Health Quiz: Your exercise Quotient

[Guest guest]

Hi All!

I found a quiz that asks you questions about your exercise habits and

it tells you where you stand in your quest for a healthy lifestyle.

I took the quiz and had a great result. It gives a detailed summary

about each point of the quiz and it's EXACTLY what we've all been

talking about here.

I've pasted in my results from the quiz. It's kind of lengthy but

well worth reading if you have a little time.

Here's the link if you want to take the quiz yourself:

http://www.allhealth.com/onlinepsych/healthyliving/olpgen/0,6103,7122_

127644,00.html

(if the link doesn't work, just copy the string starting with " http "

and ending with " .html " and paste it into the address line of your

browser)

My results:

You Earned an Exercise Quotient of: 90

Congratulations! You scored the highest ranking on test (90 out of

100). That means you are likely to be successful in maintaining a

regular exercise program because you have the four ingredients for

success:

Motivation

Patience

Pacing

Commitment

The test scored each of those categories. Among the four, we rank

Commitment as the most important trait, and Patience as the second

most important trait. In successfully maintaining a regular exercise

program, those are the skills you need because it's all about the

habit, the little things you do every day. Fitness is lifetime

benefit, not a short-term gain. After that, we ranked Motivation as

the next important factor. That surprises many people who think that

a person's motivation for fitness is most important. However,

motivation comes and goes; it changes over time. Commitment and

patience keep you steady. Finally, we also ranked your Pacing skills,

because the safest way to reach your fitness goals is in small steps

over time.

You scored above average in all four categories. Let's take a look:

Your Motivation Quotient: GREEN LIGHT

Congratulations! You scored 60% or higher on the motivation index.

Strong motivation is one of the most positive indicators for success

in meeting your fitness goals. The best motivation for fitness is the

desire to be healthy. While the desire to look better is a strong

desire with many people, developing and maintaining an exercise

program does not give instant results. It takes time. That's why

people motivated by a need to look better can sometimes feel defeated

when it just isn't happening fast enough for them. In general, it is

also true that self-motivation is a stronger force for change than

outside motivation (what other people are telling you). These facts

about fitness and health should help you stay motivated:

High Blood Pressure: Regular exercise is associated with lower blood

pressure.

Cigarette Smoking: People who exercise vigorously and regularly are

more likely to cut down or stop cigarette smoking.

Diabetes: People at normal weight are much less likely to develop

diabetes. Exercise also decreases a diabetic's insulin requirements.

Overweight: Exercise can help individuals lose extra pounds or stay

at ideal weight.

High Levels of HDL: High levels of HDL (one of the cholesterol

carrying proteins in the blood called high density lipoproteins)have

been linked to a decreased risk of coronary artery disease. Studies

have shown that regular exercise significantly increases the levels

of HDL.

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Your Patience Quotient: GREEN LIGHT

Congratulations! You scored 60% or higher on the patience index.

Maintaining a regular exercise program requires a great deal of

patience. It requires the ability to delay gratification. The most

successful exercise programs are incremental in their effect on your

body. That means the benefits are slowly measurable over a period of

months. People who want too much too fast sometime quit their program

altogether because they haven't given themselves the time it takes to

experience the many benefits of exercise and improved fitness.

Patience also means you have to plan your program and stick to it.

There are four basic components of a well-planned exercise program:

Cardiorespiratory Endurance

Muscular Strength

Muscular Endurance

Flexibility

Here are the amounts of activity needed for the average, healthy

person to maintain a minimum level of overall fitness. Remember,

patience helps you reduce the risk of overdoing a particular level of

activity and reduces the risk of straining muscles (or other

associated complications that come from doing too much too fast):

Warm-up: Five minutes to 10 minutes of exercises such as walking,

slow jogging, knee lifts, arm circles or trunk rotations. Low

intensity movements that simulate movements to be used in the

activity can also be included in the warm-up.

Muscular Strength: A minimum of two 20-minute sessions per week that

include exercises for all the major muscle groups Weight training is

the most effective, but not the only, way to increase strength.

Muscular Endurance: At least three 30-minute sessions each week that

include exercises such as calisthenics, pushups, situps, pullups, and

weight training for all the major muscle groups.

Cardiorespiratory Endurance: At least three 20 minute bouts of

continuous aerobic (activity requiring oxygen) rhythmic exercise each

week. Popular aerobic conditioning activities include brisk walking,

jogging, swimming, cycling, rope-jumping, rowing, cross-country

skiing, and some continuous action games like racquetball and

handball.

Flexibility: Ten minutes to 12 minutes of daily stretching exercises

performed slowly, without a bouncing motion. These stretching

exercises can be included after a warm-up or during a cooldown.

Cooldown: A minimum of five minutes to 10 minutes of slow walking,

low-level exercise, combined with stretching.

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Your Pacing Quotient: GREEN LIGHT

Congratulations! You scored 60% or higher on the pacing index.

Success in an exercise plan depends on your ability to pace yourself.

In the race to good fitness, it's the tortoise than wins every time.

More people give up on their exercise program by pushing themselves

too hard than by pushing themselves too little. Listen to your body.

Your own body will tell you the story. As a general rule, good pacing

means you need to space your workouts throughout the week and avoid

consecutive days of hard exercise. The key is to build up slowly. No

matter where you begin, you will be able to build up your exercise

time or pace as your body becomes more fit. You can find out how hard

to exercise by keeping track of your heart rate. Your maximum heart

rate is the fastest your heart can beat. The best activity level is

60 percent to 75 percent of this maximum rate. This 60 percent to 75

percent range is called your heart rate Target Zone (calculate your

target heart or pulse rate by subtracting your age from 220 and then

multiplying the result by 70 percent). When you begin your exercise

program, aim for the lower part of your heart rate Target Zone (60

percent) during the first few months. As you get into better shape,

gradually build up to the higher part of your Target Zone (75

percent). After 6 months or more of regular exercise, you can

exercise at up to 85 percent of your maximum heart rate--if you wish.

Remember, go slowly. For a person who has not exercised regularly, it

may take several months to raise the rate to 70 percent. Each

exercise session should last from about 25 minutes to 40 minutes and

should include the following:

5 minutes of warm up exercises.

15 minutes to 30 minutes of exercising in your heart rate target zone

(Fifteen minutes to 30 minutes is your goal. Begin with a shorter

period and build up gradually.).

5 minutes of cool down exercises.

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Your Commitment Quotient: GREEN LIGHT

Commitment means: willingness to change. Starting an exercise program

needs to be more than simply adding yet another chore to your daily

life just because " It's good for you! " It's about a change in

lifestyle. It's about a change in the way you think about and

understand your body. The difference between motivation and

commitment is that motivation generally comes and goes. It's

commitment that keeps you going when your motivation wanes.

Commitment is the " why " of fitness. And the " why " is important:

Potential Risks of Being Unfit:

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Less energy and capacity for work and leisure activities.

Less resistance to stress, anxiety, and fatigue.

Decreased stamina and strength.

Decreased efficiency of the heart and lungs.

Gain of extra pounds.

Increased risk of heart attack.

Potential Benefits of Fitness:

-----------------------------

More energy and capacity for work and leisure activities.

Greater resistance to stress, anxiety, and fatigue and a better

outlook on life.

Increased stamina and strength.

Improved efficiency of the heart and lungs.

Loss of extra pounds and help in staying at ideal weight.

Reduced risk of heart attack.

If you're under 35 years of age and in good health, you probably do

not need to call or see a doctor before beginning an exercise

program. But, if you are over 35 years of age and have been inactive

for several years, you should consult your physician before starting

an exercise program.

If you currently have -- or have ever had -- any of the following

medical conditions, you should consult with a physician prior to

beginning an exercise program, according to the President's Council

on Physical Fitness and Sports:

High blood pressure.

Heart trouble.

Family history of stroke or heart attacks.

Frequent dizzy spells.

Extreme breathlessness after mild exertion.

Arthritis or other bone problems.

Severe muscular, ligament or tendon problems.

Other known or suspected diseases or medical conditions, including

back problems.

Vigorous exercise involves minimal health risks for persons in good

health or those following a doctor's advice. Far greater risks are

presented by habitual inactivity.

Good Luck in Maintaining Your Exercise Program!

Remember: Your Health is Your Life