Fitness
Run 300 yards in less than a minute
Whether you're chasing down a purse snatcher or running the fast break, every once in a while a man just needs to bust it. If you can cover 300 yards in 60 seconds, you have the speed and drive you need for just about anything.
The Test
Run as fast as you can between two lines spaced 25 yards apart. Do six round-trips, for a total of 300 yards.
The Scorecard
More than 70 seconds: Slow
60-70 seconds: Ordinary
Less than 60 seconds: Fast and agile
Increase Your Speed
Train with sprint intervals three times a week, says Mike Gough, CSCS, a strength and conditioning coach in Ottawa, Ontario.
Sprint at 85 percent of your full effort for one minute.
Then run at a lower intensity—about 40 percent of your fulleffort—for the next minute. Continue to alternate between intensities for 20 minutes. Try this workout on a hill to get even better.
Bonus tip: Sprint as hard as you can each time you push off the line for your first three steps. Then stride though the middle portion of each 25-yard sprint by simply trying to maintain the momentum you gained from your sprint. This will increase your speed drastically, since the starting and stopping parts of the run are where most guys let up. That's because accele-rating or decelerating is more physically demanding than just running.
Touch his toes
No one has to mistake you for Sarah Hughes, but flexibility really does equal fitness. And having flexible muscles will help keep you moving—in the gym, on the court, at the golf course—as you get older. Research shows that from age 35-50, the average man's flexibility decreases by 25 percent. That can lead to shoulder injuries and runner's knee. Plus, tight pectoral muscles limit your strength, so your weight workouts will suffer, too—not to mention your ego.
The Test
One of the best measures of flexibility is the sit-and-reach test. Here's how to do it:
Place a yardstick on the floor and put a footlong piece of masking tape across the 15-inch mark.
Sit down with your legs out in front of you and your heels at the edge of the tape, one on each side of the yardstick.
Put one hand on top of the other and reach forward on the yardstick as far as you can by bending at your hips. Your score is the number your fingertips touch.
The Scorecard
Less than 15 inches: Stiff
15-17 inches: Ordinary
More than 17 inches: Fantastic flexibility
Fire Up Your Flexibility
Your muscles can be stretched more effectively when they're completely relaxed, says Joel Ninos, PT, CSCS, a physical therapist in Allentown, Pennsylvania. Try this stretching technique, called hold-relax, to increase your flexibility:
Place your right leg on a bench or a desk that's between knee and waist high. Keep your leg straight and lean forward as far as comfortably possible by bending at your hips.
Continue leaning forward as you bend your knee slightly and gently push your heel into the bench for ten seconds. Then relax and straighten your leg. Now you'll be able to lean forward farther than when you started. Hold this new position for 20-30 seconds.
Repeat three more times, leaning forward a bit more each time.
Bonus tip: Before you stretch, stand and place your heel on top of a Swiss ball with your leg straight out in front of you. Without moving your body, rotate your foot in circles on the Swiss ball for about 20 seconds. This will relax your leg muscles, and you'll be able to stretch farther.
Throw a basketball 75 feet (from his knees)
We know what you're thinking: This skill may come in handy if you're taking a last-minute desperation shot in your local over-40 league. But otherwise, what's the point? Here's why it's important: Throwing for distance is the ultimate measure of your upper-body power (that's strength plus speed). A fit man needs a powerful arm not only to throw the long bomb and hit his tee shot 300 yards, but also to punch somebody in the kisser. Still think it's a weenie goal?
The Test
Kneel on the court, just behind the baseline. Throw the basketball overhand as far as you can. The top of the key at the far end of the court is 73 feet—just short of the Fit Man standard.
The Scorecard
Less than 60 feet: Lousy arm
60-74 feet: Ordinary
More than 74 feet: Cannon fire
Make Your Upper Body More Powerful
The single-arm clean and press will improve both upper-body speed and strength, says Ballantyne.
Grab a dumbbell with an overhand grip and hold it in your left hand so that it hangs down at arm's length in front of you.
Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and your knees slightly bent. Explosively pull the dumbbell straight up by dipping your knees, then straightening up as you shrug your shoulder.
As you pull upward, rotate the weight in an arc over your upper arm until the dumbbell rests on the top of your shoulder. Your upper arm should be parallel to the floor, and your knees slightly bent again.
Dip at your knees and push the weight above your shoulder until your arm is straight. Return to the starting position and repeat with your right arm.
Do this move two days week, with three days of rest in between. Perform three sets of four repetitions with a heavy weight in one workout, and eights sets of one repetition with a lighter weight—about 30 percent of the heaviest weight you can lift one time—in the other.
Bonus tip: Throw the ball at a 40 to 45 degree trajectory. It'll go farthest that way.
» Fitness archive
Men's Health Philippines - May 2006 Issue
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