How to Tell if You Are in Good Shape with a Test

To be in good shape, you need to have good cardiovascular fitness and be in a healthy weight range. To test yourself, take standardized tests that measure each of these aspects. Physical exercise tests can indicate your cardio health. Test whether you're in shape weight-wise not with a scale, but by measuring your BMI, skin fold thickness and waist circumference.

Instructions

    • 1

      Calculate your body mass index, or BMI. BMI measures your body fat composition, which is more accurate than measuring your weight because it factors your height into consideration. It's used to diagnose obesity at a BMI of 30 or higher. Use a BMI calculator to find your BMI based on your weight and height.

    • 2

      Give yourself the skin fold thickness test using a skin fold caliper, to measure your body fat. A skin fold caliper measures how thick the fat beneath your skin is, by pinching a fold of skin. Skin fold calipers come with body fat percentage charts to help you evaluate your measurements. Standard places to evaluate with a skin fold caliper include the biceps, triceps, chest, sides of your ribs under your arms, lower belly, thighs and calves.

    • 3

      Take your waist-to-hip ratio measurement to test whether you have a healthy amount of abdominal fat. First, measure your waistline circumference, around the slimmest part of your abdomen between your ribs and belly button. Then measure the circumference of your hips at their widest diameter. Divide your waist circumference by your hip circumference to calculate your waist-to-hip ratio. This number is also used to diagnose obesity. For women, a waist-to-hip ratio over 0.85 is an indication of obesity. A ratio over 0.9 indicates obesity in men. According to Mayo Clinic, your waist-to-hip ratio measures visceral fat -- a type of fat found in your belly that raises your risk of heart disease.

    • 4

      Test your cardiovascular health by doing the step method aerobic fitness test. Find an apartment building or tall office building and walk up five continuous flights of stairs without stopping. You can hold onto the rail just for balance. At the top of the fifth flight of stairs, immediately count your pulse or look at your heart rate monitor to find your heart rate. A pulse of 100 bpm and under for an 18- to 45-year-old man and 110 bpm and under for an 18- to 45-year-old woman means you're in good shape.