Last week, we introduced you to the MacSenior fitness program at McMaster University.
READ MORE: What’s Your Fitness Age?: Senior Fitness – Part 1
This week, we go from learning about the program to competing with two of their participants. Mike teamed up with 78-year-old Pat and Ross teamed up with 65-year-old Nick.
The three fitness challenges we completed were chosen by the organizers of the MacSenior program because of their utility in determining senior fitness levels. They are: A grip test, max pushups, and a two-minute step-up test.
If you’re wondering how you stack up, here are the scoring tables so you can test yourself at home in the pushup test and the step-up test.
How many pushups can you do? Do a maximum set and see where your number ranks across different ages.
Golding, et al.
Men should do traditional reps, with only their hands and toes on the ground. Women can do modified versions if they choose, where their knees are also on the ground. If you have shoulder issues, you can do reps like Pat did in the above video. Do the pushups against a wall or elevated surface to get a similar stimulus.
In the two-minute step-up test, your knee has to get past the midpoint of your thigh when standing straight for a repetition to be counted. The numbers and age metrics for seniors completing the step test is as follows.
Can you beat these numbers? Find your gender and see where your number of step-ups compare to different senior fitness levels.
Can you beat these numbers? Find your gender and see where your number of step-ups compare to different senior fitness levels.
It was inspiring to see the commitment to fitness in the MacSenior program. And we had a blast competing with Nick and Pat. It’s nice to see that a competitive fire doesn’t wane as you get older.
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