Everything you need for your fitness assessment is right here.

Before getting started:

1. Consult your physician and let them know you are commencing an exercise regime (or beginning a new one that may be of higher intensity than you are accustomed to).

2. Ensure that during the warm up, strength training, or cardiovascular components of the routine, you remember that the objective is to work hard; however, always with proper form and under safe conditions. Muscles that ‘burn’ may be part of the process, but pain, intense discomfort, feeling lightheaded, nausea or other potentially harmful side effects of exercise are signs that you need to stop or may be doing something wrong. Utilize your team of experts in our At Home blog, and never force yourself through painful or harmful movements as you may face an increased risk of injury or worse.

3. Write down a list of your goals.

4. Check out www.calgaryherald.com/healthclub regularly for info on how contestants are doing their pre- and post- measurements to gauge their progress over 12 weeks, and for tips from the pros on exercise, nutrition, goal setting, and much more to help you make the changes you want.

Take the At Home Fitness Self Assessment:

1. Determine your fitness level in a few areas by taking our at-home fitness assessment (below). Should any test cause you pain in your joints, back, or other areas you do not feel is normal muscle discomfort brought on by exertion, discontinue the test immediately and consult your physician or message our experts for advice on what to do.

Warm-up

Walk 3 – 5 minutes at a brisk pace to feel your body temperature and breathing rate increase. 5 – 10 arm circles in each direction to loosen up the shoulders, and 5 gentle torso rotations in each direction should suffice. If certain muscles feel very tight prior to commencing the assessment, specific stretches for those areas should be done prior to the assessment. Stretches for every major muscle can be found at www.calgaryherald.com/healthclub

Upper Body Assessment: Push Up test

Perform as many push ups from the hands and toes as possible. Hands should be placed under the shoulders, and the body should be lowered at least until the elbow forms a 90 degree angle. Ensure the back doesn’t arch; there is no rest allowed between repetitions. There is no time limit: perform as many as you can with proper form and no rest. Inhale (breathe in) as you lower your chest and body to the ground, and exhale (breathe out) as you press your body back up away from the ground.

Lower Body Assessment: Squats

Perform as many body weight squats as you can in 1 minute. Each repetition should be completed by lowering through the hips and knees until the top/front of your thighs is parallel with the ground. Inhale (breathe in) as you lower into the squat and exhale (breathe out) as you stand back up.

Midsection (core) Assessment: Side Bridge

Lie on your side, supporting your body with your forearm and the side of your feet. Lift your hips up and have your entire body in a straight line supported only by your forearm and feet (stacked on top of one another).

Cardiovascular Assessment: 12 minute walk or run (3 minute step test)

12 minute walk or run: this test is most easily performed on a treadmill. Record starting distance, and record finish distance.

3 minute step test

Using an aerobic step or standard home stairs (bottom stair only), perform as many step ups as possible in three minutes. Each step consists of stepping up onto the stair with one leg, then the other so both feet are on the stair, then down with the first leg, then the second (up, up, down, down =

1. See the reference ranges found at www.calgaryherald.com/healthclub to determine what fitness level, and thus the fitness routine, you should be using for the cardiovascular portion of your program.

2.Find your program in our Health Club section or online at www.calgaryherald.com/healthclub. Follow your program just like a calendar or to-do list; each workout counts and the consistency of your workouts is every bit as important as how hard you work and using the proper form.

5. Remember, you'll need to use this assessment not just at the beginning of your journey, but you can also use it later in the process, to give yourself an idea of how far you've come and whether you need to change your program.Complete the at-home assessment on the same day every month to ensure that if you are progressing your fitness level, your routine becomes more challenging. This is critical to ensure you prevent a plateau in your results after initial success.

It’s important that your program is progressive in nature and changes regularly, or else your body will adopt to what you are doing and you will see less results than if you vary what you do and progress the intensity as you make changes.