(art 1
Cardio Test
0 Tim e how long it takes to w alk or
ru n a m ile. Go a s quickly a s you can,
w h e th e r th a t m ean s w alking, doing a
run-w alk com bo, o r jogging. M ap o u t
y o u r tim ing b y u sin g th e tim er o n y o u r
m obile p h o n e an d u sin g a local m ile
trac k an d ru n n in g th e loop once.
D id y o u f in is h in
A. 10 m in u tes o r less?
B. 10.1 to 17.5 m inutes?
C. m o re th a n 17.5 m inutes?
T im e y o u rself to see how long
y o u can d o ju m p in g jacks, keeping
a pace o f o n e jack p e r seco n d . Stop
w h en you can n o longer m ain tain
th a t pace.
W h a t w a s y o u r tim e ?
A. M ore th a n 90 seco n d s
B. 60 to 90 seco n d s
C. L ess th a n 60 se co n d s
R est for 30 se co n d s im m ediately
a fte r finishing th e ju m p in g jacks;
check y o u r h e a rt rate. (P ress y o u r
m iddle an d index fingers below
y o u r w rist o n y o u r in n e r arm .
C o u n t th e n u m b e r o f b e a ts you
feel for 10 seco n d s, th e n m ultiply
th a t n u m b e r b y 6 to get th e to ta l
b e a ts p e r m in u te.) If y o u r h e a rt
ra te is above 120, rep e at th is te s t
o n e m in u te post-jacks. C ontinue to
check a t 30-second intervals u n til it
d ro p s to 120.
H o w lo n g d id it ta k e to go d o w n
to 120 b e a t s p e r m in u te ?
A. L ess th a n a m in u te
B. 1 to 2 m in u tes
C. M ore th a n 2 m in u tes
0 Go u p four flights of stairs (betw een 12 and 14 step s each) as fast as you
can. If y o u h av e only one s e t o f stairs, ru n up, th e n quickly—b u t carefully—
w alk dow n an d re p e a t fo r a to ta l o f fo u r tim es u p th e stairs.
H o w d id y o u fe e l w h e n y o u g o t to th e to p o f th e s t a ir s
f o r th e l a s t tim e ?
A. T otally fine. B ring o n m ore stairs!
B. A little w inded, b u t I could have a co n v ersatio n if I w an te d to.
C. So o u t of b re a th th a t I couldn’t sa y tw o w o rd s if I tried.
How’d you do?
M o stly As: C ardio-w ise,
yo u are o n e in -sh ap e
w om an. D on’t sto p now!
M o stly Bs: You’re p re tty
aerobically fit, b u t keep m oving
to g et ev e n h ealthier.
M o stly Cs: T h e re ’s ro o m for
im p ro v e m en t, b u t n o w o rries
really! See h o w to rea ch y o u r
goals,
below.
Want to improve
your cardio?
S c o re d m o stly As: T ry
in te rv al train in g to b o o st y o u r
en d u ra n ce. It w o rk s w ith any
fo rm of card io (ru nning, biking,
etc.): s ta rt w ith y o u r u su a l pace,
th e n a d d th re e 15-second all-out
sp rin ts, sp a ce d th ro u g h o u t a
th re e -m in u te w o rk o u t. A fter
ea ch w eek, am p u p y o u r sp rin t
o r to ta l w o rk o u t tim e.
S c o re d m o stly Bs: Build
e n d u ra n c e b y fo cu ssin g o n th e
in te n sity of y o u r w o rk o u ts.
If y o u u su ally ex ercise a t a
5 o r 6 o n a scale o f 1 to 10, aim
fo r a 7 o r a n 8. O r try w alking a t
a n inclined ro ad in ste a d of flat
p a th s, in c re asin g th e level o n
th e sta tio n a ry bike, o r picking
u p th e overall p ace of w h ate v er
h e a rt-p u m p in g activ ity y o u do.
S c o re d m o stly Cs: B eginners
sh o u ld sh o o t fo r a t le ast
30 m in u te s of activ ity p e r
day, five day s a w eek. Stick
to a m o d e ra te -in te n sity p ace
to h elp b o o st y o u r fitn e ss level
w ith o u t fo rcin g to o m u c h to o
so o n o n yourself.
