PAR-Q Form Assessment to Participate in Physical Activity
What is a PAR-Q form assessment?
PAR-Q form stands for a Physical Activity Readiness Questionnaire form and must be completed to assess if you can participate in an exercise program.
Regular physical activity is fun and healthy, and increasingly more people are starting to become more active every day.
Being more active is very safe for most people.
However, some people should check with their doctor before they start becoming much more physically active.
If you are planning to become much more physically active than you are now, start by answering the seven questions in the box below.
When to Check With Your Doctor
If you are between 15 and 69, the PAR-Q form will tell you if you should check with your doctor before you start.
If you are over 69 years of age and you are not used to being very active, check with your doctor.
Common sense is your best guide when you answer these questions.
Please read the questions carefully and answer each question honestly.
Check YES or NO.
PAR-Q Form Questions
#1. Heart Health
Has your doctor ever said that you have a heart condition and that you should only do physical activity recommended by your doctor?
YES or NO
Explanation:
Cardiorespiratory fitness is one of the five components of fitness.
As such, it must be clear that your heart health is excellent before you begin a diet and exercise plan.
#2. Chest Pain
Do you feel any pain in your chest when you do physical activity?
YES or NO?
Explanation:
Again, cardiovascular fitness is one of the five components of fitness.
As such, it must be clear that your heart health is excellent before you begin a diet and exercise plan.
Health issues present themselves in a variety of ways.
Pain is always a wake-up call.
But sometimes, even without pain, you might have a health condition that can only be detected by a blood test.
For example, despite having no pain, my left kidney was failing due to a congenital UPJ obstruction.
I had no clue until I took a random blood test and discovered that my GFR (Glomerular Filtration Rate) had dipped below 60.
As a result, I needed an emergency pyeloplasty (reconstruction of the kidney).
So, pain is not always the best indicator, but if you have chest pains, you must check with your doctor first.
#3. Lack of Physical Activity
In the last month, have you had chest pain when you were not engaged in physical activity?
YES or NO?
Some people think that sitting most of the day has no adverse effects.
Instead, they believe that by sitting, they are protecting themselves from potential injury because of exercise.
Physical activity can indeed cause injury.
Some physical activities, such as powerlifting, skiing, boxing, weightlifting, cycling, rollerblading, and even walking, can lead to injury.
Especially when you are not warmed up for a training session.
The truth is that sitting more during the day will NOT protect your health.
Unfortunately, the opposite is true.
The more you sit, the less healthy you are, even if you work out for an hour during the day.
Sitting too much is a bad idea; it even has a name: sitting disease.
A Caution Before and After Workouts
Now that you know you must move your body to get and stay fit, here is a friendly warning:
If you do not have time to warm up, you don’t have time to work out.
Make sure that you spend at least 5 minutes warming up before every workout and another 5 minutes cooling down afterward.
Warming up your muscles, tendons, and ligaments will protect you from unnecessary sprains and strains that can quickly derail your training.
This caution does not only hold true for inherently dangerous compound exercises, like:
but even for simple exercises like walking.
Yes, you can even injure your back if you do not pace your workout, which means that you do not exert yourself too much.
Always increase your training intensity gradually.
Never go all out without slowly building up to that level.
#4. Balance
Do you lose your balance because of dizziness, or do you ever lose consciousness?
YES or NO?
#5. Prior Injuries
Do you have a bone or joint problem, (for example, back, knee, or hip), that could be made worse by a change in your physical activity?
YES or NO?
You can injure your lower back by walking, closing your door, getting out of a car, or deadlifting.
You can also hurt your knee while doing squats, deadlifts, and other sports activities.
This vulnerability of your joints is why you must warm up and be cautious before starting an exercise program.
Not only when you start a program, but as mentioned above, the warm-up and cool-down are critical to ensure your safety.
How Exercise Can Help
You might have the impression that exercise is all doom and gloom.
Not at all.
There are cases where training is going to help your previous injuries.
I can speak from personal experience.
Many years ago, I tore the medial meniscus of my left knee.
It was so bad that I could not walk for six months.
When I started feeling better, I still could not walk normally.
There was always a perceptible limp to my gait.
Enter Squats and Deadlifts
One day, about six months after I started doing squats and deadlifts at the seemingly absurd age of 55, I noticed that my legs felt much stronger.
I realized that the limp was gone and that I felt more confident and mobile than I had for the past ten years.
There is a rationale: When you strengthen your muscles, even though you still have a weakness, the whole is much stronger.
So, developing muscles targeted by squats and deadlifts helped compensate for the weakness caused by a torn meniscus.
Compensating for weaknesses is not the only remarkable benefit of squats and deadlifts.
#6. Medications
The sixth question on the PAR-Q form is regarding medications.
Is your doctor currently prescribing drugs (for example, water pills) for your blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, depression, or heart condition?
YES or NO?
One of the most fantastic benefits of following a fitness system is that it can help correct problems that usually require medications, such as those listed above.
#7. Any Other Reasons?
Do you know of any other reasons you should not do physical activity?
YES or NO?
If You Answered YES to One or More PAR-Q Form Questions
- Tell your doctor about the PAR-Q Form and which questions you answered YES
- Talk to your doctor about the activities you want to do and follow your doctor’s advice
Start Doing Activity
- If you answered NO honestly to all of the PAR-Q Form questions
- Start slow and build up gradually
- You will also need to sign an informed use of the PAR-Q form, which is valid for a year.
PAR-Q Form – Wrapping Up
Physical activity can improve your mental and physical health.
But before you embark on a physical fitness journey, be sure to check your underlying health.
Otherwise, you could do more harm than good.
NASM PAR-Q Form
Download a copy of the NASM PAR-Q form (National Academy of Sports Medicine) or the ACSM PAR-Q (American Council of Sports Medicine)
What’s Next
The simplest thing you can do for your health is to lose 20 pounds.
Learn the 15 Magical Benefits of Losing 20 Pounds
and the free program The Hashi Mashi Diet – How to Lose 20 Pounds in 3 Months Using 5 Simple Steps
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