A running fitness test

Posted on December 3, 2008 | Category: Sports & Leisure, The Human Mind & Body

One way to keep motivation in your running is to see yourself improve.
For beginner runners (and everyone else too for that matter) a fitness test is a daunting prospect. Running till the point of exhaustion is no fun and can be dangerous.

Here is a low stress fitness test which will give you a level of fitness indicator.

You will need;
A stopwatch and a heart rate monitor (preferably one which sounds an audible alarm if you go over a certain limit but that’s not essential).

Pick a course that will take around 30 minutes to run around at a slow pace. The course should be as flat as possible with no interruptions from traffic or roads to cross.

A country park or canal towpath is ideal.

The object of the test is to measure how long it takes you to complete the course within your aerobic capacity (not getting out of breath).

To find a VERY ROUGH top aerobic level, take your age from 180. This is your top level heart rate.

Jog & warm up for about 10 minutes or so. Set the heart rate monitor to your upper level and start running.

You will probably be surprised at how slowly you will need to run to keep your heart rate below your test level.

If your alarm does go off, don’t stop to walk, slow down and try to keep to a running motion going.

When you finish, depending on your heart rate monitor, you will have two numbers.

Firstly, the total time, you took to do the course and secondly, the time spent over the heart rate limit.

The first is the most important. (Don’t worry too much about the second.

Repeat the test every 3 weeks or so and hopefully, your time taken will decrease as your fitness improves.

If you are super fit, do the same course again, this time going at race pace. You will have had 2 tests in 1 session.

Thanks to roadrunning.net for this test

» Filed Under Sports & Leisure, The Human Mind & Body

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