What’s the point of a physical fitness test?

Many fitness programs that you can currently buy to do in your own home come with a physical fitness test. You may be wondering why. Afterall, you purchased the program to get fit not because you already are at your peak. Programs like P90X strongly urge people to complete the physical fitness test before beginning, but why?

Most programs include a physical fitness test because they want to ensure you are ready to withstand the workouts they require. A physical fitness test is a clear indication that you are getting ready to do some seriously tough workouts and the people who designed it want to ensure you are exercising safely.

The P90X physical fitness test, for example, has you perform some minimal tasks to see where your fitness level is. If you don’t score a certain amount, it doesn’t mean you can’t do P90X, it simply means you may want to prepare for it. Preparation for P90X will reduce your chance of injury and make the transition into this intense workout program much easier.

You can’t expect to go from couch potato to fitness extraordinaire. There are steps between these two stages. P90X is definitely one of those steps. But, if you are more spud than stud, you may want to add additional steps, like Power 90 before you take on P90X.

The physical fitness test isn’t there to make you feel bad or to give you an opportunity to fail. It is there to ensure your body is ready for a serious workout regimen. If your body is not ready for P90X, you will be less likely to stick with it and more likely to hurt yourself.

Don’t rush. If the P90X physical fitness test says you aren’t quite ready to dive in, take heed. I know you’re excited to get that 90 day body but a safe body transformation is better than a speedy attempt at one.