How to measure general fitness

Z

zonkbaby

0
Hi guys,
I am a recent convert from cycling to gym and am struggling to find decent ways to measure the changes to my fitness levels.

Whereas with cycling, I could simply compare my performance (time) week by week and get a solid understanding of any improvements, I am struggling to do the same with gym.

I mainly attend Spin classes (4 per week). Whilst I try to be consistent with the resistance I am using, it is obviously not an exact process. Also, because of the closed environment (compared to outside) it is also difficult to know how hard I am pushing myself.

The obvious answer is that I need a heartrate monitor, but is this all I need? Put simply, is analysing heartrate during the course of an activity sufficient to measure fitness? The answer to this question will probably lead to further questions, so here are some:
1) Everyone I speak to unanimously recommends Polar as a brand. Are there other viable alternatives?
2) In terms of features, what are the Must Haves?
3) The typical exercise machine at gym measures estimated calories burnt. Is this calculation based on heartrate alone? Can I measure it myself?

Any suggestions appreciated.

Thanks :)
 
What exactly are you trying to analyse at the gym? weight lifting, swimming, or as i assume treadmill (or stationary bike).

Using a heart rate monitor would at best be sufficient for general fitness, its not as accurate as other more advanced methods.

- As far as im concerned polar ones are one of the best.

- Must haves..hmmmm hr :p stop watch etc, im sure the watches include everything you would need.

- To get a good measure of your fitness from your hr. You can incorporate incremental inceases in work. For example on level 1 resistance bike for 4 minutes and record heart rate, resistance 2 after 4 minutes record heart rate ect. If you get these results you can plot it on a graph and the plateu will be aprrox. yoru vo2 max.

Otherwise try out this prediction equation for your vo2 max.

15.1 + 13.55 * SPEED (km/hr) - 0.327 * final HR (bpm) - 0.163 * SPEED (km/hr) * AGE (yr) + 0.00504 * Final HR * AGE + 5.98 * gender

(Male - 1. Female - 0)
 
Fitness differs from person to person. For some, fitness means simply walking from his car to the office. Granted, for someone who likes to do more than that it would indicate a poor level of fitness. So with that said, you should define your own level of fitness. Of course, if you're trying to join something, then you should compare your fitness level with the requirements of that organization. Back to my example, someone who is only able to walk from his car to work would probably do poorly in trying to get a job with the fire department. So basically, if you got nothing to compare to, then simply ask yourself if you feel you're at the level you wish to be.

As far as heart rate, it's a poor way of measuring fitness. If someone been doing a certain physical activity for an extended period of time, your body becomes used to the level of activity. Therefore, your heart rate would be much lower compared to someone who never done that activity before. As far as fitness level, it doesn't mean anything. An obese person who has been running outside could have a low heart rate compared to someone who isn't obese.

But I agree the best heart monitor would be polar. I have one. It also comes with a timer and all that good stuff. Another good thing I recommend is a pedometer that you can adjust your walking/running distance. All you do is measure ten steps and divide by 10 to get your measurement of each step - plug that into the pedometer and you can get a good amount on the distance you walk/run.
 
Thanks for the information so far.

I guess the issue for me probably relates back to motivation. The bulk of the exercise I do is gym based. I find gym-based exercise significantly more boring than, say, cycling. However, for reasons outside my control, I am unable to cycle on the roads/track/offroad.
In order to make things more interesting to me, I would like to keep track of the statistical improvements to my health (heart-rate, weight loss etc), as this is likely to be the best way to keep me motivated to go to gym frequently.

Take today for example. I went to a cycle class. 50 minutes of varying intensity. I left feeling like I had a pretty solid workout. I felt the same yesterday after a similar class. I am assuming that over time, I will be able to push myself harder/faster during similar classes. And assuming I push myself to the same capacity, I should feel the same after each class. But I suspect that my heartrate will be similar for all classes... it is my pedal speed, or bicycle resistance that is changing. So, measuring heartrate alone in these circumstances is not going to tell me anything. The cycle computers (if they existed on spin class bicycles) would give me information. Are there any watch functions on a Polar (or similar) watch that would also assist?

Apologies if I have waffled on... it is quite difficult to type my thoughts :)
 
First, I agree with the Polar products. I have a wristwatch HRM and one on my bike.

Second, the spinning classes are a poor way of comparing changes in your fitness because the resistance is analog - you have no way of knowing if you worked harder this time than the last. At my new gym, they have sophisticated bikes that remember your login information and previous performances. You are always competing against a "ghost rider" and your previous best. This does challenge you. Other bikes aren't this sophisticated but you can record your own personal bests for time, speed, and/or resistance.

Third, those machines do tend to overestimate calories burned by around 10 - 20%. On most machines they are not based on heart rate but by resistance and time.
 
Thanks for that mate. I see your point on the spinning classes. I might do some browsing around for a general fitness test and do that weekly.

Thanks everyone for your help
 
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