How to Design Physical Fitness Tests to Measure Your Progress

You’ll have a tough time figuring out if your strength and conditioning program works unless you measure your progress. The best athletes possess high levels of agility, strength, power, speed, and endurance. There are specific tests that measure each one of these components of athletic ability. Use the information in this article to make sure you match the proper test with the characteristic that you’re trying to evaluate, i.e. choose a vertical jump to measure power.

Understand your sport or event

It’s easy to choose the right test if you know the energy demands and movement patterns of your activity.

If you’re preparing for physical fitness testing to enter the police academy, you’ll simply need to train for the tests given on that particular day. Train in the exact order, with the specific rest intervals that you will experience. Create a program using these requirements and you’ll dominate the competition.

Sport testing requires a basic understanding of the event length, intensity, work-to-rest ratios, and common injuries associated with the activity.

Goof-Proof Testing Guidelines

Without boring you with a bunch of statistical talk, it’s important to set up your tests in a way that leaves little room for human error.

Follow these rules to standardize your performance tests.

1. Measure what you’re supposed to (validity).
A vertical jump is a good choice to test power. A 10-K race will test endurance. Not vice versa.

2. Be consistent and repeatable (reliability).
Assuming your athletic ability doesn’t change, a reliable test repeated twice will show the same result both times. By the way, it’s a lot harder to control the reliability of a test.

A good example of an often unreliable test is body fat measurement using a body fat scale (bioelectrical impedance). The test relies on the fact that different tissues within your body contain various amounts of water. If the test is not properly controlled, the scale may show a change in body fat when in fact it has only measured a change in hydration levels. And hydration levels are affected by menstrual cycles, high-salt diets, certain medications, and other factors.

3. Use the same tester, protocol, and test order when retesting.
If a coach is taking measurements, have the same person take the measurements each time. Also, it's key that they are experienced test administrators.

Regarding test order, perform all quick, explosive tests first, followed by strength, endurance, and flexibility. For example, a standing broad jump should be performed before a 300-yard shuttle run.

4. Use good technique (standardize the test) and calibrate your equipment.
The devil is in the details. In other words, if you pay attention to the little things, the big things will take care of themselves. Proper technique and the right equipment are keys to a successful testing day.

5. Try to control external factors.
Test at the same time of day and in similar environmental conditions. So if you conduct your initial test outside on a sunny afternoon in warm weather, a follow-up test in the rain may screw up your results. It’s best to use the same equipment to when you retest too.

6. Do your best to control internal factors.
Things like your most recent meal choice, emotional state, energy levels and so on will affect your testing outcomes. Be aware that these internal factors may sneak up and sabotage your test results.

As a general rule, avoid eating within two hours of the test. If you decide to eat less than two hours before the test, the type of food you select is just as important as the quantity. A meal replacement shake is a good pre-workout choice, just as long as you don’t drink too much. Eight ounces per hour is a good rule of thumb.

In order to maintain high energy levels, you should avoid intense workouts the day before physical fitness testing and skip training altogether on the test day.

7. Warm up before you test.
No more than 10 minutes tops. A proper dynamic warm-up will increase muscle temperature, rev up your mind-muscle connection (aka neuromuscular activity), and reduce the chance of injury.

8. Post your results.
Physical fitness testing should be competitive and fun. When you allow others to see your testing scores it helps to create hierarchy within a group. This pecking order is a surefire way to get the competitive juices flowing.

Whether you’re competing with yourself or your teammates, you’re more likely to buy into a strength and conditioning program if you are held accountable for your workout performance. On the other hand, it’s easy to slack off when no one is checking up on you.

Sample Physical Fitness Performance Tests

Here are some reliable physical fitness tests that measure strength, speed, power, endurance and flexibility. They require little or no equipment.

> Speed and Power Tests

1) 30m sprint -- A simple fitness test to measure power.
2) 30m sprint fatigue -- Excellent for multi-sprint sports such as basketball, soccer, hockey etc.
3) Standing long jump -- A simple test to measure explosive, ultra-short term power
4) Standing vertical jump -- The standard fitness test used to measure explosive power. This test is excellent for basketball and volleyball.

> Agility Tests

1) 20-yard drill -- Used to measure your ability to accelerate, decelerate, and change direction.
2) llinois agility test -- Another great fitness test for multi-sprint sports.
3) Hexagon drill -- Excellent test to measure quickness, agility and balance.

> Strength Tests

1) One repetition max -- The standard strength test for all athletes.
2) Sit up test -- A good indication of core strength.
3) Push up test -- Used to test strength endurance.
4) Pull up test -- A good indicator of upper body strength.

> Aerobic and Anaerobic Endurance Tests

1) 300-yard shuttle run -- Measures anaerobic endurance.
2) Cooper 12-minute run -- A fitness test to measure aerobic power (VO2max) indirectly.
3) Multi-stage shuttle run -- Also used to estimate aerobic power but more appropriate for multi-sprint sports. Also effective for testing large groups at a time.
4) Rockport test -- A simple walking test for less active individuals.

> Flexibility Tests

There are only a few reliable tests to measure flexibility. The best instrument is a goniometer (think plastic protractor). It can be used to measure the flexibility of most joints and range of motion for dozens of movements.

1) Sit and reach test -- The standard flexibility test that measures lower back and hamstring flexibility.
2) Trunk rotation test
3) Groin flexibility test

Test Order

Physical fitness performance testing should occur in the following order:

1. Non-fatiguing tests (height/weight measurements, skinfolds, vertical and broad jumps)
2. Agility tests (T-test, Illinois test)
3. Maximal strength and power tests (1-RM, 3-RM)
4. Sprint tests (40-yard sprint, sprint fatigue test)
5. Muscular endurance tests (12min run, shuttle test)

Testing Schedule

Use your battery of physical fitness tests at the beginning of your training program (usually the start of pre-season training). Choose the same set of tests to measure yourself every 4-6 weeks and note your progress. It's a good idea to test just prior to the start of the competitive season and then a couple of times during the competitive season.

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