Alustakunto

Alustakunto is a Finnish term used in sports science and fitness coaching to denote a person’s baseline or foundation level of physical conditioning before starting a training cycle. It describes the overall readiness of the cardiorespiratory system, muscular strength and endurance, flexibility, mobility, and body composition, as well as general health factors such as sleep and recovery capacity. The concept emphasizes establishing a starting point that informs program design and progression rather than a momentary peak of fitness.

Assessment of alustakunto typically combines simple field tests and health indicators. Common measures include resting heart rate, a basic endurance test (such as a 2 km walk/run or a 1.5–2 km version depending on sport), maximum push-ups or squats, and mobility or functional movement screens. Coaches may also consider subjective readiness and injury history. The goal is to create a realistic baseline that accounts for the athlete’s sport, age, and training history.

In practice, alustakunto guides the preparatory or base phase of training. It helps determine training intensities, volumes, and frequency, with emphasis on building aerobic endurance, technical basics, and injury prevention. As training progresses, improvements in the baseline support progression to more demanding workouts and higher performance targets.

The term is commonly used in Finnish fitness discussions and is closely related to other concepts describing base conditioning, such as peruskunto, which similarly refers to an overall foundation of fitness used to structure training.