The Scorecard: 12 minutes or more: Slow Between 10 and 12 minutes: Ordinary 10 minutes or less: Endurance excellenceĪir Out Your Aerobic Ability: To build aerobic capacity, you need to run far. The Test: Run 1 1/2 miles on a flat path as fast as you can. Regular aerobic exercise lowers your cholesterol and helps keep your body fat low-both of which significantly decrease your risk of heart disease. It's also an indicator of peak aerobic capacity-your body's ability to deliver oxygen to your working muscles. Run 1.5 Miles in 10 Minutes Breaking the 10-minute mark for a mile and a half isn't just a sign that you can outrun the feds. That'll put your body in a stronger position. You'll activate the muscles called neck extensors, which help ensure that your spine is in a straight line. Bonus tip: Press your head into the bench as you lift. Three days later, perform three sets of flat, incline, or decline barbell bench presses (alternate varieties each week) with the heaviest weight you can lift six times. Lower and raise the bar as fast as possible, and alternate your grip every three sets, so that your hands are 16, then 20, then 24 inches apart. Using a weight that's about 40 percent of what you can lift one time, do nine sets of three repetitions, with 60 seconds' rest between sets. Follow Simmons's plan for 4 weeks to improve your own bench-press performance: The Scorecard: Less than 1.0: Weak 1.0-1.49: Ordinary 1.5 or more: You rule on the benchīoost Your Bench Press: The key to strengthening any muscle is lifting fast, says Louie Simmons, strength coach to five of the world's top bench-pressers. To get your score, divide the heaviest weight you can lift one time by your body weight. The Test: Use a bench-press machine and keep your feet flat on the floor during the entire lift. Literally being able to throw your weight around-plus half that of the guy standing next to you-is the ultimate sign that you'll never have a problem hanging drywall, holding your ground in the post.or looking great in a tank top. You'll just need to look in a mirror.īench 1.5 Times Your Body Weight Upper-body strength is important for more than bench-press bragging rights.

Then you won't need to look in a dictionary for the definition of fit. The good news: If you don't measure up to our admittedly high standards right away, we've given you the tips and training strategies you need to get there quickly. On the following pages, you'll find our definition of fit-10 simple (though by no means easy) things every man must be able to do before he stamps himself 'in shape.' Says who? Says us. Which is why we've taken matters into our own hands. Or how much weight he should be able to lift. After all, it doesn't say squat about how many pushups a man should be able to do. We read about fit (as in flipping out) and fit (as in what your hat should do) before finally landing on definition number three: 'Sound physically and mentally.' We have a lot of time on our hands, so the other day we looked up 'fit' in the dictionary.

Physics benchmark definition