Back in my first blog post I spoke about needing a better definition of fitness, one that is all encompassing, scientifically measurable and broad in it's application - we'll explore the scientifically measurable aspect in this post.
Every workout my athletes perform I ensure that they are timed and recorded, but why is that? Let's take a closer look with an example.
One of my benchmark workouts is 100 burpees for time. Let's say the first time you do this workout you are able to complete it in 10mins. Then three months later you repeat this workout and you can now complete it in 8mins. That means in three months you have increased your fitness by 20%! That is an observable, measurable, and repeatable fact. Your fitness is no longer an opinion, it's now backed by data - data that is indisputable.
This scientific method is able to be applied to all types of workouts. Here is another example: 4 rounds of: 400m run and 10 deadlifts at 100kgs. Let's say that the first time you do this it takes you 8min 45sec. Six months later you decide you want to try it again but you feel 100kgs is too light for you now, so you increase the weight to 120kgs. You then complete the workout in exactly the same amount of time, 8:45. Here again you are 20% fitter because although the time remained the same you have increased the weight.
Another bonus of timing your workouts is that you can compare your level of fitness to anyone else in the world that does the exact same workout. Taking the burpee example again, let's say your competing with a friend on the other side of the world and they complete 100 burpees in 13mins. You can then safely say you are better at that particular workout, but it doesn't mean you are fitter!
Remember that our definition of fitness encompasses many elements and to the best way to compare fitness is do complete a set of workouts that cover as many of those elements, if not all. Then you will have an accurate measure of your fitness and then you can compare yourself to anyone else in the world.
Here is a simple three step method to accurately measure your fitness:
- Time your workout
- Record your results - this includes time, weights, reps, or what ever you did
- Repeat your workout and compare your results
Give it a go and I'd love to hear your results!
Coach rmk
0416 494 668 | coachrmk.com | instagram
