Unit 6 – Fitness Testing for
Sport & Exercise
Administering Fitness Tests
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Warm ups and cool downs
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A warm up is essential before any athletic performance or exercise testing. It can help to
prepare the body and mind for activity and reduce the risk of injury. One of the main aims of a
warm up is to increase the body’s core temperature. This results in an increase in muscle
temperature and flexibility. There is little research that identifies the positive or negative
effects of a warm up and it must be identified that other factors may be important during this
period such as psychological preparation.
There are many ways to perform a warm up and they vary between sports; however the
fundamental principles of any warm up remain the same.
General warm up – 5-10min of aerobic activity (jogging, cycling, and dynamic exercises)
increases core temperature, heart rate, blood flow, joint mobility and perspiration. This allows
for a greater range of movement that enables the body to move towards more sports specific
movements.
Specific warm up – 10-15min of sports specific movements could be running drills or skill
specific. The more powerful the sport the more important this part of the warm up should be.
When preparing for fitness testing warm ups must be the same for each testing session. We
call this standardisation. It is often easier with big groups to take a set warm up. If you are
starting with power and sprint tests all participants must be fully warmed up as the risk of
injury is high for these events.
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Test Selection
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Test selection for a sport needs to assess all the main components of fitness used during a
game. The tests must also be reliable, valid and practical. The practicality of using certain
tests is very important. Tests may be reliable and valid but if a sports club doesn’t have the
appropriate equipment or staff for a specific test then this is not a practical situation.
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Test Sequence
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It is not uncommon to complete a variety of tests on one day. The sequence of these tests is
very important and could have a huge impact on the results.
Ideally you perform the anthropometric tests such as body composition first. The main reason
for this is that players are not sweating and therefore it is easier to take skinfold measurements
as the calipers will not slip on dry skin.
Next you should perform the power tests such as vertical jump. It is important to do this test
early in the sequence as athletes need to be fatigue free to get an accurate reading.
You can then move onto agility, speed and finally the endurance tests such as the multi stage
fitness test or the 2.4km run.
If you are testing large numbers of athletes (20 or more) athletes are able to rest and recover
between each test. The testing sequence is based on the recovery time of the energy systems.
Short term energy systems recover at the fastest rate and must be completed early in the test
sequence.
Athletes should encouraged to stay hydrated at all times.
Order of fitness components tested
Body composition – flexibility – power – strength – agility – speed – endurance.
Order of example tests
Skinfolds – sit and reach – vertical jump – grip strength – agility drill – 40m sprint – multi
stage fitness test
There may be circumstances when you have to adapt this order due to facilities, availability or
equipment. Remember to record the order of the testing session so when you re-test
you perform exactly the same session. This helps to maintain reliability.
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Equipment
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Your test selection may be influenced by the equipment that is available. Remember you don’t
always need the most complex equipment to perform accurate fitness tests. It is essential that
equipment is well maintained and calibrated to ensure optimal reliability. The term
calibrations means checking your fitness testing equipment to ensure it is in working order
and measuring accurately. An example of calibration is during the multi stage fitness test
when you are required to time a one minute period to ensure your tape player is running at the
correct speed.
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Recording fitness testing results
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When testing large numbers of athletes it is essential to be well organised and prepared. It
often helps to have all the recording sheets named and the test order decided before the testing
day. When designing the recording sheets, consider the number of athletes being tested, the
type of test and spaces for converting results such as the sum of skinfolds.
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Standardising test conditions
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In order to ensure the reliability of fitness testing the following factors should be considered
before fitness testing is carried out:
Individuals should be well rested (i.e. not having performed intensive exercise on the day
before testing or on the day of the test). Individuals should complete the same diet and fluid
intake 24 hours before the test. Diet sheets can be used to record an individual’s diet for the
day prior to testing.
Individuals should be tested at the same time of the day. The human body has a daily body
clock and there are changes that occur throughout the day such as a change in core
temperature, blood pressure and alertness. To reduce the impact of these biological changes
testing should where possible be completed at the same time.
The same warm up should be completed.
Clear instructions should be given.
Individuals should have practised complicated tests on a previous day so they are accustomed
to the demands.
Test equipment should be calibrated.
The aims of the tests should be explained to the individuals.
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Reasons to end a fitness test
A fitness test should be stopped if the following signs are observed or reported:
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Laboured breathing
Dizziness, mental confusion, staggering or unsteadiness
Chest pains
Nausea/vomiting
Unusual colour such as bluish tinge (cyanosis) or paleness (pallor)
Severe fatigue, facial distress
Participant requests to stop
Equipment not working properly
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Ethical considerations
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Before administering any test informed consent and health screening forms should be
completed. It is also the responsibility of the tester to thoroughly explain the purpose,
procedure and risk associated with the test. It is important that the tester assures the individual
that all test results will be kept confidential.
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What is a good fitness test result?
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Fitness tests give an indication of your fitness in a certain area. Completing several different
types of tests enables you to build up a picture of areas that are good and areas that need to be
developed
Feedback from testing can be provided in several ways. Scores may be compared to a squad
average or a number of other athletes’ scores. This method allows you to see how an athlete’s
fitness is in comparison to others.
Several fitness tests maybe completed each year; the last test administered should be
compared to current results. As a bank of results is collected, annual comparisons and
seasonal variations in fitness can be monitored.
It is useful to research fitness scores of elite athletes in a specific sport. Using the internet to
research different athletes’ or teams’ results can be useful. Sports magazines and journals may
also have information on fitness test results. This research will give you an idea of fitness
levels required to perform at top level.
Remember elite teams and athletes may not give out very recent fitness results as they do not
want their opposition obtaining this information. However out of date testing data can provide
useful information.
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Feedback of fitness testing results
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Accurate and helpful feedback after fitness testing is essential. It can help athletes identify
their strengths and areas for development and monitor the effectiveness of their training.
Coaches, physiotherapists and strength and conditioning specialists may need to see the
fitness results so they can also assess the effectiveness of their training sessions and monitor
individuals over the duration of a season.
The starting point for analysing fitness results is to find reliable normative data. This could be
from other sports clubs, countries or may be from your own sports club. Each test result then
needs to be compared to the normative data for that sport. If the athlete has been tested
previously these scores also need to be compared.
After the analysis of results, strengths and areas for development can be highlighted. The next
stage is to recommend ways in which athletes can develop specific areas of fitness. This relies
on a good working knowledge of training and fitness and using the FITT principles.
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Example Fitness Testing Report
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Stature: 185CMBody Mass: JULY
77.1 KGBODY FAT:5.6%
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Lean body mass is how heavy you are minus the fat. This gives a good indication of how your
muscle bulk is changing. Remember increasing muscle mass may be good for strength and
power, but too much will make it harder for you to stop and turn quickly.
The amount of fat within your body expressed as a percentage. Fat is mainly found just under
the skin, but this also accounts for the fat deep within the body. Fat can be considered as dead
weight, but fat is important for many of your body’s functions and is a valuable source of
energy for extensive training regimes.
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Sprint tests
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Your ability to accelerate from a standing start can be measured with this test. The quicker
you accelerate the better chance you have of creating space between you and your opponents.
The 5 metre time is a good indicator of how quickly you accelerate from a standing position.
The 10 metre and 40 metre times help evaluate your overall speed. Plyometric exercises and
weight training may improve your acceleration and speed.
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The 20m sprints were slower than the norm data by 0.9 seconds. The 5m sprint was equal to
the squad average at 1.12 sec.
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Speed Endurance Test
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The 6 x 40 metre test gives a good indicator of the level of fatigue you get when playing
football. You should aim to complete each sprint as fast as possible. Ideally you should be
able to complete all sprints within the same time with minimal fatigue. Speed endurance and
interval training can reduce your level of fatigue.
You achieved all sprints under 6 seconds which demonstrates you are able to reproduce your
speed with minimal fatigue. Your third sprint is your slowest sprint which is unusual as this
would normally be during the last three runs.
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505 Agility Test
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This test not only measures how quickly you can stop and turn, but is strongly influenced by
your dynamic flexibility. Plyometrics, agility and weight training will improve performance.
There is quite a difference between your right and left leg turn. We will look at this during
your next test to see if you have any significant imbalances.
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Maximal Aerobic Capacity (Bleep Test)
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The bleep test assesses your cardiovascular fitness and hence your maximal aerobic capacity.
It is well designed for football purposes as it requires you to stop and turn at the end of every
shuttle.
The V02max score for September was 57.3 ml∙kg-1∙min-1. 13:1 on the bleep test.
The September V02max is less than both the English 4th tier and English U16 norm
values by ~5 ml∙kg-1∙min-1. The English 1st, 2nd and third tiers are higher at 62.0 and
60.5 ml∙kg-1∙min-1 respectively.
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Sit and Reach
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This is a measure of the flexibility of the lower back and hamstring muscle groups. A good
level of flexibility improves running efficiency and may increase your playing distance. This
is the maximal distance between yourself and the ball where you can still control the ball.
The sit and reach tests of September show 26, 29 and 25 cm for each stretch. There do not
seem to be any major differences in the flexibility of either leg. In comparison with the
norm data, the sit and reach scores can be considered excellent.
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