If you’re like many of us, one of your New Year’s resolutions is to start or get back to exercising more. To get the most out of your physical activity routine, I recommend starting with a fitness assessment! A fitness assessment is used to identify your strengths and weaknesses, providing direction for your physical activity. It involves a comprehensive analysis of your baseline fitness level, including an analysis of your cardiovascular fitness, strength, balance, and flexibility levels. At Preventous, we use fitness assessments to assess your chronic disease risk and provide guidance on how to reduce your risk and optimize your health. I recommend completing a fitness assessment yearly so you can compare objective results and see how the work you’ve put in has improved your fitness.
The first portion of the fitness assessment involves discussing your current lifestyle and physical activity, as well as identifying any real or perceived barriers to increasing or improving your physical activity. We also discuss health or fitness-related goals and how your current lifestyle may or may not align with those goals.
Next, we assess your cardiovascular fitness level. Aerobic testing measures how efficient your heart, lungs, bloodstream and muscles are at using oxygen. Individuals with larger aerobic capacities have an increased ability to sustain physical effort over time.
The next portion of the fitness assessment involves musculoskeletal testing, in which we assess the four components of muscular fitness: strength, endurance, power and flexibility. Strength is the amount of force your muscles can produce, and has an association to overall muscular strength. Muscular endurance is the ability of your muscles to sustain activities over a prolonged period of time, and is important for many daily tasks such as snow shoveling. Flexibility relates to the ability to bend, twist and turn with ease. It is an important indicator of low back pain risk and agility in older age. Power combines strength and speed, and is necessary for many activities in life, such as avoiding collisions. The four components of musculoskeletal testing are all associated with functional independence, bone health, psychological well-being and overall quality of life. Poor scores on these tests are associated with increased risk of falls and illness.
Each of these tests have a correlation to chronic disease risk, allowing us to identify your chronic disease risk and take actions to reduce it. Based on the results and your goals I create an individualized plan to help you reduce your chronic disease risk and ensure you are getting the most out of your workouts. Call/text 403.229.0129 or email us here to book your fitness assessment and start the year off with intention!
Crystal Bartkowski
Athletic Therapist