Try to complete the first level of the HealthAndFitnessAdvice.com Conditioning Gauntlet.
I don’t believe in using the scale as a measure of a person’s fitness. I don’t care how much someone weighs and don’t view weight loss as being an improvement to a person’s fitness level. Performance and capability is what rules the day and is all that matters when measuring the success of a fitness program.
Over 20 years as a personal trainer and coach I have developed a “Conditioning Gauntlet” that I use with my clients and kids that I coach. The Gauntlet is split into 2 sections; the first section consists of pull-ups, push-ups, sit-ups, 60-yard shuttle runs and the broad jump, the second section consists of the split jerk, squat, military press, dead lift and snatch.
I use different guidelines for men and women, and there are 2 levels for each section that reflect difficulty and conditioning level.
Here’s level 1 of the first section of the HealthAndFitnessAdvice.com Conditioning Gauntlet for women.
- Pull-ups – 1 set of 3 repetitions
- Push-ups – 1 set of 25 repetitions
- Sit-ups – 1 set of 45 repetitions
- Broad jump – 7 feet (best of 3 jumps)
- 60-yard shuttle runs – complete 8 in 14 seconds (or under) each taking 46 seconds rest in between shuttles
Being able to perform any one of these tasks means you’re probably in pretty good shape, especially the shuttle runs. However, any woman – of any age – who can complete these tasks consecutively is in very good shape. When attempting to complete the Gauntlet allow plenty of time for a general warm up and do an abbreviated set of each “event,” and give yourself no more than 3-minutes in between exercises.
A word to the wise; don’t try to complete this test until you have actually worked on these events. The shuttle run portion of the Gauntlet is extremely difficult – even for people who are in pretty good cardiovascular shape – and unless you’ve taken time and worked up to the 8 shuttles you will struggle mightily.
The HealthAndFitnessAdvice.com Conditioning Gauntlet provides an accurate measure of your fitness level and any woman who can complete this test – regardless of what the scale says – is in very good shape.
