Fitness Testing Flashcards
Stork Balance Test
Objectives To measure a person’s ability to maintain a state of balance on one leg.
Equipment: An assistant, a stopwatch
Method:
- Standing on both feet, put your hands on your hips.
- Lift one leg and place the toes on your raised foot against the knee of the standing leg.
- Raise the heel of the standing leg so you are on your tiptoes.
- Balance for as long as possible without letting your heel touch the ground or the other foot coming away from the knee.
- Compare the results with the national averages.
The Wall Ball Toss Test
Objective: To avoid dropping the ball to measure hand-eye coordination.
Equipment: A tennis ball, a flat, solid wall, stopwatch, assistant and marking tape.
Method:
- Use the tape to make a line on the floor 2 metres away from the wall.
- Throw the ball against the wall with your left hand, using an underarm action and catch it with your right hand.
- Throw the ball against the wall against with your right hand, catch it with your left.
- Continue to throw the ball with one hand and catching it with the other. Repeat for 30 seconds.
- Compare the results with the national averages.
Sit And Reach Test
Objective: To Test the flexibility of the muscles in the lower back and the hamstring group.
Equipment: Sit and reach box and measuring tape.
Method:
- Take shoes off and sit on the floor with legs out in front of you.
- Put soles of feet, shoulder width apart, against the box. Make sure knees are flat against the floor.
- With palms facing down, reach gently towards your feet.
- After three practice reaches, the fourth is held for at least two seconds.
- Read the number on the sit and reach box that their top of their fingers have got to.
- If your toes do not make it to the box then you will get a negative score, showing the distance you were from 0cm.
- Compare the results with the national averages.
Vertical Jump Test
Objective: To measure power and explosive strength by measuring the height of a vertical jump.
Equipment: Wall, measuring tape, chalk, an assistant.
Method:
- Add chalk to fingertips to help you record your standing reach height and jump height.
- Stand side-on to a wall, reach as high as possible and touch the wall with the chalk/your fingertips. You must keep your feet flat on the ground for this part.
- Stand away from the wall and jump as high as possible using both arms and legs to project your body upwards. Touch the wall at the highest point of the jump.
- The assistant will measure and record the height in centimetres.
- You have three attempts, the highest jump height should be recorded.
Ruler Drop Test
Objective: To measure reaction time by measuring the ability to catch a falling ruler.
Equipment: A one-metre ruler, an assistant
Method:
- Your assistant holds the ruler between the outstretched index finger and thumb on your dominant hand.
- The top of your thumb should be level with the 0 centimetre line of the ruler.
- When you are ready, your assistant should drop the ruler and you should catch it as soon as possible after it has been dropped.
- Record the distance the ruler dropped from the 0cm line to the top of your thumb.
- Compare the results with the national averages.
Handgrip Dynamometer Test
Objective: To measure grip or forearm muscle strength.
Equipment: A grip dynamometer.
Method:
- Use a grip dynamometer according to the manufacturers instructions.
- Record the maximum reading from three attempts using the dominant hand, allowing a one-minute recovery time between each attempt.
- Grip strength is usually measured in kilograms.
- Compare the results with the national averages.
The Illinois Agility Test
Objective: To Test how quickly a person can change the position of their body while maintaining control.
Equipment: 8 cones or markers, a measuring tape, a stopwatch and an assistant
Method:
- Choose a non-slip surface and set up the course.
- Lie down on your front with your head towards the starting line and your hands by your shoulders.
- When the assistant says ‘GO’ and starts the stopwatch, get up as quickly as possible and run around the course.
- Your assistant should stop the stopwatch as soon as you cross the finish line and record the number of seconds it look you to complete the course.
- Compare the results with the national averages.
Reasons for fitness testing
Identifying strengths and weaknesses to inform training requirements.
Motivations
Establishing a starting level of fitness and monitoring improvements.
Providing variety
Compare against norms of the group/national average.
Limitations of fitness testing
Tests are often not sport specific/too general
They do not replicate movements of activity
They do not replicate competitive conditions required in sports
Many do not use direct measuring (sub-maximal) and therefore inaccurate; some need motivation and some have questionable reliability.
Must be carried out with correct procedures to increase validity.
