15Nov12: Thursday BONUS post.

Bonus WOD.   If you've made it this far, here is what to improve stamina and/or burn some calories

Warm up-
10 Rounds
Row 250m
25 Push ups (make them perfect)

Conditioning-
3 RFT
10 Box Jumps (24/20")
15 Pull ups
20 GHDs
25 KBs (2/1.5)

Yes, i made this one up.  BUT the word of the day here is 'unbroken'  Pick numbers/loads so you can do these UNBROKEN......   Dial up the intensity on this one and embrace the suck. 






If you look at this, I think the majority of us (if not all) are scoring 3s and 4s.  So we stack up pretty good!   Feel good about yourself for say 30s, then get back to work!

 

Where do you stack up?

If someone asked you what your fitness level was, what would you tell them?  Beginner?  Advanced?  Somewhere in the middle?  Those terms are all well and good, but a bit vague, don’t ya think?  Wouldn’t it be better to really know where you stood?  For one, you’d be able to find fitness programs that were a much better fit for you.  Isn’t annoying when you start a workout and realize 10 minutes in, it was made for someone who considers a mile run a serious workout?  On the flip side, it always a bit de-moralizing when you’ve got to quit your workout early because one more burpee will probably have you running to the bathroom to puke everywhere?
Not only will figuring out where you stand help you choose better and more appropriate workouts, but it’ll help you gauge your progress.  Too many people fall into the same routine because they can’t tell if they’re making any progress.  You’ll have no idea if all the work you’re putting in is getting you anywhere if you don’t have a baseline to compare to.  This is why I’m going to give you a baseline fitness abilities test that I use with all of my clients.  This test was designed to measure all of your most vital fitness skill sets and show you how you stack up.  From there, I can recommend programs that are better suited to you and your abilities, thus making our workouts even more effective for you.  So without further adieu, let’s check these quick fitness tests out…

1. Max Burpees in 1 minute.  This one is pretty simple.  Perform one full minute of burpees, counting each rep.  1-8 = 1 point.  9-16 = 2 points.  17-24 = 3 points. 25+ = 4 points.
2. 1 Mile run.  Oh yes..the mile run.  How many are immediately taken back to grade school here?  A mile is a perfect gauge of mid-distance endurance and will let you how you’re cardiovascular system is doing.  13+ minutes = 1 point.  10-12:59 = 2 points. 7-9:59 = 3 points. Sub 7 minutes =4 points.
3. Max Squat.  You’ll need to be careful here not to injure yourself; we’re just looking for a ball park.  The 1 rep max squat is a great testament to your body strength.  As you may know, the squat targets a wide variety of muscles in your lower body, giving you a good overall sense of your lower strength.  50% of your bodyweight = 1 point.  100% of your bodyweight = 2 points.  150% of your bodyweight = 3 points.  150%+ of your bodyweight = 4 points. 
4. Max Bench Press.  Definitely grab a spotter for this one.  Like the squat, we want to see how much weight you can press in one repetition.  The bench press, while no means the best indicator of total fitness ability, despite claims by meatheads everywhere, provides a good gauge of your upper body strength.  0-40% of your bodyweight = 1 point.  41-80% of your bodyweight = 2 points.  81-120% of your bodyweight = 3 points.  121%+ of your bodyweight = 4 points. 
5. Jump Rope skips in 1 minute.  This one is going to test not only your endurance, but your speed, agility, and muscular endurance in both your upper body and lower.  Go for max skips in minute and be sure to count each jump once.  0-40 skips = 1 point.  41-80 skips = 2 points. 81-120 skips = 3 points.  121+ skips = 4 points.
6. Max Plank Hold.  Time to take things down to the ground and see how that core strength is doing.  We’re going to test your ability to hold a plank, so simply get into position, keep good form (hips level and square to the ground), and hold until the burn overtakes you.  0-30 seconds = 1 point.  31-60 seconds = 2 points. 61-90 seconds 3 points.91+seconds = 4 points.
7. Max Box Jumps in 1 minute on ~18 inch box. Feel free to use a bench or box for this one, just make sure its right about 18 inches.  Start the timer and see how many reps you can knock out.  This one tests your ability to perform during plyometric exercise which is a good gauge of your explosive power and fast-twitch muscle endurance.  0-12 jumps = 1 point.  13-20 jumps = 2 points. 21-28 jumps = 3 points. 28+ jumps = 4 points.
8. Max Clean and Press in 1 minute.  For the weight on this one, use 50% of your bodyweight.  This fitness test is going to determine how well you perform high-intensity muscular endurance exercises with an aerobic element.  In other words, how will your muscles perform when you’re gasping for air?  Use proper form and go for max number of reps in 1 minute.  0-6 reps = 1 point. 7-12 reps = 2 points. 13-19 reps = 3 points. 20+ reps = 4 points.

Needless to say, you’re going to want to split these fitness tests up and perform them on different days to determine your true potential.  Having said that, and now that I think about it, this could probably pretty easily be turned into a killer circuit style workout.  Give me a little while and I’ll see what I can do here, but for our purposes today, let’s just focus on using this to test our abilities.
Once you’ve completed them all, it’s time to figure out how you stack up.  Make a note on your performance of each exercise, then compare to the guidelines below…