Fitness Testing

Fitness testing has become an important tool for the athlete and the coach. It has a number of uses and its use in fitness programming whether for health or performance should not be under estimated. Some of the reasons for fitness testing are as follows.

•Basis for fitness prescription (health or performance).
•To aid progression.
•Test recovery from layoff or injury.
•Highlight strengths.
•Highlight weaknesses.
•Evaluate training.
•Provide physiological guidelines for training intensity.
•Motivation.

As there are different components of fitness there are a number of tests that are used to test/assess each components. This site will look at some of the more frequently used tests.

Before carrying out a fitness test you should consider a number of factors before selecting a test for an individual and then carrying it out.

–Health of the subject.
–Initial fitness level.
–The competitive level of the subject
–Specificity of the test for the individual taking into consideration the task or sport they are training for.
–The cost.
–Is the test necessary.
–What the athlete and their coach requires.

Always make sure that you get subjects to complete a consent from and Health Declaration Form before they proceed with any tests. These are essential in order to gauge the health of the subject and also in the case of something going wrong that you have a record of what they have said.

The most accurate tests are usually carried out in a exercise physiology or human performance laboratory. These tests are however expensive and require not just specialised equipment but also highly trained individuals to carryout the tests. These types of lab will contain equipment such as the Gas Analyser in the middle of the picture below.

Tests exist for each of the components of fitness

	Tests of Aerobic Capacity.
	Tests of Strength.
	Tests of Muscular Endurance.
	Tests of Speed.
	Tests of Body Composition.
	Tests of Flexibility.