Fitness assessment paints overall picture of health

  • Published
  • By Karen Abeyasekere
  • 100th Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs
RAF MILDENHALL England --  With the holidays coming up and plenty of eating to be done, fitness center staff provide ways to remind Airmen it's important to keep up a fitness routine, to help ensure the pounds don't pile on.

One way of monitoring fitness, any time of the year, is by getting a MicroFit assessment at the North Side Fitness Center.

Deborah Collins, 100th Force Support Squadron fitness and sports specialist, performs the free, one-hour MicroFit assessment, and depending on the results, offers help and advice.

"It's a complete wellness and fitness assessment, and gives an overall view of where you stand with your cardiovascular, body composition, strength level and flexibility," she said. "It also takes into account lifestyle measures that can affect your blood pressure and cholesterol levels."

The cardio component is measured by riding a bike for 8 to 10 minutes, at very low workloads, while the assessor measures how efficiently the heart is working during exercise.

"The higher your [volume of oxygen] level, the more efficiently your heart is working," Collins said.

The fitness specialist explained that the individual's cardio levels are checked by seeing how efficiently the body uses oxygen during exercise.

"We look at the heart rate to see how it reacts to a low workload," she added. "We can then evaluate the customer's resting heart rate and provide them with proper training zones. We can assist in preparing an exercise program to help them reach their goals."

All base ID cardholders 18 and older, whether military or civilian, are eligible to have an assessment done.

"I got the assessment done because it was a new program that the fitness center was offering," said Sandra Fletcher, 100th FSS graphic designer. "It was very in-depth and nothing like I've had done before."

The body composition exam uses skin fold calipers to measure the thickness of a fold of skin with its underlying layer of fat. The customer is then given a breakdown of their total weight, in terms of water weight, protein/mineral weight and fat weight.

"Too much fat in the body can lead to health problems," Collins said, adding that the normal healthy range for men is 11 to 22 percent and 19 to 30 percent for women. "Flexibility is the most overlooked component of fitness, so we test your back flexibility with a sit-and-reach test."

After looking at all components of the customer's fitness level, a score is given for each component with a ranking in categories of either excellent, fit, fair or needs work.

"It's important to have an assessment like this, because you need to know exactly where you are health and fitness-wise, before you can see where you need to go," she said. "Many people don't see the heart as a muscle, and therefore they either under- or over-train when working out, which is ineffective, as it doesn't condition the heart properly, and that's the muscle you're trying to strengthen."

"With a MicroFit assessment, you can see where you are at all those levels, and can then work on a nutrition, aerobic, or strength program. It will also show if you're stronger in one particular area and weaker in another, so you know exactly what fitness training you should be doing to improve," said Collins.

Fletcher said the test breaks down every aspect of an individual's fitness level, and said overall she definitely benefited from having it done.

"Let's face it - we all have busy lifestyles and often don't take care of ourselves like we should. Doing a complete health and wellness assessment like this has given me a profile I can work with and incorporate into my busy lifestyle," she said. "And the results are printed out for you to keep, so when you're ready to make that first step, you're not totally overwhelmed."

It is advised that a follow-up assessment be conducted about three months after the initial assessment, to see how the person is doing and what improvements have been made.

For more information on any fitness center classes, view this story, or to book a MicroFit assessment, call DSN 238-2349.

Editor's note: No federal endorsement is intended or implied.