Training Tips

Fitness Rating Scale – How Do You Rate?

At least once in your life you have had to rate yourself – pick up a Cosmo or Men’s Health if you haven’t. You are asked to rate yourself on scales of 1 to 10 how attractive you are, how you rate as a spouse, how you rate in your knowledge of American Idol (I would be a 1 by the way), and how you rate in bed (9.34). Anyway, this blog is about how you might rate your fitness level on a scale of 1 to 10. You never know, you might just be asked (especially if you plan on going on a trip with Just Roughin’ It). Quite honestly, as a fitness educator, I occasionally ask my students to rate themselves. It is very interesting to see how people perceive fitness and where they stand.

 

Take a scale of 1 to 10; 1 being a couch potato and 10 being an Olympic athlete. Now think about what activities you engage in on a weekly basis. Where would you rate yourself? Much will depend on the micro society around you. If the people around you consider walking the mall three times a week as intense physical activity and thus rate themselves a 6, then running 3 times a week may very well make you feel like a 10. On the other hand, people who do a lot of intense physical activity, marathons, triathlons, and college sports may consider themselves merely a 6 since they know the difficulty in becoming a 10. This is a guideline. If what you do is not listed below, figure out its equivalent. Included is an example of trips we offer you may be able to participate in if you have less than a month to train for your trip.* With more time to train, the more challenging trip you can accomplish because you will be working out enough to move up the fitness scale.

1 – Couch Potato.  The best trip is a 1/2 day hike in the Phoenix area.  There are so many trails in the area, there are plenty of easy ones that will give you the sense of the outdoors without killing you.  Or maybe a kayak trip?

2 – Mall or Dog Walker. Maybe a day hike on the South Kaibab trail at Grand Canyon to Cedar Ridge.  You will be huffing and puffing your way out convinced that you will not make it out.  You will, but it may not be pretty.

3 – Overweight Scoutmaster or Golfer (who rides in a cart from hole to hole. For hiking, this is a once or twice a week “hike” on flat ground of 5+ miles). A day hike in Grand Canyon or if a multi day trip is a must and you train hard for 3-4 weeks, you may be able to push through a Superstition WildernessOstrander Lake 3 Day or Ozette Coast 3 Day trip.

4 – Weekend Warrior (you only partake in physical activities on weekends and nothing during the week).  You could probably accomplish the Indian Garden trip without training. With that month of training, maybe you can conquer HavasupaiParia Canyon or Hoh Rainforest trip.

5 – Gym Member (you participate in moderate work outs in the gym 3-4 days per week for an hour or less each time). Give Rim to Rim or Chilnualna Falls to Buena Vista Lake a whirl.

6 – Committed Gym Member (you have a routine 4+ days a week and you stick with it – but limited to hour long workouts like Cross Fit or Spinning classes). Hermit to Bright Angel or Yosemite Falls to Snow Creek may be a good fit.

7 – Serious Fitness Buff (you work out vigorously 5+ days per week 90 minutes at a time and vary your routine with some intense workouts, hikes on hills and mountains.  Your butt hurts after every workout). Check out Hermit to South Kaibab.

8 –  Participates(ed) in college/high school sports and continues the same or similar regimen (similar to 1/2 marathons or short distance triathlons). You know what it is like to train for something – it takes time and commitment. Yosemite Falls to Cloud’s Rest is a good possibility.

9 – Marathon Runner, Triathlete, Cyclist (longer distances and participate in organized local or national races).  Also involves training and commitment. Take your pick! Check out Tanner to Grandview or Red Peak Pass.

10 – Pro/Olympic Athlete – Obviously this is arbitrary and has its gray areas (so please no comments that a pro athlete should also be a 10), but hopefully it gives a bit more guidance on where you stand if you were to compare yourself to a pro athlete. Take your pick! 

The sad reality of this situation is the majority of Americans are between a 1 and 3. On the other side of the scale, only about 1 percent of the population (and I am being generous) is a 7, 8, 9 or 10. So the rest of you who stay physically active to improve or maintain health, feel good, stay lean, or whatever the reason, you are between a 4 and 6 and that will allow you to participate in many other activities and adventures, with the right training and preparation of course.  And don’t forget, the lower your number on the scale, the more training you will need to do.  Wherever you land on this scale, you can change. If you are a 1 now, you can train and become a 6 with time and commitment.  Just as a 10 can become a 1 due to injury or by sitting on the couch day in, day out.  Also, having run a marathon 25 years (level 9) ago does not make you a marathoner now.

*The trips listed for each fitness level are merely suggestions. In no way am I suggesting that you are ready and able to accomplish any of these trips. You know your abilities and comfort level best and only you can decide what will work for you. Do your research, be prepared and be realistic – you are an adult and you can make your own good or bad decisions.  These suggestions also DO NOT take into consideration your mental preparedness, medical conditions, any outdoors experience you already may have; i.e. camping, backpacking, hunting, etc and Mother Nature. The more time you plan in advance, the more time you have to train for a more successful trip.

Training for Your Hike

Are you planning a Rim to Rim hike but need some guidance, or someone to be accountable to? Check out our training programs! We can design a training program tailored to prepare you for a Rim to Rim hike of just to get you out and moving.

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Where We Are
Pima Crossing
8658 E Shea Blvd., Ste 175
Scottsdale, AZ 85260
(480) 857-2477

Sheaborhood
10880 N 32nd. St., Ste 17
Phoenix, AZ 85028
(602)283-5213