But you don’t need to pay through the nose to assess your strength, mobility, balance and cardiovascular health.
You can do it at home, free, with little or no equipment and tests that may have been around for decades but remain popular with fitness professionals — because they work. Here are five of the best home fitness tests.
1. Three-minute step test
Based on a 1940s test designed to assess the fitness of American military personnel, this (easier) YMCA version, developed in the 1970s, simply requires you to step on and off a step for three minutes.
What to do
Set the metronome to 96 beats per minute (bpm) and step 24 times a minute for three minutes. On each beat move a foot: up right, up left, down right, down left counts as one step, or four beats.
Immediately after you finish measure your pulse: place your index and middle fingers on the inside of your wrist (thumb side), find your pulse and measure its rate for 60 seconds. The resulting number is your heart rate in bpm.
- Men
- Aged 46-55 Under 87 bpm is an excellent recovery heart rate, 87-96 is good, over 113 is below average
- Over 56 Under 88 bpm excellent, 88-97 good, over 114 below average
- Women
- Aged 46-55 Under 95 bpm excellent, 94-104 good, over 123 below average
- Over 56 Under 95 bpm excellent, 95-107 good, over 124 below average
2. Press-ups
The aim is simple: do as many press-ups as you can. While press-ups have been used as a measure of physical fitness for decades, the scores for this test were set in 2019 by the Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology.
What to do
Place your hands just wider than shoulder width apart on the floor, legs extended straight behind you, feet together.
Keeping your body in a straight line from head to heels, bend your elbows, keeping them about 45 degrees from your torso, and lower your body until your chest is as close to the floor as you can manage.
Push through your palms to straighten your arms and return to the start. Continue without rest until you can’t maintain proper form or your muscles give out.
What is a good score?
- Men
- Aged 40-49 13-16 press-ups is good
- Aged 50-59 10-12 is good
- Aged 60-69 8-10 is good
- Women
- Aged 40-49 11-14 press-ups is good
- Aged 50-59 7-10 is good
- Aged 60-69 5-11 is good
3. Squats
Do as many consecutive squats as possible. Squat to failure tests have been around for decades and there’s no single widely used scoring system. But this is why we recommend this simple one.
What to do
Stand with feet slightly wider than hip-width apart and toes turned slightly out. Keeping your back straight and chest up, move your weight back into your heels, pushing your hips back, as if you’re about to sit down.
Lower yourself as far as you can without rounding your torso forward. Keeping your core engaged, return to standing. Continue until you can do no more squats with good form.
What is a good score?
- Men
- Aged 40–49 More than 29 squats is good, less than 20 is below average
- Aged 50-59 More than 26 is good, less than 17 is below average
- Over 60 21-23 is good, less than 14 is below average
- Women
- Aged 40-49 21-23 squats is good, less than 14 is below average
- Aged 50-59 More than 20 is good, less than 11 below average
- Over 60 15-17 is good, less than 8 is below average
4. Beep test
The beep test, also known as the multi-stage fitness test (MSFT), is a running test used to assess a person’s aerobic capacity. It is a good (and simple) marker of overall fitness.
What to do
It involves running between two lines, typically 20 metres apart, in time with a series of beeps that progressively increase in frequency, forcing the participant to run faster. There are 21 levels.
What is a good score?
- Healthy Adults
- Average: Stage 7-10
- Good: 11+ (women), 13+ (men)
- Teenagers
- Average: 6-8
- Good: 7+ (girls), 10+ (boys)
- Competitive Athletes
- Scores can be significantly higher, with some reaching level 16.
5. Single leg balance test
What to do
A simple balance test is the Single-Leg Balance Test, where you try to stand on one leg. You should stand near a wall or chair for support, but try not to touch it. Time how long you can hold the position with your eyes open.
This test is especially useful in older adults.
What is a good score?
If you can stand for 30 seconds, you have good balance (and strength). If you can do a minute, that is very good; and 1.5 minutes is excellent. Whilst struggling to stand for 5-10 seconds may indicate a higher risk of falling.
