Unless you’ve had the motivation to lock yourself in a home gym during lockdown, or your regular gym has switched to an online model which you’ve subscribed to – or outdoor boot camps – you’re probably going to come out of it less fit than when you went in. We know that will most definitely be the case for us here at DMARGE because despite having some gym equipment at home, bars of chocolate and doughnuts have been far too tempting.
So before you head back to your gym when the restrictions ease even further (a date hasn’t been set in stone just yet, but we’re hoping it will be soon) you may want to gauge where you are in terms of fitness. After all, you wouldn’t want to try completing your regular treadmill run or bench press, only to find your body is no longer capable.
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Personal trainer and avid Instagram user Pete O’Reilly has put together a simple bodyweight test that you can easily do in the comfort of your own home, to give you a rough idea of how fit you are. There are four exercises to complete, with each one being given beginner, intermediate and advanced tiers of goals to hit, whether it be time to carry out the exercise or number of reps.
The four exercises and their tiers are:
- Bodyweight Squats: Beginner – less than 20; Intermediate – 20 – 40; Advanced – 40 or more
- Plank Hold: Beginner – Less than 60 seconds; Intermediate – 60 – 120 seconds; Advanced – 120 seconds or more
- Burpees: Beginner – Less than 20; Intermediate – 20 – 30; Advanced – 30 or more
- Push-ups:
- Men – Beginner – Less than 25; Intermediate – 26 – 39; Advanced – 40 or more
- Women – Beginner – Less than 15; Intermediate – 16 – 24; Advanced – 25 or more
Pete says you should aim to complete the exercises in a maximum of 12 minutes, but ideally less, meaning three minutes per exercise and one minute per set. You’ll, therefore, want to aim to complete each set in less than one minute to factor in some rest time.
Alternatively, you could smash one of the exercises out the park, squats, for example, leaving you more time to complete the burpees (one of the worst exercises to do, we’re sure you’ll agree, but one that is incredibly good for you).
Once you’re done, tally up your scores to give a cumulative score and an approximate indication of your fitness level.
No cheating.