How fit are you really? Even if you’re an enthusiastic exerciser, the answer may surprise you. There are no end of complicated and costly new ways to measure your fitness, from wearable tech to VO₂ max testing with a metabolic cart, a device that precisely measures your aerobic capacity when exercising. But you don’t need to pay through the nose to assess your strength, mobility, balance and cardiovascular health. You can do it at home, free, with little or no equipment and tests that may have been around for decades but remain popular with fitness professionals — because they work. Here are five of the best home fitness tests. (If you have medical issues that may be affected by doing them, seek advice from your GP before attempting them.)
1. Three-minute step test
Based on a 1940s test designed to assess the fitness of American military personnel, this (easier) YMCA version, developed in the 1970s, simply requires you to step on and off a step for three minutes.
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What does it measure?
Cardiovascular fitness — the lower your heart rate afterwards, the better. “The fitter you are, the more efficient your heart is at pumping blood around your body and the faster you recover after a bout of exercise,” explains Uzo Ehiogu, clinical specialist physiotherapist at the Royal Orthopaedic Hospital in Birmingham. A 12-inch step works best — the bottom step on your stairs at home should suffice. You’ll also need a stopwatch and a metronome to help you step in time. “You can get a free metronome app on your phone,” Ehiogu says.
The three-minute step test
What to do
Set the metronome to 96 beats per minute (bpm) and step 24 times a minute for three minutes. On each beat move a foot: up right, up left, down right, down left counts as one step, or four beats. Immediately after you finish measure your pulse: place your index and middle fingers on the inside of your wrist (thumb side), find your pulse and measure its rate for 60 seconds. The resulting number is your heart rate in bpm.
What does your score reveal?
Men
Aged 46-55 Under 87 bpm is an excellent recovery heart rate, 87-96 is good, over 113 is below average
Over 56 Under 88 bpm excellent, 88-97 good, over 114 below average
Women
Aged 46-55 Under 95 bpm excellent, 94-104 good, over 123 below average
Over 56 Under 95 bpm excellent, 95-107 good, over 124 below average
What if that’s too hard?
Use a shallower step. This gives a less accurate measure of your cardiovascular fitness but, Ehiogu says, what matters most is that you test yourself at regular intervals using the same parameters. If your resting heart rate is dropping, no matter what the height of the step, you’re making progress.
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How can I improve my score?
To boost your overall cardio aim to walk for at least 30 minutes a day, Ehiogu says. “If that’s no longer challenging enough try jogging for one minute every two to three minutes, interspersed with two minutes of power walking. Repeat three to four times each walking session.”
2. Press-ups
The aim is simple: do as many press-ups as you can. While press-ups have been used as a measure of physical fitness for decades, the scores for this test were set in 2019 by the Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology.
What does it measure?
Muscle endurance and upper body strength, which most people lack, Ehiogu says. This is essential for posture, injury prevention and everyday function, whether carrying shopping or children.
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What to do
Place your hands just wider than shoulder width apart on the floor, legs extended straight behind you, feet together. Keeping your body in a straight line from head to heels, bend your elbows, keeping them about 45 degrees from your torso, and lower your body until your chest is as close to the floor as you can manage. Push through your palms to straighten your arms and return to the start. Continue without rest until you can’t maintain proper form or your muscles give out.
What does your score reveal?
Men
Aged 40-49 13-16 press-ups is good
Aged 50-59 10-12 is good
Aged 60-69 8-10 is good
Women
Aged 40-49 11-14 press-ups is good
Aged 50-59 7-10 is good
Aged 60-69 5-11 is good
Ehiogu says these scores are “ambitious” — if you can only do two consecutive press-ups now and increase that to five after two months’ practice, consider it a win.
What if that’s too hard?
You’re normal. “Most people will need to modify [their press-ups],” Ehiogu says. Put your knees on the floor to reduce the load you’re lifting or, for less load still, track your progress with wall press-ups — stand 2-3 feet from a wall, palms chest-high and shoulder-width apart against it, and bending your elbows, lower your chest to the wall.
How can I improve my score?
Ehiogu suggests box press-ups to help strengthen triceps and pectoral muscles, which are key to successful press-ups. “With your knees on the floor and hands in front of you lower yourself by bending your elbows. Aim for three sets of 8-10 three times a week.”
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3. Squats to failure
Do as many consecutive squats as possible. Squat to failure tests have been around for decades and there’s no single widely used scoring system, Ehiogu says. The scores for this test are from BrainMac Sports Coach, a fitness training programme website founded by Brian Mackenzie, a former British Athletics performance coach.
Antonia Hoyle doing squats
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What does it measure?
Lower body strength. Essential for walking, lifting, fall prevention, walking up and down stairs and getting out of chairs, Ehiogu says. Squats are also an indicator of core strength — a 2018 study in the Journal of Human Kinetics found that weighted squats activated core muscles that support the back more efficiently than the plank.
What to do
Stand with feet slightly wider than hip-width apart and toes turned slightly out. Keeping your back straight and chest up, move your weight back into your heels, pushing your hips back, as if you’re about to sit down. Lower yourself as far as you can without rounding your torso forward. Keeping your core engaged, return to standing. Continue until you can do no more squats with good form.
What does your score reveal?
Men
Aged 40–49 More than 29 squats is good, less than 20 is below average
Aged 50-59 More than 26 is good, less than 17 is below average
Over 60 21-23 is good, less than 14 is below average
Women
Aged 40-49 21-23 squats is good, less than 14 is below average
Aged 50-59 More than 20 is good, less than 11 below average
Over 60 15-17 is good, less than 8 is below average
What if that’s too hard?
Sit on a chair, feet flat on the floor and slightly wider than shoulder-width apart, and stand up, keeping your back straight and core engaged. Lower to starting position. “The chair almost acts as a psychological crutch,” Ehiogu says.
How can I improve my score?
Do more squats! It’s as simple as that. Aim to build up to three sets of 12 three times a week, Ehiogu recommends. Or to strengthen glutes, which are also important for a squat, try the bridge. “Lie flat on your back, arms by your side, bending your knees, feet flat on the floor, hip-width apart. Lift your hips until your knees, hips and shoulders form a straight line. Hold at the top, squeezing your glutes. Lower and repeat. Try three sets of 8-12,” Ehiogu says.
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4. Single leg calf raises
Complete as many single leg calf raises as you can. Again, there’s no standard scoring system — the scores for this test are taken from a study in the Brazilian Journal of Physical Therapy this year — but “it’s been a staple test for many years in sports medicine and physiotherapy”, Ehiogu says.
What does it measure?
Calf endurance and strength — key to your ability to walk, run and jump. “You’re probably lifting about 90 per cent of your body weight every time you go up and down,” Ehiogu says of calf raises. It’s also an indicator of ankle stability and brain function, as studies suggest that greater calf strength can enhance blood flow to the brain — a study of older Chinese people in the journal Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience in June discovered a correlation between smaller calf size and poorer brain function.
What to do
Stand on one leg, the other slightly bent so it doesn’t touch the ground. Rise onto the ball of the foot as high as possible. Lower the heel back down. Repeat at a rate of about one raise every two seconds — do it too quickly and you’re using momentum rather than muscle strength to lift. Do this until you can complete no more with good form.
What does your score reveal?
Men
Aged 40-49 The average is 30 calf raises
Aged 50-59 The average is 26
Over 60 The average is 22
Women
Aged 40-49 The average is 24 calf raises
Aged 50-59 The average is 20
Over 60 The average is 17
What if that’s too hard?
Ehiogu instructs his patients to rest a couple of fingers on the wall for support “because I’m more interested in how strong their calf is than their balance”. If that’s still too hard, rest one or both hands on the wall.
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How can I improve my score?
“If you’re a beginner try seated calf raises — sit on a chair with your knees bent and lift your heels,” Ehiogu says. Try three sets of 8-10 every other day. “For the already fit, incorporate single leg calf raises while holding a 5-10kg weight into your exercise regime — both are good for building calf strength,” he adds.
5. ‘Old man’ balance test
The objective is to put on a sock and shoe while standing on your other leg — an exercise taken from a battery of different physio tests, Ehiogu says. Different versions of this test have been around for decades but Chris Hinshaw, an endurance coach, went viral on social media with this adaptation in 2021.
What does it measure?
Mobility and balance, which decline with age and are essential to prevent falls and lower the risk of fractured bones. Last year research in the journal Aging and Disease found that “people over the age of 75 tend to have higher rates of balance disorders”. Hinshaw describes his test as the “decider of whether or not you’re still in the game”.
What to do
Place a sock and shoe (with laces) on the floor in front of you. Standing barefoot on one leg, lean forward to pick up the sock and put it on your elevated foot. Then pick up the shoe and put it on the socked foot, and tie the laces. You must keep the elevated foot off the floor until the laces are tied. Repeat on the other leg.
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What does your score reveal?
Hinshaw doesn’t give a time to complete the test — simply being able to complete it is an achievement — but Ehiogu says you should aim to put just the sock on in less than 20 seconds. “Under 15 seconds is very good.”
What if that’s too hard?
Start by just trying to put the sock on, or use a slip-on shoe, or don’t tie the laces.
How can I improve my score?
“Stand on one leg at least once a day and repeat with the other leg,” Ehiogu says. “Start with 20 seconds and try to work your way up to a minute.”