Fit Or Fat: Nutrition and Exercise

Covert's One Mile Fitness Test

Posting Date: 10/09/2001

I'm going to describe a home fitness test that costs nothing, is self-administered, and doesn't hurt. In a sense, "my test" isn't mine at all because joggers use it already. When people who jog for fitness (not competition runners) discuss their daily jog, it is common to hear them discuss their "pace." They are referring to the average number of minutes it takes them to jog a mile. Some of them jog two miles and some seven miles. Some jog once a week, others every day. Despite the disparity in their routines, the expression "pace" provides common ground for discussion.

Pace, or minutes per mile, does not imply maximum. It is not at all the same as asking, "How fast can you run a mile?" Quite the opposite. It means, "How fast can you run a mile without discomfort and do the same tomorrow and again the next day?" This pace is a consistently reliable indicator of your fitness.

I want everyone, including those who are overweight and all of you average out-of-shape types, to establish your minutes-per-mile "pace," your own aerobic, comfortable, repeatable, and consistent pace. Find out how fast you can cover a mile comfortably, repeatedly, and consistently. I don't care if you run, jog, or walk.

For one week, do that mile every day at a speed that feels comfortable. Can you talk haltingly? Are you breathing deeply but not panting? By the end of the week you should know your pace. You should know how many minutes it takes you to go one mile comfortably. Your pace may be a five-minute run if you're very fit or a 20-minute walk if you're out of shape. Review the rules for aerobic exercise at: Aerobic Exercise

You will notice that I haven't mentioned taking your pulse; that is, your heart rate. It doesn't matter if your heart rate is 20 or 2,000 if you are comfortable and can repeat the exercise comfortably the next day.

Some may criticize the pace concept on the grounds that it depends too much on personal motivation and sensation, but again I will emphasize that among people who jog, pace is incredibly accurate. It's exactly the comfort zone of an individual, and no formula or laboratory can do better. Obviously, if you have no running history and you try to determine your pace in a single day, you've missed the point.

This is how you do the test:

Find a flat, level mile. Maybe use a high school track, which is usually a quarter mile around, or measure one mile on a road with your car. Warm up by walking rapidly or jogging slowly for five minutes, then start your aerobic pace and time yourself as you cover the mile WITHOUT going faster than the aerobic pace you've been practicing. If you are breathing deeply but not panting, if you can carry on limited conversation, and if you are comfortable, this is your correct pace.

This test produces just one all-important number: How many minutes does it take you to cover one mile at your correct aerobic pace?

Repeat this test every month to measure your progress. Each time, your heart rate should be the same and your breathing level the same. But the time to cover a mile should go down as your fitness level goes up.

You can record your results and progress in the Fit or Fat Progress Tracker Log.

Adapted from The Ultimate Fit or Fat by Covert Bailey and Lea Bishop. Copyright 1999 by Covert Bailey, published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

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