve grown up and the markers of fitness have too. Not to mention, the stakes are even higher. Your fitness level can determine your risk of heart failure, according to research presented at the American Heart Association's Quality of Care and Outcomes Research Scientific Sessions 2013 in Baltimore during May 15-17, 2013.
Researchers gave more than 9,000 men and women—the average age was 48—two fitness tests, eight years apart. Then they followed up with the participants and found that people who weren’t fit at the start of the study and did not improve their fitness level over the years were at higher risk for heart failure after the age of 65. Those who improve their fitness level reduced their risk of heart failure.
Another reason workouts are important: muscle mass. “You lose a third to a half a pound of muscle each year unless you’re strength training,” says Michele Kettles, MD, MSPH, executive vice-president and chief operating officer at the Cooper Clinic in Dallas, Texas. “And with loss of muscle comes weakness that can lead to frailty, which is a true medical condition like hypertension or diabetes.” In addition, the less overall fitness you have, the slower your metabolism, the higher your risk for injury and disease, and the less you’re able to do the activities you love.
Luckily we can stop this downward spiral. The following five tests will help you find out how strong, fit, and flexible you are so you can determine whether you need to muscle up, take more walks, or make like Gumby and bend your way to a more healthful life.