Key Moments
Essentials: How to Assess & Improve All Aspects of Your Fitness | Dr. Andy Galpin
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Key Moments
Dr. Andy Galpin outlines 9 fitness components, offering simple tests for each, from movement quality to VO2 max, to help you identify weaknesses and optimize training.
Key Insights
To assess movement quality, examine symmetry, stability, awareness, and range of motion across fundamental movements like push-ups, squats, and deadlifts.
A benchmark for power is the ability to broad jump your own height, with a 15% reduction for females.
For strength, a minimum grip strength of 40 kg for men and 35 kg for women is recommended, with a 10% difference allowed between hands; alternatively, a dead hang for at least 30 seconds is a good indicator.
A functional strength marker is holding a goblet squat with half your body weight for 45 seconds, focusing on maintaining good position.
Key indicators for muscular endurance include performing over 25 consecutive push-ups for men and 15 for women, or holding a front plank for 60 seconds.
For maximal aerobic capacity (VO2 max), men should aim for a minimum of 35 ml/kg/min and women 30 ml/kg/min, with scores above 55 ml/kg/min for men and 50 ml/kg/min for women considered excellent.
Understanding the nine pillars of fitness
Dr. Andy Galpin introduces a comprehensive framework for understanding physical fitness, categorizing it into nine distinct physiological adaptations. These range from fundamental aspects like skill/technique and speed to more complex physiological markers. The nine components are: 1. Skill/Technique, 2. Speed, 3. Power (speed x force), 4. Strength (maximum force), 5. Muscle Hypertrophy (muscle size), 6. Muscular Endurance (repeated contractions), 7. Anaerobic Capacity (short, intense bursts), 8. Maximum Aerobic Capacity (VO2 max, sustained effort over minutes), and 9. Long Duration Endurance (sustained submaximal work over extended periods, typically 20+ minutes). This breakdown provides a structured approach to assessing and improving overall physical capacity, catering to both aesthetic and functional goals.
Assessing movement quality and skill
The foundation of fitness is movement quality, crucial for injury prevention and long-term training. Galpin suggests a cost-free method involving recording yourself performing key movements (upper body press/pull, lower body press/pull like push-ups, pull-ups, squats, deadlifts) from front and side views for 3-10 repetitions. The assessment focuses on four critical elements: symmetry (front-to-back, left-to-right, limb-to-limb), stability (ability to control movement without shaking or wobbling, even during pauses), awareness (understanding and correcting technique based on feedback, e.g., keeping heels down during squats), and range of motion (achieving full, uncompromised movement at each joint, like knees tracking over toes in a squat). Scoring is simple: 0 for high acute injury risk, 1 for minor flaws needing caution with load/volume, and 3 for good control. This ensures a safe and effective training foundation.
Evaluating power and strength
Power, defined as speed multiplied by force, can be simply assessed with a standing broad jump. A good benchmark is to jump a distance equal to your own height, with females typically achieving about 15% less. The focus here is on identifying red flags rather than peak performance. Strength testing involves multiple areas, starting with grip strength. Using a hand dynamometer (affordable at around $25), a minimum score of 40 kg for men and 35 kg for women is recommended, with less than a 10% difference between hands. An alternative, cost-free method is a dead hang from a pull-up bar, aiming for a minimum of 30-50 seconds. For overall limb strength, Galpin suggests a leg extension test where individuals should aim to lift their body weight. For those over 40, this benchmark can decrease by approximately 10% per decade. Alternatively, a front or goblet squat hold with half body weight for 45 seconds assesses core strength and low back stability, emphasizing maintaining good position even if returning to standing is difficult.
Measuring muscle size and endurance
Muscle hypertrophy, or size, is assessed through body composition tests like DEXA scans to determine Fat-Free Mass Index (FFMI). A target FFMI of 20+ for men and 18+ for women is recommended, assuming a body fat percentage below 30% for men and 35% for women. Below FFMI scores of 17 for men and 15 for women indicate potential physiological detriment due to insufficient muscle mass. Muscular endurance can be tested with standard exercises: holding a front plank for 60 seconds, a side plank for 45 seconds, performing over 25 push-ups for men (15 for women), or completing 5+ reps of a strength test exercise at 75% of maximum load. For instance, if your leg extension max is 200 lbs, performing at least 8 reps with 150 lbs demonstrates good muscular endurance.
Assessing anaerobic and aerobic capacity
Anaerobic capacity, the ability to perform maximal work for short durations (30-120 seconds), is challenging to test without lab equipment like a Wingate test. At home, one can perform maximal efforts on an air bike, rower, or sprints, focusing on the ability to exert maximum effort and the resulting fatigue. A more accessible metric is heart rate recovery: after reaching near-maximal heart rate (around 220 minus age), aim for a recovery of 30 beats per minute within 60 seconds. Maximum aerobic capacity (VO2 max) can be estimated through the 12-minute Cooper test (maximum distance covered) or the Rockport 1-mile walk test (time and heart rate at completion). Minimum VO2 max targets are 35 ml/kg/min for men and 30 ml/kg/min for women, with excellent scores above 55 ml/kg/min for men and 50 ml/kg/min for women.
Evaluating long duration endurance
Long duration endurance is assessed by the ability to sustain submaximal work for 20 minutes or more without breaks. This can be any activity performed at a consistent pace, ideally with nasal breathing only. While walking can suffice for very unfit individuals, the focus is on maintaining a non-walking pace for at least 20 minutes. This component measures the body's capacity to sustain effort over extended periods, crucial for overall cardiovascular health and performance in endurance-based activities. It signifies the ability to continue movement without significant drops in output or complete cessation.
Organizing a comprehensive fitness assessment
Galpin recommends conducting this full battery of tests once a year, ideally spread over three days to allow for recovery. Non-fatiguing tests like body composition (FFMI) and movement quality assessments should be done first, preferably after at least 48 hours of rest and no hard exercise the day prior. Skill, maximum strength, and power tests should be performed early in a testing session when fresh. Fatiguing tests, such as anaerobic capacity, muscular endurance, and VO2 max tests, should be conducted later in the session or on separate days. This structured approach ensures that results are as accurate as possible and helps identify specific areas that need prioritization for training optimization, preventing any single fitness 'anchor' from limiting overall progress.
Mentioned in This Episode
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Assessing and Improving Fitness: A Practical Guide
Practical takeaways from this episode
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Fitness Adaptations and Assessment Methods
Data extracted from this episode
| Adaptation | Assessment Method | Target/Metric |
|---|---|---|
| Movement Skill | Self-assessment (Symmetry, Stability, Awareness, Range of Motion) | Score 0-3 for each movement pattern |
| Speed | Not generally recommended for most people | N/A |
| Power | Broad jump | At least body height (15% less for females) |
| Strength (Grip) | Hand grip dynamometer | Men: 40kg (min), 60kg (good); Women: 35kg (min). <10% variation between hands. |
| Strength (Grip) | Dead hang | 30-50 seconds (good), >60 seconds (excellent) |
| Strength (Leg) | Leg extension | Body weight (standard); adjust down 10% per decade after 40 |
| Strength (Leg/Core) | Front/Goblet squat hold | Half body weight for 45 seconds at bottom position |
| Hypertrophy | FFMI (Fat-Free Mass Index) via DEXA scan or other body composition tests | Men: 20+ (target), 17+ (minimum); Women: 18+ (target), 15+ (minimum). Assumes sub-30% body fat (men) / sub-35% (women). |
| Muscular Endurance | Plank | Front: 60s; Side: 45s |
| Muscular Endurance | Push-ups (unbroken) | Men: 25+; Women: 15+ |
| Muscular Endurance | Strength test at 75% load, max reps | >8 repetitions |
| Anaerobic Capacity | Heart Rate Recovery (after maximal effort) | 30 bpm within 60 seconds; 60 bpm within 120 seconds; 90 bpm within 180 seconds |
| Max Aerobic Capacity (VO2 Max) | 12-minute Cooper Test (run) | Record distance; use online calculator for estimated VO2 Max |
| Max Aerobic Capacity (VO2 Max) | Rockport 1-mile walk test | Record time and final heart rate; use online calculator for estimated VO2 Max |
| Max Aerobic Capacity (VO2 Max) | Lab-based VO2 Max test | Men: 35 ml/kg/min (minimum), 50+ (good), 55+ (excellent); Women: 30 ml/kg/min (minimum), 50+ (excellent). |
| Long Duration | Sustain submaximal work | Minimum 20 minutes (ideally 30+) with no breaks, ideally nasal breathing only |
Common Questions
Assess your fitness by evaluating nine key physiological adaptations: movement skill, speed, power, strength, hypertrophy, muscular endurance, anaerobic capacity, maximum aerobic capacity (VO2 max), and long duration endurance. Each has specific tests or metrics you can use.
Topics
Mentioned in this video
A laboratory test involving standing on a force plate and performing as many vertical jumps as possible for 60 seconds to assess anaerobic capacity.
A 12-minute test where individuals run as far as possible to estimate VO2 max.
A test where individuals walk one mile, recording time and heart rate at the end to estimate VO2 max.
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