Resting heart rate

Measuring your resting heart rate (or pulse) when you’re at rest is a good way to assess your cardiovascular fitness because the stronger your heart is, the fewer times a minute it has to pump to send blood around your body.

Do this test first thing in the morning so that the results won’t be affected by physical activities or stress and avoid taking stimulants such as caffeine or nicotine before doing it.

Take your pulse at your wrist for 15 seconds, using your finger. Now multiply the number of heartbeats you counted by four to get your heart rate in beats per minute (bpm).

If you’re running regularly, you can expect your resting heart rate to drop by one or two beats per minute every one to two weeks. If you’ve trained well, after six months you could be looking at a drop of between 10bpm and 15bpm. However, your heart will only drop a maximum of 20 beats.

Test 1: Resting Heart Rate

Measurements

By measuring different parts of your body, you’ll be able to keep track of how you’re firming up and the way your body is changing as the fat melts away. Your waist measurement can be a very valuable way to assess your health risks as where you carry your extra weight can have a big impact on your health.

People who carry most of their weight around their hips and thighs are healthier and live longer than those who carry their weight around their stomach. It’s thought that this is because having a lot of fat around your major organs negatively affects the way they function.

Use the tape measure to take the measurements (in either inches or centimetres) of the following parts of your body and fill them in on the chart. For you to chart your progress accurately, it’s vital to take readings from the same place on each body part each time.

• Chest: place the tape measure around your chest so that it runs across  your nipples.
• Waist: Place the tape measure around your waist so that it runs straight across your tummy button.
• Hips: Place the tape measure around your hips at the widest point.
• Thigh: Place the tape measure around your leg at the highest part of your thigh, where it meets your groin.
• Upper arm: Place the tape measure around your upper arm so it touches the highest part of your armpit.

A waist circumference of over 80cm (31 ½ in) in women and over 94cm (37in) in men indicates excess abdominal fat, which is a greater health risk than fat stored around your hips and thighs. The other four measurements will help you track your weight-loss progress – and provide a constant source of motivation.

Test 2: Measurements