Components of fitness and the principles of testing

25 min

Who is the fittest?

A 10,000 m runner, a 100 m sprinter, a goalkeeper and a gymnast are all "fit", but put them through the same test and they would rank in a different order every time. The runner wins the shuttle run, the sprinter the 30 m dash, the goalkeeper the reaction test and the gymnast the sit-and-reach. Fitness is not one quality but several components, and each needs its own test. In Senior 3 you learned to train these qualities and to plan a programme with FITT and the principles of training. At A-level you learn to measure them: to choose valid tests, run them so that the results can be trusted, and interpret the numbers.

Definition

Physical fitness: the ability to meet the physical demands of daily life and of a sport. Health-related fitness: the components linked to good health. Skill-related fitness: the components that support performance of sports skills.

Fitness test: a standard task, carried out in a fixed way, that measures one component of fitness.

Protocol: the exact written procedure for a test: equipment, set-up, instructions, number of trials and scoring.

Validity: how well a test measures what it claims to measure. Reliability: how consistently a test gives the same result when repeated under the same conditions.

Norms: tables of typical results for a group, such as age and sex, used to compare an individual's score.

The components of fitness

Component	Meaning	Where it matters
Cardiorespiratory (aerobic) endurance	The ability of the heart, lungs and blood to supply oxygen to working muscles over a long time	Distance running, football, cycling
Muscular strength	The greatest force a muscle or muscle group can produce in one effort	Shot put, scrums, lifting
Muscular endurance	The ability of a muscle to keep contracting repeatedly without tiring	Rowing, cycling, repeated jumping in volleyball
Flexibility	The range of movement possible at a joint	Gymnastics, hurdling, goalkeeping
Body composition	The relative amounts of fat and lean tissue (muscle, bone, organs) in the body	Health; weight-class sports
Speed	The ability to move the body, or part of it, quickly	Sprinting, fast breaks in basketball
Agility	The ability to change direction quickly while keeping control	Netball, football, handball
Power	Strength and speed combined: force produced quickly	Jumping, throwing, spiking
Balance	Keeping the body's centre of mass over its base of support, still or moving	Gymnastics, cycling, Rwandan traditional dance
Coordination	Using different body parts together smoothly and accurately	Hurdling, dribbling, racket sports
Reaction time	The time between a signal and the start of a response	Sprint starts, goalkeeping, table tennis

Principles of good testing

Purpose: test to find strengths and weaknesses, set goals, plan training, check progress and motivate, never to embarrass. Results are personal and kept private.
Validity: pick a test that measures the component you need. A 20 m shuttle run is a valid test of aerobic endurance; a sit-up test is not.
Reliability: follow the same protocol every time: same surface, equipment, warm-up, instructions, time of day and, if possible, the same tester. Give a practice trial, then record the best of two or three trials where the protocol says so.
Objectivity: score with clear rules (a tape measure, a stopwatch, a counted repetition) so that two testers would give the same score.
Comparing results: norm-referenced means comparing with others of the same age and sex; criterion-referenced means comparing with a fixed standard, such as a health target or a team's entry level; self-referenced means comparing with your own earlier result, which is often the most useful.

Safety and order

Screen first: every pupil should answer a health questionnaire such as the PAR-Q+ (Physical Activity Readiness Questionnaire for Everyone). Anyone with a heart condition, chest pain, dizziness, a recent injury or illness is not given maximal tests until a health worker agrees.
Warm up, wear suitable shoes, drink water, and stop any test at once for chest pain, severe breathlessness, dizziness or pain in a joint.
Order: a widely used order (National Strength and Conditioning Association) is non-fatiguing tests first (height, mass, flexibility), then agility, maximal power and strength, sprints, muscular endurance, and the aerobic test last, with full rest between tests. A tired pupil gives an unreliable score.

Worked example

Worked example 1: choosing valid tests. A netball coach wants to test her centre, who runs all game and must dodge, jump and pass. Which three tests are most valid, and why?

Aerobic endurance, for running all game: the 20 m shuttle run, whose stop-start shuttles also suit netball.
Agility, for dodging and changing direction: the Illinois agility run.
Power, for jumping to intercept: the vertical jump.
A handgrip test or sit-and-reach would be reliable, but less valid for this player's needs.

Worked example

Worked example 2: is the result reliable? A pupil does the sit-and-reach twice, a minute apart, and scores 31 cm then 34 cm. How large is the difference, and what should the tester do?

Difference: $34 - 31 = 3\,\mathrm{cm}$ . Mean: $\frac{31 + 34}{2} = 32.5\,\mathrm{cm}$ .
Percentage difference relative to the mean: $\frac{3}{32.5} \times 100 = 9.2\%$ .
The second score is higher because the first trial acted as a warm-up. A reliable protocol gives a practice stretch first and records the best of the next two trials, with the same box, bare feet and knees held straight each time.

Worked example

Worked example 3: planning a test session. Put these tests in a sensible order for one PE session: 20 m shuttle run, sit-and-reach, 30 m sprint, push-ups, vertical jump, Illinois agility run.

Non-fatiguing first: sit-and-reach.
Then agility and power, which need fresh legs: Illinois agility run, then vertical jump.
Then speed: 30 m sprint. Then muscular endurance: push-ups.
The most tiring, aerobic test last: 20 m shuttle run. If time is short, it is better to run it on another day.

Tip

Valid for whom? Always ask what the sport demands before choosing a test. A test can be perfectly reliable and still be the wrong test for that athlete.

Warning

Common mistakes. Mixing up strength (one maximal effort) with muscular endurance (many repetitions), and speed with power. Changing the protocol between test and retest, so that "improvement" is really a different test. Testing a pupil who is ill or injured. Running the aerobic test first, which spoils every result after it.

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Practice

List the five health-related components of fitness.
Distinguish between muscular strength and muscular endurance.
Define validity and reliability.
Which component is tested by the ruler drop, and which by the stork stand?
State three ways to make a test more reliable.
What is the difference between norm-referenced and self-referenced comparison?
Why should the aerobic test come last in a test session?
A coach tests all her sprinters with a 12-minute run and selects the relay team from the results. Evaluate her choice of test.

Show answersHide answers

Cardiorespiratory endurance, muscular strength, muscular endurance, flexibility, body composition.
Strength is the greatest force in one effort; muscular endurance is the ability to repeat contractions many times without tiring.
Validity: the test measures what it claims to. Reliability: the test gives consistent results when repeated under the same conditions.
Reaction time; balance.
Any three: a standard written protocol; the same surface, equipment, time of day and tester; a standard warm-up; a practice trial and the best of several trials; clear scoring rules.
Norm-referenced compares a score with typical scores of others of the same age and sex; self-referenced compares it with the person's own earlier score.
It is the most tiring test, and fatigue would lower the scores of any test that followed it.
Poor choice: the 12-minute run measures aerobic endurance, but relay sprinting depends on speed, power and reaction time. A 30 m sprint (and a timed baton exchange) would be valid; the run test is not.

Remember

Health-related: cardiorespiratory endurance, strength, muscular endurance, flexibility, body composition.
Skill-related: speed, agility, power, balance, coordination, reaction time.
Valid = measures the right thing; reliable = same result when repeated.
Screen (PAR-Q+), warm up, follow the protocol, test fresh, aerobic test last.
Compare with norms, criteria or, best of all, your own earlier score.

Sources and credits

G. Gregory Haff and N. Travis Triplett (eds), Essentials of Strength Training and Conditioning, 4th edition, National Strength and Conditioning Association, Human Kinetics, 2016: test selection, validity, reliability and test order; summarised.
PAR-Q+ (The Physical Activity Readiness Questionnaire for Everyone), PAR-Q+ Collaboration: pre-exercise screening.
Components diagram, tables, worked examples and practice: written by Ganzaa.

1Who is the fittest?

2The components of fitness

3Principles of good testing

4Safety and order

Who is the fittest?

The components of fitness

Principles of good testing

Safety and order