Guide and activity to test you fitness

1. Endurance Tests

HARVARD STEP TEST

Description / procedure: The athlete steps up and down on the platform at a rate of 30 steps per minute for 5 minutes or until exhaustion. Exhaustion is defined as when the athlete cannot maintain the stepping rate for 15 seconds. The athlete immediately sits down on completion of the test, and the heart beats are counted for 1 to 1.5, 2 to 2.5, and 3 to 3.5 minutes.

Scoring: the score is determined by the following equation. score = (100 x test duration in seconds) divided by 2 x (total heart beats in the recovery periods).
excellent > 90 good 80 - 89 high average 65 - 79 low average 55 - 64 poor < 55

Equipment required:step or platform 20 inches (50.8 cm) high, stopwatch, metronome or cadence tape.

2. Strength and Power

ABDOMINAL ENDURANCE TEST
Description / procedure: The athlete lies on their back with feet flat on the floor and knees at right angles. With fingertips at the temples, the athlete curls up so the elbows touch the thighs. The shoulders must return fully to the floor. The number of complete sit-ups is counted in the prescribed time, ranging from 20 to 60 seconds (the technique used may vary).

Equipment required: timer, floor mat. other comments: The exact technique may vary between variations of this test, so you must ensure the technique being used is the same as used for the norms being utilised, and is documented with the results.

 

PUSH-UP TEST
Description / procedure: Can be the total number of push-ups completed or the number completed in a set time period. The starting position is with the hands and feet touching the floor, the body and legs are in a straight line, the arms extended and at a right angles to the body.

Modifications: Modifications of this procedure are to have the knees on the ground or to have the hands resting on a chair. The athlete then lowers themselves until the chest touches the floor, then extends the arms back to the starting position.

Scoring: The number of correctly completed push-ups is recorded.

Equipment required: floor mat, timer target population: sports in which upper body strength is important, such as rowing. advantages: testing easy and quick to perform.

3. Flexibility

SIT AND REACH TEST
Description / procedure: This test involves sitting on the floor with legs out straight ahead. Feet (shoes off) are placed flat against the box. Both knees are held flat against the floor by the tester. The athlete leans forward slowly as far as possible and holds the greatest stretch for two seconds. Make sure there is no jerky movements, and that the fingertips remain level and the legs flat.

Scoring: The score is recorded as the distance before (negative) or beyond (positive) the toes. Repeat twice and record the best score.
The tabl e below gives you a guide for expected scores (in cm) for adults 

 

	Men	Women
Super	>+27	> +30
Excellent	+17 to +27	+21 to +30
Good	+6 to +16	+11 to +20
Average	0 to +5	+1 to +10
Fair	-8 to -1	-7 to 0
Poor	-19 to -9	-14 to -8
Very Poor	< -20	< -15

 

Equipment required: sit and reach box (or a ruler can be used, held between the feet)

Validity: This tests only measures the flexibility of the lower back and hamstrings, and is a valid measure of this.

4. Body Composition

BODY MASS INDEX
(BMI) BMI stands for Body Mass Index. It takes a person's weight in kilograms and divides it by their height in meters squared. For instance, if your height is 1.82 meters, the divisor of the calculation will be (1.82 * 1.82) = 3.3124. If your weight is 70.5 kilograms, then your BMI is 21.3 (70.5 / 3.3124).

SKINFOLD MEASUREMENT
Description / procedure: Estimation of body fat by skinfold thickness measurement. Measurement can use from 3 to 9 different standard anatomical sites around the body. The right side is usually only measured. The tester pinches the skin at the appropriate site to raise a double layer of skin and the underlying adipose tissue, but not the muscle. The callipers are then applied 1 cm below and at right angles to the pinch, and a reading taken 2 seconds later. The mean of two measurements should be taken. If the two measurements differ greatly, a third should then be done, then the median value taken.

5. Body Mass and Structure

Body size, structure and composition are separate yet interrelated aspects of overall physique. Body size refers to the volume, mass, length and surface area of the body, body structure refers to the distribution or arrangement of body parts such as the skeleton and muscle-fat distribution, while body composition refers to the amounts of these constituents of the body.

STANDING HEIGHT
Description / procedure: measurement the maximum distance from the floor to the highest point on the head, when the subject is facing directly ahead. Shoes should be off, feet together, and arms by the sides. Heels, buttocks and upper back should also be in contact with the wall.

Equipment required: stadiometer or ruler placed against a wall

Reliability: Height measurement can vary throughout the day, being higher in the morning, so should be measured at a consistent time of day.

BODY MASS
Description / procedure: measurement of body mass, with shoes off and minimal clothing.

Equipment required: Scales, which should be calibrated for accuracy using weights authenticated by a government department of weights and measures.

Reliability: To improve reliability, weigh routinely in the morning (12 hours since eating) and after voiding. Hydration status can also affect

6. Agility Tests

SHUTTLE RUN TEST
Description / procedure: This test requires the athlete to run back and forth between two parallel lines. Place cones 10 metres apart or use line markings. The quickest time to run a certain number of shuttles is determined. The athlete starts at one cone, and runs between the cones a number of times.

Modifications: The test procedure can be varied by changing the number of shuttles performed, having the athlete pick up and return objects from some turning points. equipment required:marker cones, stopwatch, non-slip surface.

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