Whether you are new to fitness or a long-time member who needs to establish a baseline in order to set new goals for 2017, a Club Julian fitness assessment is a great way to start.

Schedule a Fitness Assessment photoClub Julian trainer Chelsea Cavlovic recommends fitness assessments for anyone starting a new workout routine at Club Julian, but particularly for older members or people who have been idle from exercise for a while. “It is important to identify your strengths and weaknesses,” says Trainer Chelsea. “From there, we can establish realistic short- and long-term goals and then trainers can customize a workout to meet your individual goals. The data from the assessment gives us a starting point, and that’s very important.”

The fitness assessment provides critical baseline data in these six areas:

Flexibility: The flexibility test, also known as the “sit and reach test,” determines hamstring and lower back flexibility. The participant will sit with their feet against a step and reach through their hamstrings, as far as they can, past their toes.

Muscular Endurance: This revolves around the Canadian Curl-Up test, which is basically how many properly performed sit-ups you can do in 60 seconds. It is designed to assess core strength by lifting your body weight against gravity.

Upper Body Strength: Upper body strength is usually tested on the upright bench press. The participant will perform reps until he or she maxes out, determining their 1-rep capacity fitness level in this area.

Lower Body Strength: The lower body test is done on the leg press machine. Much like the Upper Body Strength Test, participants max out on leg presses to determine 1-rep capacity in this area.

Cardio: The cardio test consists of a max-paced 1-mile walk preferably on a treadmill while your heart rate is being monitored. The BPM (Beats Per Minute) at the end of your mile combined with how long it took you to complete the mile factors into your score. This test is gender and age specific, and also accounts for a person’s weight. Older participants can opt for a half-mile walk.

Body Fat/Composition: A skin fold test uses either 3 or 7 sites on your body, depending on age and gender, to determine your body fat/composition, which is measured in millimeters.

Each component of the test is scored individually ranging from “Poor” to “Superior.” After all six of these tests are completed, a Club Julian trainer will analyze the results and determine the score in each area.

All of Club Julian personal trainers are qualified to conduct a fitness assessment. The tests can be done in a single one-hour training session and are available to all Club Julian members at no additional cost. Call (412) 366-1931 or visit the Trainer’s Desk today to schedule your fitness assessment today!