Fitness Assessments

Crunch Test

The athlete will lay down on the ground. The knees should be bent and the feet flat on the fall. With the arms crossed over the chest, the athlete will "crunch" causing his or her shoulders to be lifted off the ground about 6 inches. This is a crunch test, not a sit-up test. Therefore, the athlete should not rise all the way up to his or her legs. The athlete will see how many crunches he or she can do in ONE MINUTE.

Push-up Test

The athlete will get into proper push-up position. Arms should be wide (the upper and lower arm should make a 90 degree angle when the body is lowered). The body should create a straight line from head, neck, shoulders, lower back, and legs. The athlete will lower his or her body down so that only a fist could fit in the space between the chin and the floor. The athlete will see how many continuous push-ups he or she can do. This is not a timed test. The test is over when the athlete breaks form or is no longer able to do a push-up. Pausing and resting is not allowed.

Wall Squat Test

With a flat wall, the athlete will crouch down with his or her back against the wall – and the knees will be at a 90 degree angle (some leeway can be given if an athlete has knee problems). The hips to upper body should also be at a 90 degree angle.

This drill starts when the athlete lifts his or her foot 2 inches off the ground. Coaches will time the athlete from the time the foot is lifted until it is dropped back to the ground or the athlete loses his or her balance.

Do this test twice, once with lifting each leg.

Wall Toss Test

This test can be done on a flat wall and run for 30 seconds at a time. The athlete will start with the ball in his or her right hand and be standing about 6 feet from the wall. To start the drill, the athlete will toss the ball underhand against the wall and catch with the opposite hand. This is repeated for the entire 30 seconds. The number of successful catches will be recorded.

Standing Long Jump

One a gym surface, the athlete will begin with a standing start. They will then crouch down and leap forward and land on two feet. The distance is measured from where they land and where ever he or she touched down first.

Harvard Step Test

With a standard gym bench, the athlete will start on the ground facing the bench. When the coach says begin, the athlete must step up and then down on the bench once every two seconds. The athlete does this for 5 minutes. At the end of five minutes, they take their heart rate (beats per minute= number of beats in 15 seconds x 4) after one minute, then again after two minutes, and finally after three minutes.

Add the three numbers together and then divide it into 30,000 (so 30,000 divided by bpm1+bpm2+bpm3) to get the ‘point’ value of the Harvard Step Test.

Cooper VO2 Max Test

This test is widely used to determine the aerobic level of participants. It is a very simple test to determine the cardiovascular strength of an athlete. It is also a simple test to administer. On a 400m track (or marked course if no track is available) athletes must walk or run for 12 minutes. The athlete will record his or her overall distance.

30 Meter Sprint

Find an area (the track or a gym) where the athlete can run without impediment for a full 30m.

Each athlete starts from blocks, or from a crouch position and is timed from his or her first movement forward. Each athlete should take the test 3 times, with full rest in between each of them. Take the median time of the 3 runs in order to come up with a marked test time.

Stride Frequency Test

In a 60m length, the coach should mark off a 30 m section from the 20m to 50m mark. In this area, the coach will time the athlete and with an assistant, count the number of strides in that time to come up with an overall strides per second tally.

For example if a runner has 8 strides over a 30m section and completes it within 2.5 seconds, that means they have a strides per second rate of 3.2 strides per second.

Vertical Jump

Athletes should stand next to a flat wall with their right arm extended, while staying flat-footed. This is the first marking point. With an assistant on a step ladder they need to be prepared to measure the height of the standing vertical jump. This is the second marking point. Use can use chalk on the jumpers finger tips to measure where the height of the jump was reached.

Measure the distance between the two markings and you have the vertical jump height.

Chin up Test

Using a chin up bar in a school or recreation center gymnasium, the athlete must grip the bar from an underhand position and start the drill with their chin level with the bar in an upright position.

The coach will then record how many times the athlete can drop into a full arm extension and then bring themselves back up to the chin-level position.