Not many people enjoy tests - except perhaps for the school swot. For him or her, tests go only to prove how great they are at a particular something. For the rest of us they exist only to remind us of how much better we could be. In many cases though, you will probably agree that they do serve a valid purpose and therefore are somewhat of a necessary evil.

Fitness testing is no exception to that rule. The general assumption however, is that once an unfit person realizes his or her position, they need only make the decision to go out and get fit and think little more about the matter.

This could not be further from the truth. No-one likes to waste their time shooting in the dark at any point in their lives. For most of us, we like to be sure that the effort we are putting in will translate into something specific and beneficial.

Assessing or testing ones fitness level is therefore paramount to being able to devise a proper and truly effective fitness plan. It is something all of us (with no exceptions) should do as thoroughly as possible before anything else, once we have made the decision to get fitter.

Your doctor should be able to provide such an assessment in many cases, although you can also receive one at your local gym or fitness center. In fact, the latter is probably the most effective way since the same people who provide you with the test can also use their knowledge and experience to begin helping you devise your fitness plan on-the-spot.

Most of us are not fitness fanatics. Indeed, a good portion of us engaging in fitness workouts do so purely for the physical benefits and not because of the immense enjoyment to be gleaned from the activity. If you fall into this category, make sure you get your fitness tested before you do anything else. In doing so, you can be sure that any subsequent workouts you do as part of your properly devised fitness plan will be beneficial to you in exactly the ways you had hoped. You will waste less time on unnecessary activities and reap bigger and faster rewards as a result of the activities you engage in.