That's Fit

Remember the Presidential Physical Fitness Test from way back in the day? The flexed arm hang, the sit-and-reach, the timed run, and the sit-up test? Well, a new report out of our nation's capitol states that this physical fitness test will soon be offered again -- only this time it's for adults.

The test is broken into three components: aerobic fitness, muscular strength, and flexibility.

The aerobic component consists of a 1.5-mile run or one-mile walk. The run is not recommended for those who don't already run for at least 20 minutes, three times a week. Half sit-ups (crunches) and push-ups make up the strength test. Participants must do as many sit-ups as they can in one minute, while push-ups are not timed but are instead done to failure. The bane of my elementary school PE class existence, an exercise called the sit-and-reach, is used in the test to measure flexibility.

You unfortunately won't get a nifty-looking certificate to put on your refrigerator for passing the test, but you do walk away with the knowledge of how fit you are in comparison to others who take the test. The scores from all four of the fitness tests can be entered into a special website that will be created for the test. Other information, such as age, gender, height and weight, are part of the equation to determine how you measure up against other test takers.