By: Patricia Hagen

My daughter rolled her teenage eyes when I got all excited about the Presidential Physical Fitness Award she earned at school. It was the first time she had accomplished all five elements. In addition to meeting the age-group standards for the mile run, shuttle run, pull-ups and sit-ups, she even passed the flexibility test, which always blocked her before.

I was impressed because I never earned the legendary award myself.

Looking at her fancy certificate, I wondered, how would I do on the test? How fit am I?

Now I - and you - can find out. The award is not just for kids anymore. In May, the President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sport announced the creation of an Adult Fitness Test.

Demand for the test has grown, says Melissa Johnson, the council's executive director. "We had so many baby boomers come to us, (saying), 'I remember taking the test when I was a kid, and I would love to know where I stand now.'"

Council members started talking about the test in 2006, when the council celebrated its 50th anniversary. "There's a little bit of a nostalgic piece to this, too," Johnson says. "After 50 years, why don't we come up with one for adults?"

The council wanted the new test to be more complete than other common fitness evaluations, she says. It had to measure flexibility, muscular endurance and strength, and cardiovascular or aerobic fitness. "We wanted to put all the elements together."

Talk about striking a chord: In the first two weeks, about 100,000 people took the test, which is scored online at the Web site www.adultfitnesstest.org.

"We're very, very excited," Johnson says. "We wanted it to be very simple. So we did an online, interactive test that folks are able to self-administer."

That means the test can be done at home, with no one laughing at you, no stinky gym uniform and no drill-sergeant teacher. You can do the walk or run on a treadmill if you don't want to go outside.

Measuring up

The Adult Fitness Test has the following three elements that are borrowed from evaluations used by the YMCA and Cooper Institute:

> Flexibility. This is determined by the sit-and-reach test, which measures how well the leg and back muscles stretch. Being able to maneuver all of your joints through their full ranges of motion is important for good joint function as well as being able to walk, lift and step normally.

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