The last time you found yourself in a lab, you were probably fumbling with a Bunsen burner and flirting with your science partner. Well, a new trend in fitness is about to land you back there – as a specimen.

Lablike fitness testing centres are popping up in gyms to give you high-tech insights into how in shape you really are. To get the lowdown, we sussed out the most widely available tests and asked distance coach Dr Jack Daniels (cocktails, anyone?) how best to use them. “It’s most important to retest every few months – using the same variables, such as location, equipment and time – and tweak your workout accordingly,” Daniels says. Here are all the details you need, from what the tests measure to how to take them – and why tracking the results is key to nailing your fitness goals.

VO2 MAX TEST
Who should take it Anyone training for an endurance event, like a marathon, a century ride or a triathlon.
What it tells you The amount of oxygen your body converts into energy during each minute of maxed-out exercise. The higher the number, the more aerobically fit you are.
What you’ll suffer through A nearly puke-inducing all-out effort. You get on a treadmill or a stationary bike wearing a heart-rate monitor and a funky mask hooked up to a computer to track your breathing and oxygen intake. You start out easy, but after the first minute, the administrator juices the speed every 60 seconds until you’re not sure you can continue; then you maintain that intensity for another dreadful minute. A computer spits out your score. Genetics and conditions like asthma can affect your number, so the point is to get a baseline.
How to use the results The average O2 intake for healthy women ages 26 to 35 is between 35 and 50 millilitres per kilogram per minute; an elite female athlete’s could be in the sixties or above. You can raise your number by up to 20 percent if you increase your cardio three percent every three to four weeks.

MAXED OUT
See how your VO2 max measures up against the world’s best athletes (all units measured in ml/kg/min)
35-50 Average woman
78.6 Joan Benoit Samuelson, Olympic marathon gold medallist
83.8 Lance Armstrong, seven-time Tour de France winner
94 Björn Daehlie, Norwegian cross-country skier
240 Alaskan huskies running in the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race

RESTING METABOLIC RATE (RMR) TEST
Who should take it Anyone.
What it tells you The number of kilojoules your body burns at rest.
What you’ll suffer through You need to be as inactive as possible – which means no heart-rate-raising activities and no food for at least three hours before the test. Once in the lab, you recline in a chair and breathe into a long tube for 10 minutes while a computer records how much oxygen you inhale and how much carbon dioxide you exhale.
How to use the results This programme tells you how many kilojoules you can eat each day without adding or losing weight. To shed a jeans size, cut your daily kilojoule intake by up to 15 percent. Athletes should add kilojoules to their baseline to build or maintain muscle.