We all know that there are various levels of our own fitness. And we all know whether our fitness level is up to par or not.

People often define their health to others of a similar age and state of health. You may be proud because you are the only one of your friends that hits the gym every day after work. Or you may be the only one at the office that can take the stairs without being winded. But this says nothing of your true fitness level. There is absolutely no need to make things difficult; you are either in good shape or you are not. It is easy for you to decide.

First you need a baseline. Look at yourself and your fitness level at this moment and use that as your baseline. Every person consciously or subconsciously devises his or her own fitness test. It could be as formal as one more push up or cutting a few seconds off your mile run, or it may be as informal as this is the year you finish the July 4th race or participate in your first marathon.

Anyone can evaluate their fitness program by using the following tips:

1. Compare yourself related to your fitness activity or activities. If you run the same route every day, time yourself and see if you can knock off a few seconds.

2. Test yourself under the same conditions. Time of day, your mood, weather, amount of sleep and many other factors could affect your performance any given day.

3. Measure your success by increased endurance. If you ride the bike and practice high-intensity interval training for 20 minutes, add another five minutes to your workout the next time you get on the bike.

4. Measure for increased strength. If you are bench pressing 150 pounds ten times, add five pounds. Once you can do that weight 10 times, add another five pounds.

6. Measure your own improvement. Fitness tests should not compare yourself to others or be used on a one-time basis. Repeated evaluation is the key to good fitness.

7. Seek general fitness. It doesn’t make sense to restrict your fitness to only one aspect of your health. Add some strength training if you are only performing cardio exercises during your workout. Not only can you evaluate your arm, chest and leg strength but also your aerobic conditioning.

8. Set yourself small goals. Whether it is being able to do 30 minutes on the bike or increase your bench by 10 pounds. If your goals are simple enough so that you can accomplish them in a few weeks, you will have positive reinforcement more often and see the results of your workout. This will make you want to continue and set new goals for you to reach in the next few weeks.

9. Life throws curveballs all the time. Don’t give up because you didn’t meet your goals. Reflect and discover what held you back and give yourself an extra week to meet your goals. We all have busy lives; there is no reason to let small speed bumps to totally ruin your quest for fitness.

Though you can always have a more scientific fitness evaluation at a gym with a personal trainer, you can also evaluate your fitness on your own by using the methods listed above and adapt your fitness plan to fit your goals.

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