How Good is Your Functional Fitness?

So you want to get back in shape.  Good for you!  Here are some tests of what I call “functional fitness” to help you decide where to start.  Functional fitness is your ability to do everyday tasks such as climbing stairs, carrying groceries, doing yard work, etc.  I developed this to test my own level of fitness when I decided to adopt a healthier lifestyle.  It encompasses foundational strength, balance, cardiovascular and respiratory health.  

If you haven’t been able to stick with an exercise plan in the past, use this test to help you set your fitness priorities.  The Do Something 4 Health strategy to regain fitness is based on forming new habits by making one small change at a time.  Don’t try to do it all at once.  You can learn more about our exercise strategy HERE.

Special Notice and Disclaimer: Do not do this or any type of exercise without checking with a medical professional.  This is especially important if you are out of shape.  If you haven’t had a physical exam in a while, get one before you start.  Neuromuscular disease, cardiovascular and respiratory conditions, joint ailments, and a host of other health challenges may make some of these exercises dangerous for you to perform.  I’m not just saying this to cover my rear. Your health and safety are too important to risk potentially dangerous exercises. This document is for information only, and should not be taken as medical advice. Be smart. Be safe. 

Functional Fitness Test

Strength Tests

Can you do a push up off the floor?  

Ideally, a pushup should be a full range of motion until your chest is one or two inches from the floor, but for our purposes here, see if you can do a pushup bending your arms to a 90 degree angle. If you can’t do one off the floor, how about a pushup off your knees or the kitchen counter?  However you have to position yourself, how many can you do?  Your target should be at least 5 from the floor.  This may be the most challenging strength test.

Can you curl a two-gallon bucket of water (about 16 pounds)?

Try for at least 5 repetitions. If not, how about 1 gallon (8 pounds)? If you have weights, that’s fine. 

Can you hold a plank for one minute?

This is a good test of core strength.  Try this 2 ways:

• A high plank where you hold a pushup position with arms extended to the floor
• A low plank where your elbows are on the floor.

Can you get up from a chair or stool without using your hands?

Sit in a chair with your feet flat on the floor.  You may need to scoot your butt closer to the edge of the chair or couch.  You don’t want to be able to press your calves against the furniture for extra support.  I was surprised that this wasn’t easy for me when I started getting back in shape.

Can you climb a flight of stairs, taking two steps at a time without holding onto something?

Strong quadriceps are important to helping you maintain balance, protect your knees, and overall mobility.  If you have knee pain, be careful about this test.  Start with just one step at a time.  Also, if you’re not used to this, make sure you have a railing to grab onto in case you lose your balance. 

Can you walk on your tip-toes?

Strong calf muscles are also important for balance and mobility.  My left calf is still weak decades after I spent time in a cast and splint.  I didn’t realize it was until I did this test and discovered I had a hard time staying on my tiptoes when all my weight was on my left foot. Again, make sure you have something you can grab to help you keep your balance if needed. 

Functional Fitness Flexibility Tests

Can you touch your toes without bending your knees?

If you haven’t done any stretches in a long time, be careful with how you do this.  Try for a gradual, slow stretch.  Don’t bob up and down. Go only far enough to feel the back of your legs tighten up.  Remember, this is just a test to see what you need to work on to improve your functional fitness.

Can you reach your toenails to cut them?

As my parents aged, I was astonished that they could no longer perform this simple task.  I think that is the case for a lot of older folks.  Although I never lost my ability to do this, two years ago I found it to be more difficult than it should have been.

Can you make a large circle with your arms holding them straight out from your side?

If you have a shoulder injury, be careful with this.  Check with your doctor first. I have some shoulder issues, so I still don’t do this well.  I have made substantial improvement, but I have to work on loosening  my shoulders more.

Can you sit cross-legged on the floor?

If we don’t work at it, we lose much of our flexibility as we age.  When I thought of this test, I realized I hadn’t attempted to sit cross-legged for years! It didn’t go well.  Once you get down on the floor, how hard is it to get back on your feet? If you struggle from one end of this test to the other (I did), mobility may be a major issue for you.  Mobility is a combination of strength, flexibility, and balance. 

Can you put your pants on while standing, without leaning on something?

A year before writing this, my answer was an emphatic “NO”. I hopped around like a drunk rabbit until I found the support of a wall or piece of furniture.  Make sure you have something to grab onto in case you lose your balance.

Cardio-vascular and Respiratory Health Tests

Can you climb a flight of 9 – 12 stairs without getting winded?  

If you’re out of shape, try this first at a slow pace.  If successful, speed it up until you get winded. If you can climb that flight of steps at a moderate pace with only a slight increase in your pulse and respiration, you’re doing OK. 

 How far can you walk at a brisk pace without feeling like you’re going to die? 

Ideally, perform this test on a treadmill or level ground.  The reason I suggest level ground is that you can get winded quickly on an incline even if you’re in good shape.  If you get out of breath quickly and your pulse rate shoots to the moon after only 50 or 100 steps, you need to work on this. 

If you get out of breath and your heart is pumping fast, how quickly do you recover?

How quickly your heart rate returns to normal after exercise is more important than how quickly it rises while working out.  Follow this process to determine how quickly you recover.

• Check your resting pulse rate.  Sit still for at least a minute or two.  Using your middle and index fingers on one hand, find your pulse in the radial artery of the other wrist.  Count the number of beats for 20 seconds and multiply by 3.  So if it’s 24 beats in 20 seconds, your pulse rate is 72 beats per minute.
• Climb stairs or walk briskly until you get out of breath
• Check your pulse immediately after you stop exercising. Record it.
• Stand or sit quietly for the rest of this process
• Check your pulse after resting for one minute. Record it.
• Check it after two minutes. Record this, too.
• Check it every two minutes after that until you are breathing normally
• Record how long it takes to get back to your resting pulse rate. 

Ideally, your pulse rate should drop 15 – 25 beats per minute.  It will likely drop fastest in the first minute. There is a more sophisticated measure of heart rate recovery, but this works for our purposes. Click HERE for a good article about recovery from exercise.

Now that you have tested yourself, you can set your priorities for exercise.  Now you know where to improve your functional fitness. If your cardiovascular and respiratory tests didn’t go well, you might want to start there, since heart health will have a greater bearing on your longevity than the other measures of fitness.