To ask how to gauge fitness?

[PunchandRudy]

Just that really.

People say 'I'm quite fit' but how to you gauge how fit you actually are? Is it how much you walk, run, or strength training - or is it just that you don't feel unfit?

Is fitness someone like a personal trainer or something like a standardised test can tell you?

I go by my resting heart rate. Currently it's 54, and I'm happy with that. If I take a break from sport/am injured and can't run, I find it creeps up.
Also, how quickly I recover after exertion.
And if I can outrun the kids!

If I can run up the stairs without getting out of breath and also my resting heart rate

Yes resting heartbeat is an easy quick indication. I use a freebie app. Under 60 is prime fitness for me ( and most adults ) Currently 64, I'm still pretty active doing about 4 sessions a week of running/swimming/spinning. I do feel fitter when it's lower, although I have to train quite hard to get that. When I first started to exercise I noticed a huge improvement after 6 weeks...loads more day to day energy/alertness 😊

The above plus being able to do some core moves such as push ups, pull ups - I don’t consider myself fit unless I can do those.
Body fat % being fairly low too since I can perform a lot better when it is lower.
There are fitness tests for Police, army etc. The Police fitness test (a shuttle run)is quite easy but nonetheless it’s an official test. DH is in the police so we have done the shuttle run at home and “passed” it. I would be interested in what the army etc do and would consider that a great achievement

I never knew about resting heart rate!

Just counted mine (three times) - 48, 49 and 49bpm.

I'm really not even remotely an athlete though maybe mine is naturally now?

I think Fitbit assesses it based on a combination of your resting heart rate, but also the speed at which you return to your resting heart rate after exercise and how much of your Max heart rate you rise to during exercise.

Eg. I'm 'fit', I run every day. My heart rate is low, I rarely achieve my maximum heart rate (actually never) which they roughly estimate as 220 less your age, I can run hard and recover within a few seconds (eg run up a very steep hill during a run but recover within a few seconds at the top).

If you consider what 'fitness' is: it's all about how effectively you make energy out of oxygen while doing physical exercise, so that's why your heart rate increases if you're unfit and decide to go for a 3 mile run - you breathe rapidly, and your face goes red etc etc; it's because your body is frantically trying to get more oxygen in. The more your train your body to make energy, the fitter you will become. I'm sure there must be a more accurate test that a personal trainer could do (eg V02 testing?) but it will probably only test those sane factors, just more accurately.

There's a chest band you can wear that does that assessment and is apparently more accurate than wrist band HR monitors

I'm not sure. I've been a runner for around 13 years now 3/4 times per week and still don't feel that fit!

This exact thread was started on here a few days ago...

My resting heart rate is 54 so I must be fit

There’s a thing called the Rockport walking test.

Yearinyearout do you have a link? I can't find it on advanced search.

I have a resting HR of 63.

But ive run 16 half marathons and each one under 2 hours, have a 10k time if 52 mins. Ran 2 marathons and one ofbthem wan iver 2 mountains.

So im fit, do don't read anything into RHR.

As PPs have mentioned there are various apps and calculations that you can use. For me, I tend to go by whether I can do a couple of benchmark activities. So, if I can easily run 5k or take my toddler out for a decent hike in the backpack carrier I feel fit.

I’m a skater, sometimes I have a few hours free and I decide to do a marathon, so I do. I think that if on a whim, you can just strap a pair of skates on and skate 42km just for the pleasure of it, you can claim to be fairly fit.

I think you just use your common sense to be honest. There are many different ways of being fit, you could be run-fit but have no core or upper body strength. Or you could spend a lot of time on lifting and weights but none on aerobic exercise. Also a lot of it is relative. I consider myself to be fit in an ordinary person sense - I run a few times a week, swim and cycle. I'm completely unfit in comparison to a professional athlete though.

Rhr can be genetic too.

I have a resting heart rate in the 70’s it has even been in the 80’s in the past and I’m super fit.

My kids always have to do the bleep test (running between two markers within a set time). You can be quite good at one thing (running) but crap at something else (push ups). Great at lifting weights, poor at cardio...

I declare myself to be fit.
I can run whole HMs.
I can run a sub 30 5k.
I am generally active, walking.
I can do 10 full press-ups although upper body strength is not my forte.
My resting heart rate is low (around 50 bpm)
I recover quickly from exertion.

My fitness level does not inhibit my daily activities