How fit and strong are you really and how can you improve your fitness and muscle strength? Your fitness and strength levels will determine whether you should start as a beginner, or attempt the intermediate or advanced levels.

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Let's get the basics out of the way. You either want or need to exercise. You know it's good for your body, mind and soul. Your mind-set is positive and you're ready to start. But you have several questions: Where should I start?, Which programme is best? How much exercise is too much? How gradually should you take things in the beginning? What about heart rate? Yes, this is where your planning starts.

First, you need to calculate your body size, Body Mass Index (BMI) and Waist to Hip Ratio (WHR), determine your Maximum Target Heart Rate, assess your fitness levels and then figure out what you want to achieve and set your long-term and short-term goals. In order to start exercising at the right level and pace without tearing your muscles or ligaments, or work your heart right into a standstill - or, worst of all, exercise so slightly that your body derives no benefit from it, you need to assess your fitness level.

How to assess your fitness and strength levels and your body stats

Step 1: Calculate your body stats
1. Calculate your Body Mass Index (BMI)M to determine if you are overweight according to your height: Click here.

2. Calculate your Waist to Hip Ratio (WHR) to determine if your waist circumference is too great in relation to your hip circumference. Click here.People who are apple or barrel-shaped have a higher risk of heart disease.

3. If you are male, here is a nifty tool to determine your body size.

4. Your current Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) is a good indicator of how many calories you need on a daily basis. Click here.
By reducing your calorie-intake and increasing your energy expenditure by the sum of 500 per day, you will lose 0,5 - 1.0kg per week.
Have a look at how many calories you burn during exercise. Click here. Did you know that the best way to lose weight is by increasing your BMR, and the best way to achieve this is by increasing your muscle mass. The more muscle mass you have, the faster your body can metabolise fat.
Think of the muscles as pac men gulping up the excess fat that gets laid down under the skin over the hips, stomach and other areas of the body. Read more about muscle exercises.

Now you know whether you are overweight, at increased risk of heart disease due to your body shape and weight, and how many calories you need on a daily basis to sustain you current body weight. If your BMI is higher than 24, you need to lose weight. The best way to do so is with an exercise programme incorporating two types of exercise, namely cardiovascular exercise and muscle strengthening exercises.

Since exercise will change your body shape as you increase your lean muscle mass and decrease your fat mass, it is a good idea to measure the circumferences of your mid-upper arm, your mid-thigh, your chest right on nipple level, your stomach at the level of your belly button, and you hip at its widest.

Jot these measurements down, and compare them weekly or fortnightly with your new measurements. You might not lose many kilograms, because muscle mass weighs more than fat mass, but you can see your progress in terms of lost centimetres. If you want to know your body fat percentage, visit one of the many registered biokineticists in our country. We will soon be providing a complete list.

Step 2. Calculate your fitness and strength levels.

1. Complete this Fitness level quiz. You may be fitter than you think, or a bigger slob than you anticipated.

2. Determine your strength by doing the push up test and the sit up test.

3. Determine your endurance by performing the step test.

4. Determine your flexibility.

At completion of these tests and assessments, you will have a pretty good idea as to whether you should start at the Beginner, Intermediate or Advanced level.

There is only one way to increase your fitness levels, and that is cardiocascular exercise. Read more about cardiovasascular exercise and your Maximum Target Heart Rate (MTHR). Remember that cardiovascular exercise also burns calories.

It makes sense that any good exercise programme should include all four components of a training programme: Cardiovascular training, muscle exercise, stretching and nutrition. Read more about the basics of a good training programme.

Keep your fitness score, body stats and the basics of a good exercise programme in mind, and proceed to the next step.

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