Do you want to know how strong your heart is for your age? There is no need to perform complex tests, such as running on a treadmill at full speed while wearing all kinds of sensors.
According to an article published by the British newspaper The Daily Mail, you can find out how strong your heart is by performing a simple test in which you run for 12 minutes and find out the distance you will cover. You can also do this by walking at a fast pace, or jogging.
The scientific tool is known as the Cooper test, and is designed to measure maximum oxygen capacity which is the amount of oxygen your body uses during exercise, known as VO2 max.
Maximum oxygen capacity
The higher your maximum oxygen capacity, the more efficiently your heart pumps blood to your organs and tissues, indicating that the organ is healthy.
Studies have shown that those with high maximum oxygen capacity for their age are less likely to die from heart disease than those with lower scores.
The test was developed by American physician Kenneth Cooper in 1968, which was originally designed as a tool to measure fitness in the US Army.
The test can be performed on a treadmill, running track, or any flat, hard surface. Run, jog, or walk briskly for 12 minutes without stopping, and using a distance-tracking app like those found on phones, keep track of how many meters you walk.
Did you pass the test?
Men in their 30s should be able to run 1.9 kilometers (1.1 miles), while women of the same age should be able to run 1.7 kilometers, or roughly a mile.
If a man can cover a distance of 2.6 km, in his 30s, his maximum oxygen capacity is considered “excellent”. The same applies to women in their 30s who can cover a distance of 2.5 km.
The threshold is slightly lower for middle-aged people. The average man in his 50s can cover 1.6 kilometers in 12 minutes. If it reaches 2.4 kilometers, its performance is excellent.
A woman in her 50s can walk 1.4 kilometres, while anything over 2.2 kilometres, or more than a mile, is excellent.
Other health tests
Your Maximum Oxygen Capacity score isn’t the only simple measurement that indicates how healthy you are for your age. Experts also say that the number of push-ups an individual can do is a good indicator of strength and endurance, which studies show can indicate how long a person will live.
Push-ups engage most major muscle groups throughout the body, including the legs, abdomen, shoulders, back, and arms. According to the Mayo Clinic, guys should aim for 28 push-ups, and women 20.
For those over 55 years old, the number drops to 10 push-ups for women and 12 for men.
Men and women 65 years of age should be able to do 10 push-ups at a time.
Research has also shown that older people who can maintain their balance on their leg for more than 10 seconds have a much lower risk of death in the next decade of their lives. This is because the extent to which a person is able to maintain his balance indicates his level of general strength, and his ability to prevent tripping and falling.