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BEYOND HEALTH

Don't hold your breath waiting for health assessments that measure aspects of fitness to come out of the medical industry; surprising really when it's a big ask expecting to stay healthy without keeping yourself fit.

The epidemic of poor health rests fair and squarely on the shaky foundation of low levels of aerobic fitness, strength and flexibility (coupled up, of course with a toxic environment, junk food diet and an inability to manage the stresses of life). And yet fitness is rarely, if ever measured.

Government sponsored access to junk pharmaceuticals has diverted public attention away from keeping fit and healthy. Instead of lining up in fitness centres and coming away fit and healthy, people are lining up in surgeries and pharmacies and coming away drugged to the eyeballs.

In the workplace, the epidemic of musculo-skeletal dysfunction is caused by a workforce that doesn't train to improve its strength and flexibility. Ineffectual management and workers' compensation arrangements that rely on the opinions of doctors is spawning a culture that's bloated, weak and depressed.

John Kennedy said something to the effect that 'The softening process of our civilization continues it's persistent erosion.' That was in the early 1960'. At that time he ain't seen nuthin'. Look around you to see if I'm not wrong. Look in the mirror.

Anyway to cut a long story short, we've compiled a range of health and fitness tests which will provide you with a good idea of what sort of physical condition you're in, and having done that, we'll direct you to sites where you can find out what you need to do to get yourself into better condition.

The standards we have set are readily achievable for normal fit and healthy human beings up to the age of 70.

RECOMMENDATIONS

If you place yourself in the 'regular folks' category the best all round test will be the Health and Fitness Checkup. You'll need a heart rate monitor, or rely on the last measure you got when you went to the quack. You can choose to estimate the number of kilograms you are over weight, or if you have a set of Tanita scales you'll be able to measure your percent body fat.

If you want to go beyond what is expected of regular folks, then test yourself against the Platinum Challenge. For situps do them with your feet held and hands behind your ears. It's a very good all round test of your fitness.

If you work in any of the elite force professions you'll find the Elite Force Fitness Profile challenging. The standards are set to encourage high, but achievable, standards of strength and aerobic fitness.

The Health, Fitness and Wellbeing Profile is our best, all round test of how healthy you are. The body doesn't lie. A poor score indicates that you're not in particularly good shape. You can change that. make a choice to be healthy.

ADVICE

If you want to improve your health and your fitness flick through to the Complete Fitness Program and the Hourglass Diet. But don't just sit there, do something!

In the meantime stay tuned, highly tuned.

John Miller