Vo2 Max Test

Throughout the course of this class I have had the opportunity to learn about the physiology of the human body and many different ways that can be used to measure one’s physical fitness level. In order to determine one’s fitness level, multiple tests can be performed to test different aspects of ones fitness and when these tests are combined together can be used to assess one’s overall fitness level. Coming into this class I was unsure of my fitness level and the areas in which I needed to improve, but I figured that my numbers wouldn’t be too terrible since I got to the gym about 3 times a week and spend a great deal of time walking. Taking all of these into consideration I went ahead and tried to assess my fitness level by conducting the

following tests VO2max, muscular endurance, flexibility, hand grip strength, and skin folds.
When determining one’s overall fitness level it is important to conduct multiple tests in order to assess all aspects of fitness such as weight, strength, and flexibility, which are all key components of fitness.

The first test performed was the VO2 Max test, which tests one’s aerobic capacity by using the 1 ½ mile run test to determine maximal oxygen consumption and for myself my VO2max was 34ml/kg/min which places me in the poor category. Next a muscular endurance test was completed to measure the ability to perform a repeated muscle action utilizing the same muscle and to achieve this a push up test was done in which I was able to perform 15 pushups consecutively, which is about average for those my age. After the muscle endurance test a flexibility test was performed using a sit and reach test, which determined that my flexibility places me in the range of 41-60% of my age group, which was a little bit better than my body strength score. To determine overall body strength a handgrip strength test was performed which placed my in the 43rd percentile. Lastly a skin fold test was done to determine the percentage of body fat, which unfortunately revealed that my body fat percentage was about 30%, which according to a chart online places me in the average category for my age

group.
After looking at these numbers I was very sad and yet excited to see that some improvements needed to be made. In all of the categories I either placed average or poor, which is ok because that gives me some incentive to improve them by changing by diet and exercise routines. In order to improve my VO2max I plan on not only increasing my speed, but also I plan on spending more time outdoors running instead of on a treadmill and to improve muscular strength, flexibility, and body strength I plan on spending more time weight training, as well as, trying some yoga. Hopefully by making these changing I will not only get into better shape, but my percentage of body fat will drop, thus improving my overall fitness level.