What does it measure?
Cardiovascular fitness \u2014 the lower your heart rate afterwards, the better. \u201cThe 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,\u201d explains Uzo Ehiogu, clinical specialist physiotherapist at the Royal Orthopaedic Hospital in Birmingham. A 12-inch step works best \u2014 the bottom step on your stairs at home should suffice. You\u2019ll also need a stopwatch and a metronome to help you step in time. \u201cYou can get a free metronome app on your phone,\u201d Ehiogu says.<\/p>\n
![\"Antonia](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/\/b3e0c376-f800-4985-ab38-2aae4077eb68.jpg\")
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The three-minute step test<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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<\/p>\n
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<\/p>\n
What if that\u2019s 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\u2019re making progress.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Help! Am I becoming a midlife fitness bore?<\/a><\/p>\n How can I improve my score? 2. Press-ups<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n What does it measure? \u2022 Fast fitness for the over 40s<\/a><\/p>\n What to do What does your score reveal? Women Ehiogu says these scores are \u201cambitious\u201d \u2014 if you can only do two consecutive press-ups now and increase that to five after two months\u2019 practice, consider it a win.<\/p>\n What if that\u2019s too hard? How can I improve my score? \u2022 Can ChatGPT get you fit? Our expert put it to the test<\/a><\/p>\n 3. Squats to failure<\/p>\n Do as many consecutive squats as possible. Squat to failure tests have been around for decades and there\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n Antonia Hoyle doing squats<\/p>\n ANDREW FOX FOR THE TIMES<\/p>\n What does it measure? What to do What does your score reveal?<\/p>\n Men Women What if that\u2019s too hard? How can I improve my score? \u2022 How to exercise for one minute and live longer<\/a><\/p>\n 4. Single leg calf raises<\/p>\n Complete as many single leg calf raises as you can. Again, there\u2019s no standard scoring system \u2014 the scores for this test are taken from a study in the Brazilian Journal of Physical Therapy this year \u2014 but \u201cit\u2019s been a staple test for many years in sports medicine and physiotherapy\u201d, Ehiogu says.<\/p>\n What does it measure? What to do What does your score reveal?<\/p>\n Men Women What if that\u2019s too hard?
To boost your overall cardio aim to walk for at least 30 minutes a day, Ehiogu says. \u201cIf that\u2019s 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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\u2019t maintain proper form or your muscles give out.<\/p>\n
Men
Aged 40-49 13-16 press-ups is good
Aged 50-59 10-12 is good
Aged 60-69 8-10 is good<\/p>\n
Aged 40-49 11-14 press-ups is good
Aged 50-59 7-10 is good
Aged 60-69 5-11 is good<\/p>\n
You\u2019re normal. \u201cMost people will need to modify [their press-ups],\u201d Ehiogu says. Put your knees on the floor to reduce the load you\u2019re lifting or, for less load still, track your progress with wall press-ups \u2014 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.<\/p>\n
Ehiogu suggests box press-ups to help strengthen triceps and pectoral muscles, which are key to successful press-ups. \u201cWith 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.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"Antonia](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/\/fdc7375c-05b2-47f0-be39-877e3b7b52bc.jpg\")
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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 \u2014 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.<\/p>\n
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\u2019re 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.<\/p>\n
Aged 40\u201349 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<\/p>\n
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<\/p>\n
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. \u201cThe chair almost acts as a psychological crutch,\u201d Ehiogu says.<\/p>\n
Do more squats! It\u2019s 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. \u201cLie 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,\u201d Ehiogu says.<\/p>\n
Calf endurance and strength \u2014 key to your ability to walk, run and jump. \u201cYou\u2019re probably lifting about 90 per cent of your body weight every time you go up and down,\u201d Ehiogu says of calf raises. It\u2019s also an indicator of ankle stability and brain function, as studies suggest that greater calf strength can enhance blood flow to the brain \u2014 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.<\/p>\n![\"Antonia](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/\/1d124790-f4fc-4e4d-a51b-8548068a524b.jpg\")
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Stand on one leg, the other slightly bent so it doesn\u2019t 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 \u2014 do it too quickly and you\u2019re using momentum rather than muscle strength to lift. Do this until you can complete no more with good form.<\/p>\n
Aged 40-49 The average is 30 calf raises
Aged 50-59 The average is 26
Over 60 The average is 22<\/p>\n
Aged 40-49 The average is 24 calf raises
Aged 50-59 The average is 20
Over 60 The average is 17<\/p>\n
Ehiogu instructs his patients to rest a couple of fingers on the wall for support \u201cbecause I\u2019m more interested in how strong their calf is than their balance\u201d. If that\u2019s still too hard, rest one or both hands on the wall.<\/p>\n
![\"Antonia](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/\/4883a610-a4f0-466d-b439-a92a0ef4b278.jpg\")
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