I have written the things I think a NORMAL person should be able to do.  Any healthy person with a degree of normalcy should not be gasping after going up a flight of stairs, nor should they not be able to aide themselves with their hands to sit down.  Do you reach for the toilet bowl?  I surely hope the handicap bars are only there for AFTER leg day and not as a means to avoid leg day.

I think EVERYONE should be able to do 5 pull ups.  Not the kipping ones, but from a dead hang pull until your chin is over the bar.  I'm not even requiring you to put your chest up there.  Just get your chin OVER the bar without letting go and restarting.

I think EVERYONE should be able to do 10 good push ups.  "Help me I've fallen and I can't get up"  ????  WHAT???  Not even acceptable.  You can fall ten times and still get up off the floor.  Good push ups mean, Lever like, straight from the ankle through the knee, up through the hip, into the shoulders and head in the neutral position.

There should be no "inch worming" leading with the head as if you were giving an aerial blow job!  Tuck it!!!

Everyone should be able to run a mile!  Simple, one foot in front of the other, fat man jog (known as an 'og) sunsetting run of a mile in distance.  There should be no need to get motivated, pre worked out, mantra chanting, Haka for affect.  Nope, just RUN a freak'n mile!

If you can't do these, you are NOT dead in my eyes.  You are simply out of shape,deconditioned waste products in need of my recommendations!  (write me!  No better yet, make plans to visit me so we can fix your lack of physical fiber)

A person of acknowledgement, a person who will raise my interest to say...Yea, that person is in shape can:

1. Run 3 miles without much to do

2. Condition for 20 continuous minutes without a single complaint

3. Carry: 12% or less  body fat if they are a male and 20% or less if they are female.

4. Bench press their 100% of their body weight for reps if they are a male.  60% for reps if they are female

5. OHP 75% of their body weight for male 50% for female

6. Squat and Deadlift 2x their body weight for male  1.5x their weight female.

7. Touch their toes without leaning on anything

Beyond that...GOLD!  You surely have your place at my table and allowed multiple bragging rights.

I have annually tried to maintain the Marine Corps' PFT standard for a perfect score on the old test of 300 points.

Run 3 miles in 18:00 or faster

Pull ups: 22 reps

Sit ups: 80 reps in a minute.

Up until TWO years ago *(age 58) I could knock those three exercises out without so much as a glass of water and then do it again TWICE.

Then it hit!  58 years and a couple set backs that kept me from tearing up the three miles.  Youth had fled and age and tenacity took over.

While I still CAN'T quite click off that three miles in consecutive 6 minutes, I am HAPPY to say that:

Today's training:

5K Run...(3.1 miles) was an EASY 27 minutes and 34 seconds: 27:34

I say easy because there were no creeks, bumps, pops, crunches.  There was only the rush of the morning air by my ears, the inner percussion of my heart, and the ease of  by which my respiration count was consistent and smooth.

I'm not sure if I'll EVER be able to turn 6ers again.  But it's surely on my GOAL list.  Much like that elusive 1000 pound squat.  I keep pushing it keeps pulling!