Exercise is one of the best things you can do for your
mental and physical health. But too often, the only measurement people use to
evaluate their progress is their weight, which is not the most accurate metric
to assess fitness and can be emotionally fraught.
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For one thing, muscle is denser than fat, so if you are
doing a lot of strength training, the number on the scale could go up as you
work out more. Additionally, research suggests that body size does not
necessarily correspond to health.
“Fitness is more important than fatness to your
cardiovascular and metabolic health, and your overall risk of morbidity and
mortality,” said Lee Stoner, an assistant professor of exercise physiology at
the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Fortunately, there are more accurate (and less
anxiety-inducing) metrics you can use to assess your health and physical
conditioning. Whether you are a competitive athlete, a weekend warrior, or a
beginner, below are several expert-recommended ways to gauge your fitness.
Heart health metricsTo better track your fitness, it helps to first define what
that word means to you. From a physiology perspective, fitness could be defined
as “how well your heart, lungs, cardiovascular system delivers and uses
oxygen,” Stoner said.
“Fitness is more important than fatness to your cardiovascular and metabolic health, and your overall risk of morbidity and mortality.”
The easiest way to assess that is with your heart rate. Most
smartwatches on the market measure heart rate relatively reliably — though
there are some concerns that the products are not as accurate for people with
darker skin tones. You can also take your heart rate manually at your wrist or
neck by counting the number of beats you detect for 15 seconds and multiplying
that by four.
Resting heart rate refers to the number of times your heart
beats in a minute while you are not exerting yourself. The better your
cardiovascular fitness, the lower your resting heart rate is likely to be
because the heart can pump more blood with every beat. Fewer beats mean the
heart is working more efficiently, pushing the same amount of blood through the
body with less effort.
A normal resting heart rate for healthy adults is between 60
and 80 beats per minute. Athletes commonly have a lower resting heart rate,
sometimes dropping below 60 beats per minute. If your resting heart rate is
above 80, regular aerobic exercise could help you lower it over time.
You can also take your heart rate after an exercise session
and track how it changes from week to week, particularly if you often perform
the same workout, like a regular exercise class or running a set loop around
your neighborhood.
“As you get more fit, you’re going to see that the heart
rate comes down at the same intensity of exercise,” said Christopher Lundstrom,
a lecturer in sport and exercise science at the University of Minnesota. “So
that heart rate is certainly a good measure and an easy measure that anybody
could take.”
Another heart rate-related metric to track is variability,
which can be assessed using more advanced smartwatches or fitness trackers.
Heart rate variability measures how much your heart rate fluctuates from one
beat to the next, and more variability is considered a sign of good
cardiovascular health.
While we often think of the heart as a metronome, beating at
a steady pace, there are actually small variations in the length of each beat
and the time between them. “At rest, very low heart rate variability shows that
the heart is just doing all it can to keep up,” Lundstrom said. “The more fit
you are, the more your heart has the ability to adapt and adjust really quickly
to changing demands.”
VO2 max is the most precise assessment of cardio-respiratory
health, measuring the capacity of the heart and lungs to take in oxygen,
distribute it throughout the body and convert it into cellular energy. VO2 max
is typically performed in a lab and requires special equipment that most people
don’t have access to, but there are at-home tests — like the three-minute step
test — that can provide a rough estimate.
Exercise goalsPhysical fitness can also be defined by “performance metrics
and maximizing strength, power, endurance,” Lundstrom said. Setting — and
hitting — workout targets is perhaps the most tangible strategy to track your
strength and endurance progress.
Fitness tests are a helpful way to do this because they
provide you with an initial performance benchmark — based on your own ability,
not someone else’s — to which you can compare future results.
When you start a new training program, choose a test that
reflects your fitness goals. For example, if you want to increase your
abdominal strength, you might time how long you can hold a plank. If your
objective is to improve total body conditioning, count how many burpees you can
get through in a fixed amount of time.
The better your cardiovascular fitness, the lower your resting heart rate is likely to be because the heart can pump more blood with every beat. Fewer beats mean the heart is working more efficiently, pushing the same amount of blood through the body with less effort.
Complete the test during your first workout to establish
your baseline ability. Then repeat the test every month to see how much you
have advanced. As your strength and cardiovascular fitness improve, you should
be able to complete more reps or beat your earlier time.
Another way to measure gains in strength is the amount of
weight you are able to use for an isolated movement, like a biceps curl. If you
are gradually increasing the weight you use — while still performing the
movement safely and correctly — you can assume your muscle is getting stronger.
For endurance, Amber Harris, a certified running and
strength coach from Kansas City, Kansas, has her clients focus on speed and
distance. She usually starts beginners with interval training, in which they
run for one minute and then walk for two. To track endurance at this stage, she
measures how far her clients can get in their one-minute intervals, or
challenges them to lengthen their intervals, running for two, three or four
minutes before slowing down to walk.
Speed and distance are just as important for more
experienced runners. As you progress in your training, Harris said, see how
fast you can run a mile, or whether you can increase your mileage from one week
to the next.
“These are all ways that you can judge if you’re improving
without having to worry about, ‘Is my waist shrinking? Are my clothes shrinking?’”
Harris said. “Because in the grand scheme of things, that’s just not important
to me.”
Activities of daily livingWhen it comes to exercising for your health and lifestyle,
the most important metrics might be the ones that you track outside of the gym,
like being able to carry your growing toddler or walking up three flights of
stairs without getting winded.
Jamie Carbaugh, a certified personal trainer and group
fitness instructor who often works with older adults, defines fitness with a
question: “Are you able to perform the functions that you want to be able to
perform in your daily life?”
Instead of focusing on aesthetics, Carbaugh’s clients — the
oldest of whom is 105 — prioritize capability. For example, one woman wanted to
improve her stamina so she could walk down the aisle at her granddaughter’s
wedding.
Similarly, Justice Williams, the director and head coach of
Fitness4AllBodies, said that one of his clients knew she had made progress
because, on an airplane, she was able to lift her suitcase into the overhead
compartment without any assistance.
“She was so excited that after she got off the plane and
went to her hotel, she called me,” he said. “There’s independence, you know
what I’m saying? ‘I was able to do this by myself without asking for
assistance, and that felt good to me.’”
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