Dear Karen, I want to do more exercise and wondered what’s involved in a fitness and health evaluation, and are they important? Do you think a medically supervised assessment is needed? Regards, Bronwyn.

Karen's response

Dear Bronywn,

Good for you – increasing your exercise level is a great way to improve your cardiovascular health. If you are starting a new fitness program with a gym or personal trainer, chances are the first step is an assessment of your current status. While qualified fitness instructors are well trained at assessing your fitness levels, you may want to consider taking a combined fitness and health evaluation under medical supervision, before you embark on your latest fitness phase.

The most important reason is to check that your body is in sufficient shape to safely participate in regular physical activity.  Particular focus should be on your cardiovascular risk factors and how your heart performs under exercise stress.  However, an assessment will also provide valuable information to help plan your fitness program, such as target areas to concentrate on (abs!!) and any areas to watch out for like spinal or knee problems.

The main difference between types of evaluations is whether or not they are medically supervised.  If you undertake a test at a sports medicine facility you would expect a far greater emphasis on your medical history and the use of sophisticated equipment to measure certain parameters.  These types of tests are recommended if you’re over 40 years, are overweight, have a particular medical condition e.g. high blood pressure or diabetes, have a sports or other injury or are getting started after a long time of being a lounge lizard.  They’re also a great way for the “fit” to help find that edge to improve performance.

Regards and good luck,

Karen Inge.