The Olympics are over – but the superb images etched in our minds as we sat on our sofas watching will linger. If you are now more motivated than ever to – perhaps not join the ranks of Olympic athletes but – challenge yourself to excellent fitness, there are some web sites that can help. Remember, never undertake any new regime without consulting with a professional first.

 

General fitness

At About.com a host of information on almost every aspect of health and fitness is just a click away. Their exercise section, http://exercise.about.com/ will keep your fingers fit just checking out all the options – Body Mass Index, calorie and target heart rate calculators are all good places to start measuring your overall health and fitness level.
There are a lot of commercial links on this site – remember living in the Lake District provides us with one of the world’s best outdoor fitness centres – no equipment purchases required.

 

Police and military tests

If you are seeking a job with a fitness requirement, such as police officer, visit the police recruits web site. At http://www.policecouldyou.co.uk/default.asp?action=article&ID=26 you are provided with an excellent starting point on the path to greater fitness. They provide background information on training requirements, videos, sample exercise regimes and recommend working up to 20 minutes three times a week to get into basic shape. That’s before you apply and are tested.
If the military life has grabbed your attention, check out the
Royal Navy’s fitness requirements at http://www.royal-navy.mod.uk/static/pages/5110.html. Their pre-joining fitness test examines stamina and aerobic strength using a 2.4 km run on a treadmill.
Based on age and sex, they provide a minimum standards chart so you can work up to it.

Six packs online

If the site of all those taut tummies and six packs at the Olympics has got you answering the fitness rallying cry, visit http://www.menshealth.co.uk for a six pack test under their fitness section. The questionnaire alone is enough to motivate you to join the gym before you answer. It is confidential – and just a guideline. The site features a variety of fitness and health tests. For runners, get marathon training advice at http://www.runnersworld.ltd.uk/marathon.htm.
Heart monitoring is a key aspect to fitness testing. Any number of companies will offer you equipment and advice. Do be cautious and weed out the sales messages from the fitness messages. A commercial site like www.heartmonitors.com offers lots of both.
Remember too that health ratings and fitness standards vary between the UK and the US.

 

Fitness road test

The New Scientist did a study several years ago and recommends using a fitness test, rather than a road test, to decide if older drivers are up for the challenge of our roads. Read all about it at http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99992044.
If you want a general information site visit http://www.netfit.co.uk/. They offer a variety of simple fitness tests, including body fat measurement, balance, flexibility, blood pressure and abdominal. There is something there for everyone.
Interestingly, no government site showed up in the search engines under ‘health and fitness’ UK. Is this a sign that we need to put more tax poundage into sport, fitness and recreation information and programmes at all levels ..including Olympic?