A Simple Measure of Heart Risk

If I had to name a few 'manly measures' that you should aspire to I would list them as:

1. The O'Neill Test (with a GOOD rating),
2. Double BW Deadlift,
3. OAC,
4. 100m in <12s (adjust for age)
5. Vertical jump of 40 inches
6. A quality pistol off each leg
7. An HSPU

If you want to get a measure of your 'insides', then you might consider a 24-hour fast (this should be 'comfortable'), after which you should also be able to complete some intense activity.  This is a great indicator of metabolic health.

Reporting on Mediplacements, another measure with more scientific credibility than my personal whim, was published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.  Researchers at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center found that  'Low levels of midlife fitness were found to be linked to significant differences in cardiovascular risk'.  Specifically,

• "The research indicated that a 55-year old man who took 15 minutes to run a mile would have a 30 per cent lifetime risk of heart disease as opposed to a man of the same age who takes just eight minutes and has a lifetime risk of less than ten per cent."

Correlation does not equal causation etc...  This does not make a case for running per se, but it does make a case for pursuing activities that develop a metabolic headroom, such that should you seek to run a mile on your 55th birthday, you come in in good time!