Fitness Tests

If you have a high aerobic fitness level, then it means that compared to others your heart rate will be lower when resting and exercising, you can exercise for longer without feeling tired, and you can use up more oxygen when you exercise.

To measure you heart rate, place you first two fingers on one of you pulse points:

- Carotid artery – this is on you neck, to the one side  

- Radial artery – this is on your wrist, by the base of your thumb

Count the beats over 15 seconds, then multiply that number by 4 to get beats per minute.

That’s your heart rate.

There are 3 main tests for aerobic fitness:

1. Harvard Step Test

30 step-ups a minute for 5 minutes.

Rest for 1 minute, then take your pulse to calculate your heart rate

2. 12 Minute Run

Run around a track as many times as you can for 12 minutes.

The further you run, the fitter you are.

3. Multistage Fitness Test (Bleep test)

Run shuttles between 2 lines 20m apart.

Start on the first bleep.

The time between the bleeps gets shorter, so you have to run faster.

When you drop out, your level and number of completed shuttles are recorded.

Endurance tests

This can test the endurance of different muscles, seeing how many times you can do an exercise.

Sit ups or press ups.

Strength tests

A dynamometer measures hand and forearm strength.

Speed tests

30m sprint test measures your speed over a certain distance

Flexibility test

Sit and reach test measure flexibility in the hamstrings and back

Power test

Vertical jump and standing long jump measures your power in your legs