Testing speed, agility, balance and reaction time, and using the results – Physical Fitness (Senior 6 Physical Education) | Ganzaa

Physical Fitness

Lessons

Senior 6 · Physical Education

Physical Fitness

4 lessons

Lesson 4 of 4

Testing speed, agility, balance and reaction time, and using the results

35 min

From numbers to a plan

A test result on its own is just a number. It becomes useful when you compare it with something, a norm, a standard or your own last result, decide what it means, and turn it into a training plan that you then test again. This last lesson covers the skill-related tests that most sports need, speed, agility, balance and reaction time, and then the whole cycle: test, interpret, set a goal, train with FITT, progressive overload and specificity, retest.

Definition

Fitness profile: a summary of one person's results across several tests, showing strengths and weaknesses.

FITT: the four variables of a training programme: Frequency (how often), Intensity (how hard), Time (how long) and Type (what kind of exercise).

Progressive overload: making the body work harder than it is used to, and increasing the load gradually as it adapts.

Specificity: training improves the components, muscles, movements and energy systems that are actually trained.

SMART goal: a goal that is Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Time-bound.

Skill-related tests

Component	Test	Protocol in brief	Score
Speed	30 m sprint	Start standing behind the line; sprint flat out past the 30 m line. Two runs with at least 3 minutes' rest.	Best time, in s
Agility	Illinois agility run	See the diagram: 10 m out and back, weave through four cones up and back, 10 m out and back.	Best time, in s
Balance	Stork stand	Hands on hips, stand on one foot with the other foot against the inside of the standing knee; on "go", raise the heel. The time stops when the heel touches down, a hand leaves the hip or the foot moves.	Best of 3, in s
Reaction time	Ruler drop	A partner holds a ruler with its zero between the subject's open thumb and finger and drops it without warning; the subject catches it.	Mean catching distance $d$ ; time $t = \sqrt{\frac{2d}{g}}$
Coordination	Alternate-hand wall toss	Stand 2 m from a wall; throw a tennis ball underarm with one hand and catch it with the other, then back.	Catches in 30 s

Rating (illustrative, ages 16 to 19)	30 m sprint, boys	30 m sprint, girls	Illinois, boys	Illinois, girls
Excellent	under 4.0 s	under 4.5 s	under 15.2 s	under 17.0 s
Good	4.0–4.2 s	4.5–4.6 s	15.2–16.1 s	17.0–17.9 s
Average	4.3–4.5 s	4.7–4.8 s	16.2–18.1 s	18.0–21.7 s
Below average	over 4.5 s	over 4.8 s	over 18.1 s	over 21.7 s

Illustrative ratings for teaching only; real norms depend on age, sex, population, surface and timing method.

Worked example

Worked example 1: reaction time from a ruler. A pupil's mean catching distance is 20 cm. Find his reaction time, taking $g = 9.81\,\mathrm{m\,s^{-2}}$ .

The ruler falls from rest, so $d = \frac{1}{2} g t^2$ , giving $t = \sqrt{\frac{2d}{g}}$ .
$t = \sqrt{\frac{2 \times 0.20}{9.81}} = \sqrt{0.0408} = 0.20\,\mathrm{s}$ .
A team-mate who catches at 15 cm: $t = \sqrt{\frac{2 \times 0.15}{9.81}} = 0.17\,\mathrm{s}$ . Halving the distance does not halve the time, because $t$ depends on $\sqrt{d}$ .

Worked example

Worked example 2: how accurate is a hand-timed sprint? A pupil runs 30 m in 4.6 s, timed with a stopwatch.

Mean speed: $v = \frac{30}{4.6} = 6.5\,\mathrm{m\,s^{-1}}$ .
A timer's reactions at start and finish can easily add up to an error of about 0.2 s. As a percentage of the time: $\frac{0.2}{4.6} \times 100 = 4.3\%$ .
That is about the same as the gap between "average" and "good" on the table, so one hand-timed run cannot show a real improvement of 0.1 s. Use the same timer, start on the runner's first movement, and take the best of two runs; timing gates are more reliable.

Using the results: the training cycle

Test with standard protocols, and record the results in a fitness profile.
Interpret: compare with norms, with the demands of the sport, and with earlier results. Pick the one or two components that most limit performance.
Set a SMART goal, for example "reach level 8 of the shuttle run in eight weeks".
Plan with the principles of training. Specificity: train the component and movements the sport needs. Progressive overload: start just above the current level and increase the load a little at a time. FITT: set the frequency, intensity, time and type. Plan rest, because adaptation happens during recovery, and remember reversibility: gains fade if training stops.
Retest after six to eight weeks under exactly the same conditions, and adjust the plan.

How much activity? The World Health Organization (2020) recommends that young people aged 5 to 17 do on average at least 60 minutes a day of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity, mostly aerobic, with vigorous activity and muscle- and bone-strengthening activities on at least 3 days a week. For aerobic training, the American College of Sports Medicine describes moderate intensity as about 64–76% of maximum heart rate and vigorous as about 77–95%.

Worked example

Worked example 3: from a profile to a plan. Ange, aged 17, plays football as a midfielder. Her results: shuttle run level 6 (below average on the illustrative table), Illinois agility 17.4 s (good), vertical jump 44 cm (good). Plan her next eight weeks.

Interpret: her agility and power are good, but a midfielder runs throughout the match, so aerobic endurance is her main weakness.
SMART goal: shuttle run level 8 at the retest in eight weeks.
Intensity: estimated maximum heart rate $208 - 0.7 \times 17 = 196$ beats per minute; 70–85% of it is $0.70 \times 196 = 137$ to $0.85 \times 196 = 167$ beats per minute.
FITT: Frequency 3 sessions a week, on non-consecutive days; Intensity 137–167 beats per minute; Time 20 minutes of work in weeks 1–2; Type running intervals with turns and small-sided games (specificity: football is stop-start running).
Progressive overload: add about 5 minutes of work every two weeks (20, 25, 30, 35 minutes), or shorten the rests, but not both in the same week.
Retest in week 8 with the same recording, surface and time of day.

Video: "Illinois Agility Test: Setup, Scoring and Interpretation", MAT. Compare the cone layout with the diagram above, and note the common errors that make a run invalid.

Warning

Common mistakes. Training every component equally instead of the ones the sport needs. Increasing the load too fast, which leads to overuse injuries. Retesting under different conditions and believing the "improvement". Reading one hand-timed result as exact. Treating illustrative or foreign norms as a final verdict on a pupil: the most important comparison is with the pupil's own earlier results.

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Practice

Name the component measured by each test: stork stand, ruler drop, Illinois run, 30 m sprint.
State what each letter of FITT stands for.
Explain the principle of specificity with a sporting example.
A pupil catches the ruler at 12 cm. Calculate her reaction time.
A sprinter runs 30 m in 4.2 s. Find his mean speed.
For an 18-year-old, use $208 - 0.7 \times \text{age}$ to find the heart-rate range for 64–76% of maximum.
Write a SMART goal for a pupil whose vertical jump is 38 cm.
A basketball player's profile shows excellent aerobic endurance but below-average agility. Design a four-week plan using FITT and progressive overload, and justify it with specificity.

Show answersHide answers

Balance; reaction time; agility; speed.
Frequency, Intensity, Time, Type.
Training improves what is trained: a sprinter improves speed with short maximal sprints, not long slow runs, because the sprints train the fast muscle fibres and energy system that sprinting uses.
$t = \sqrt{\frac{2 \times 0.12}{9.81}} = \sqrt{0.0245} = 0.16\,\mathrm{s}$ .
$\frac{30}{4.2} = 7.1\,\mathrm{m\,s^{-1}}$ .
Maximum $208 - 0.7 \times 18 = 195.4 \approx 195$ beats per minute; 64%: $0.64 \times 195.4 = 125$ ; 76%: $0.76 \times 195.4 = 149$ beats per minute.
For example: "Increase my vertical jump from 38 cm to 42 cm by the retest in eight weeks, by doing jump training twice a week."
Example: F 2–3 sessions a week; I maximal effort on each drill with full recovery between; T 15 minutes of drills in week 1, rising by about 3 minutes a week (overload); Type change-of-direction drills, defensive slides, cone weaves and reaction starts. Specificity: basketball needs fast, short changes of direction in a small court, so drills copy those movements; aerobic work can be maintained with games. Retest the Illinois run in week 4.

Remember

Speed: 30 m sprint. Agility: Illinois run. Balance: stork stand. Reaction: ruler drop, $t = \sqrt{\frac{2d}{g}}$ .
Cycle: test, interpret, SMART goal, train, retest.
FITT: frequency, intensity, time, type; increase the load gradually (progressive overload); train what the sport needs (specificity).
WHO: young people, at least 60 minutes a day of moderate-to-vigorous activity on average.

1From numbers to a plan

2Skill-related tests

3Using the results: the training cycle

From numbers to a plan

Skill-related tests

Using the results: the training cycle