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This video contains audio so please put on your headphones so we can talk you through
it.
For those of you who do not have access to sound, or have trouble hearing, we have subtitles
for your convenience.
Hello, this short video will explain how to carry out our walking fitness test. You will
be able to find out how fit you are compared with other people and you’ll be able to
measure and monitor your progress as you do more and more walking and get fitter and fitter.
Now walking is the safest form of exercise you can do, in fact it’s probably safer
to walk than it is to lie down on the sofa and be a bit lazy. But we would advise you
fill in the health questionnaire which you can find on the website and if you answer
‘yes’ to any of the questions, then before you start to increase you exercise, go and
discuss it with your own doctor.
To take the test you will need you’ll need one mile flat route, you can find plenty of
those on our website.
You’ll also need a watch with a second hand or you can use a clock or stop watch function
on a mobile phone.
And you’ll need a pen and paper to note down the time it takes you to complete the
mile and the pulse rate at the end of the test.
We’ll also need to know your weight in kilos, stones or pounds, so you can put that into
the fitness calculator on the website.
When you walk the mile, walk it as fast as you comfortably can without being out of breath,
you should still be able to talk.
At the end of the test you’re going to take your pulse rate of 10 seconds and we’ll
explain how to do that.
First of all put your left hand out with the palm up, and then the two fingers on the other
hand just place it very slightly over the wrist, on the thumb side, and put on some
gentle pressure.
After you’ve been doing a mild walk it will be much stronger and faster, but if you’ve
having trouble finding it now just keep practicing and it might be worth going for a quick walk
and trying it again.
Before you start the mile, it’s a good idea to have a warm up, especially if it’s a
cold day, just walk around for a few minutes before you start, we’ve already done that
so let’s go.
Right that was 14 minutes and 56 seconds, so I’m not going to take my pulse and count
the number of beats in 10 seconds.
And that is 22, so I’m going to ask Veronica to write down 22 and that’s what you’ll
enter on to the computer.
Now don’t be too worried if the score isn’t what you expected, sometimes you can get your
pulse slightly wrong, sometimes you can get the timing can be slightly wrong, so do it
a few more times and then repeat it every two weeks and you’ll see how your fitness
will improve, and it will, as the more you walk the faster you walk, the easier it’ll
feel and the fitter you’ll get.