[:en]So we’ve made the new year’s resolutions but are looking for a baseline to track progress towards our fitness goals. We all know scale weight is but one piece of the puzzle, so for a more complete picture of our current health, a fitness check is in order. Most gyms have the equipment and trained staff to do fitness evaluations, so if you belong to a gym, it’s easy to schedule. Those who don’t shell out for gym memberships can keep an eye out for groupons by gyms offering fitness checks; it’s a common promotional activity.
Another option is to drop into Chengdu’s public fitness evaluation centre near Mengzhuiwan. This facility does a basic fitness evaluation that measures height and weight, balance, reaction time, lung capacity and how fast your pulse recovers after exertion. We called to ask how much they charged for a test; they said it was free and we confirmed foreigners could also be tested for free. You need to have an adequate grasp of characters and spoken Chinese in order to navigate booking an appointment on the website, filling out the information form (it’s mostly checking off selections rather than writing characters), reading the test results and communicating with the staff, or else have language support along. The steps are as follows:
Make an appointment
You need to go the website and book an appointment first off. Tests are done in the morning or afternoon on Mondays through Fridays, and you can usually get in the next day.
Arrive and fill out the information sheet
The person at the door will hand you an information sheet where you fill out your age, medical history, daily habits and physical activity, reasons for taking the test, exercise motivations and any challenges to exercise.
Pay for any supplementary tests
We wanted to do a body composition test (80RMB) which shows the percentage of body fat and lean body mass. The test also shows if your upper or lower body is more developed or if you are more developed on your right or left side. The website also lists optional bone density and artery hardness tests.
Go through the tests
A worker will direct you to change into slippers and guide you through the various tests: height, weight, lung capacity, strength, reaction time, balance, flexibility and recovery time after exertion.
Review your results
When you are finished with your test, one of the staff will sit down and go over the printed reports with you. They list your BMI (or ratio of weight to height), recommendations for caloric intake and a macrobiotic breakdown – or how many of your calories should come from protein, calories and fat. They also recommend what kind of exercises you should be doing to burn the most calories during exercise.
Name: 成都市国民体质监测中心
Website: http://www.cdtzjc.com/
Address: #1, No.1 of Hoaxing road, Jinjiang District 锦江区华星路1号附1号
Tel: 028-86950950[:]
