In the latest YouTube video, Alain Gonzalez, a fitness educator, explained that aging is not the real problem.

The main problems are not training properly and not checking one’s fitness level. He said, “There are clear benchmarks that tell you exactly where you stand,” and these benchmarks are strength, power, endurance, balance, and cardio.

This will give a clear idea of how strong you are and your areas for improvement.

Strength

“Muscle strength is one of the strongest predictors of all-cause mortality and overall quality of life as you age,” Alain Gonzalez stated. The goal is not to lift like a pro athlete, but to lift properly. So check your muscle strength performance.

• Bench press: Press with 1x your bodyweight. This shows one’s shoulder stability and upper-body strength.
• Back squat: Target 1.5x your bodyweight for a single rep. This tests your core stability and leg strength. 
• Deadlift: Aim for 1.75 times your body weight. This allows one to check how strong one's back and glutes are.

As you age, decrease your benchmark target by 0.1 or 10 percent for every decade after 40.

Power

Power is defined as how fast one can move and exert max force, which typically reduce ove you reach your 40s. For this benchmark, Alain Gonzalez suggest to uses farmer’s walk and the broad jump. 

• Farmer’s walk: Walk 100ft with carrying a weight equal your body evenly divided in two hands to show grip strength and core stability.
• Broad jump: jump at least as high as your height to demonstrate that you are capable of exerting explosive force. 

Endurance

This shows how well one’s muscles can sustain tension, reflecting joint health. To test this, perform push-ups, a dead hang, and a wall sit.

• Push-ups: Perform almost 55 in proper form in 2 minutes and reduce 5 push-ups for every decade above 40. 
• Wall sit: Hold a sitting position against the wall for 2 minutes to test your leg endurance. 
• Dead hang: Hang for 60 seconds; this will test your grip and shoulder strength. 

Balance

To stay active and avoid falls and injury risk, perform a single-leg stand to test your balance.

• Standing on single: with closed eyes, stand on each leg for 20 to 25 seconds; this shows your balance and is reduced by 5 seconds for every decade after 40.

Cardiovascular health

To assess heart health and recovery between sets, it is vital to test cardiovascular fitness. To check this, perform a one-mile run.

• Run (one mile): if you are 40 years old, aim to complete this distance in 8 minutes, which shows good fitness. “It’s a clear sign your cardiovascular system is working at a high level,” Alain Gonzalez said.

These benchmarks will indicate how fit and healthy one is at 40 and also show the areas of improvement for strategic training, based on what one lacks.

Written by

Supradeep Dutta

Edited by

Oajaswini Prabhu