ROM Bench-Marking, Take One

So one of my goals with my ROM this year is to lose 60 pounds – fair enough. But as my ROM coaches suggested to me, weight loss isn’t everything: What about stamina, stregnth, endurance? These are all important barometers of overall vitality.

Because I’ve historically been about as athletic as a brick, I wasn’t sure how to even go about some basic bench-marking. I eventually settled on these home-fitness tests:

1. Step test to measure aerobic endurance
2. Push ups to test upper body strength
3. Sit ups to test abdominal or trunk strength
4. Squats to measure lower body strength

How’d I do?

• In step-test I was the worst – 120 beats per minute in the minute after steppin’ up. Though Jasmin mentioned that perhaps I was stepping a bit too intensely; I should have gone for ‘steady’ rather than unevenly ‘rapid.’ (Poor)
• 21 push-ups ’till maxing out (‘Average’ for men)
• 31 sit-ups in a minute (Average)
• 41 squats ’till maxing out (‘Good’…I’ll take it!)

So now we have some other benchmarks to gauge my progess…we’ll see where I am in a month!

Related posts:

ROM by the Numbers: Benchmarking, May 2009 Recommended ROM Drinking – ChlorOxygen ROM Coach Tips: Challenge Yourself! ROM Experiences: 30 Years in 30 Days