You Knew How to Get Fit All Along

You either loved the Presidential Fitness Test as a kid because you were a class stud and could rock it — or you hated it because push-ups, sit-ups, and chin-ups weren’t for you. The last thing you needed was some stupid test to further point all of this out to your peers.

No one’s really looking anymore, though — and you’re old enough to understand that what matters most is what you think about how you look and feel.

“Start slow. Start somewhere,” said one college strength-and-conditioning coach.

Perhaps it’s time you take off the FitBit — you know, the one that looks great but that you haven’t really used in months — and give the adult version of the Presidential Fitness Test a try.

“Start slow,” said Pete Link, a strength-and-conditioning coach for the Iowa State Men’s Basketball team. “Start somewhere and progress from there.”

This isn’t meant to be cruel and unusual punishment, or a way to bring up horrific memories from childhood — the adult version of this test really does exist at presidentschallenge.org. Depending on your age and the shape you’re in, you’re challenged to either walk 400 meters or one mile and record your time and heart rate — or run 1.5 miles and record just your time.

Muscular strength is evaluated by the number of half sit-ups (crunches) and push-ups you can complete in one minute, and they are meant to test whether you’re strong enough to do normal activities easily and protect your lower back.

[lz_bulleted_list title=”The Benefits of Exercise” source=”http://www.alimcwilliams.com”]A clearer, sharper mind|Less stress|More strength and bone density|More energy and endurance|A true sense of accomplishment[/lz_bulleted_list]

The flexibility challenge you might actually find the toughest — when is the last time you actually stretched? The old “sit and reach” test is measured in inches, and body composition is calculated by inputting your height, weight, and waist measurement. It may not paint a pretty picture — but it’s designed to let you know whether or not you have too much body fat, especially around the waist.

Sound brutal? The whole goal — and this was true years ago as well — was to provide the foundation for a healthy lifestyle, and this further goes to show that results don’t need to be hi-tech to be eye-opening.

“If you don’t feel good about yourself, if you’re not an active person, if you’re not healthy, not pushing yourself, or you could be a lot healthier — I don’t think you perform as well in everyday life. That’s my personal opinion,” Link told LifeZette. “If you are fit and you feel good about yourself, you’ll do a better job in whatever part of your life — work, family life, whatever it might be.”

Personal certified training coach Ali McWilliams of Madison, Wisconsin, agreed — adding that once her clients commit to doing body work, they have more confidence, more energy, and are better able to manage stress.

Push-ups, though you may not like them, are one of the oldest and most effective exercises.

“Even if the scale hasn’t dropped much, they notice all the internal benefits. They crave healthier foods. They notice how they feel when they eat not-so-healthy food. With more confidence they get better at setting healthier boundaries with family and coworkers. They say no when they want to say no, they try new things, and they put themselves out there more. When you get physically stronger, you get mentally stronger,” said McWilliams.

Push-ups are one of the oldest and most effective exercises to do, though most of us don’t like them. They help strengthen wrists, forearms, elbows, upper arms, shoulders, and chest. They also help reduce bone loss and promote stronger, more dense bones. Plus, they’re free — you can take them anywhere and they don’t take up much time. Anyone can do them, according to McWilliams.

“The push-up part I love. Push-ups are and will be one of the best exercises to strengthen your upper body and core. You strengthen so many muscles when doing push-ups,” she said.

“The half sit-up I’m personally not a big fan of. I understand why people use them since most can perform it, but I don’t believe it tells you how strong your core is. A part of your abs will get stronger by doing the half sit-up, but there are so many more parts to your core. And core strength is very important,” McWilliams added.

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If sit-ups and push-ups still aren’t for you, Link says find something you would like to do — something that’ll have you coming back for more, and perhaps smiling at the thought of all those former classmates who didn’t think you were athletic or in shape.

“I don’t think you need to follow those tests specifically,” said Link. “Whatever you do for physical activity will help with those tests. There are plenty of things you can do to improve your fitness. It’s important to find something you enjoy doing for fitness, and then maybe after you have your baseline test, go back and re-test your presidential fitness test.”