Health Assessment Process

What is a health assessment?

A health assessment is a series of tests that any spa or gym, or even personal trainer, will do on a client before she schedules him to start a diet and fitness plan. These tests help to find out how active the patient is, what health risks and health history the patient has and gets all of the statistics of the patient's current shape, like weight, BMI (body mass index) and the like.

A health assessment is an important step in anyone's fitness routine. If someone is new to exercise this assessment will tell the coach or trainer that he needs to start out slowly. It will also tell if the patient has heart conditions or other health issues that may make it difficult for him to do certain things, like use a treadmill or run on the track.

The PAR-Q & You is a questionnaire that is given to people when they are planning to start a physical activity routine. All reputable gyms will have some form of this test, albeit under a different name. The questions range from whether or not this routine has been discussed with and OK'd by a doctor and if there are any health risks, previous bouts of chest pain, or joint problems. It is just a basic questionnaire that lets the coach or trainer know if this person can perform physical activities without it being a major health risk.

A couple other tests that are likely to be given are the Cardiorespiratory Assessments and Flexibility Assessments. The Cardiorespiratory Assessments determine how fast the heart beats at different intervals of exercise, letting a patient know what is too little, enough, or too much for them to handle when it comes to their fitness. There are three different basic tests that can be done for this; Rockport Fitness Walking Test, Cooper's 1.5-mile Run/Walk Test and the YMCA Step Test.

Flexibility is important because one must be able to move correctly as to refrain from preventable injuries. These tests help to find out how flexible an individual is in order to suit their exercise routine to their individual status. The two basic flexibility tests are the Sit-and-Reach Test and the Shoulder Flexibility Test.