82 MUSCLE & FITNESS JUNE 2017
Want to know how strong you are,
given your relative size and body
mass? Read on.THE TESTFarmer’s carry
HOWTODOIT:using either
kettlebells or dumbbells, carry 75%
of your body weight – half in each
hand, with your arms fully extended
out from your sides – and walk.
Note: technique is crucial here.
You want to go at a rhythmic, slow,
controlled pace. It’s about reaching
the finish line, not racing there.
“You need to have a very proud
chest as you go,” says Underwood.
“Remember when you were a
pimply-faced kid walking down the
hall in high school, and that one hot
girl walked by, how you’d pump up
your chest? You stand tall, you pull
your shoulders down and back, youstand at attention – that’s your
form for the farmer’s carry.”
GOAL: cover 75 metres in 90 seconds.THE RESULTSIF YOU PASSED: congrats! You have the
baseline general strength to go and
build more brute strength and work
harder on your explosive power.
Of course, lifting heavier things is
one way to get better: slowly and
intelligently progressing yourself
towards fewer reps and heavier
weight, swapping out your 3x10AS ANY TRAINER WILL tell you,
there are many different kinds of
strength: explosive strength, relative
strength, maximum strength and so
on. But for the purposes of this test,
we’re singling out grip strength.
And that doesn’t mean just a
strong handshake. The act of
gripping really heavy things engages
muscle systems far beyond just your
fingertips and shoulders. “It’s one of
the best predictors of total strength,”
says Stefan Underwood, one of
the top performance specialists at
elite training centre Exos, workout
home to everyone from US football
stars to Chinese athletes training
for the Olympics. Underwood
knows strength first-hand, having
personally worked with more than
20 professional footballers as well as
special-operations army personnel
and top basketball, ice hockey and
baseball players.
Know your own strength
FITNESS TEST CATEGORY 1: STRENGTH
“Grip strength is one
of the best predictors
of total strength.”NESS TESTS HAVE BEEN AROUND FOR AGES — FROM THE LAUGHABLY EASY
(touch your toes, anyone?) to the downright dangerous. But in the past couple of years, these
evaluators of endurance and strength have become increasingly hardcore: Australia’s Special
Air Service Regiment’s “selection” involves three weeks of relentless physical hardship
tantamount to torture, including starvation and sleep deprivation. All of this got
us thinking: why should you have to enlist in Australia’s most elite fighting force (or miss out
on a good night’s kip) just to take a fitness test? After all, what better way is there to gauge
your head-to-toe physical capabilities – and discover the areas you need to work on – than
putting yourself through a thorough, exhausting examination? So, with the help of several
top trainers, we assembled the definitive baseline fitness test: if you can complete this, then
congratulations, you’re fit as hell. Here’s how it works: in each of four categories – strength,
flexibility, conditioning and power – we’ve laid out one or two simple exercise challenges. (For
best results, complete each category on a separate day, or at least enough hours apart that your
abilities aren’t compromised.) If you pass, you’re a badarse – though you’ll definitely want to
check out our instructions for taking your fitness to an even higher level. If you fail, don’t sweat
it: we’ll tell you what to do to get your body up to par. Think you’ll make the grade? Well, get
a good night’s sleep, because you’re about to find out.TTTEST TO BE YOUR BEST