TESTING THEATHLETE

SCHOOL OF KINESIOLOGY

KIN 585

DR. MARIA GALLO

AGENDA• What is fitness? (health & skill related components)

• Effectiveness of testing

• Pros and Cons of testing

• What to test? Scheduling tests? Order of tests?

• Create a testing regime

OBJECTIVES: BY THE END OF THIS UNIT, YOU WILL BE ABLE TO….

1.Understand fitness and its components2.Understand the purpose of testing athletes: what

the coach gains, what the athlete gains.3.Evaluate tests to assess fitness and body fat

composition4.Compare the use of field tests and laboratory

testing5.Create a testing program for your sport.

WHAT IS FITNESS?

• Physical fitness is the body’s ability to function efficiently and effectively.

• It consists of health related fitness and skill related fitness, which have different

• Components, each of which contributes to total quality of life.

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HEALTH RELATED COMPONENTS: PERFORMANCE

1. Body composition

2. Cardiovascular fitness

3. Flexibility

4. Muscular strength

5. Muscular endurance

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SKILL RELATED TO PERFORMANCE

• Agility: The ability to rapidly and accurately change the direction of the whole body in space.

• Balance: The ability to maintain equilibrium while stationary or moving.

• Coordination: The ability to use the senses and body parts in order to perform motor tasks smoothly and accurately.

• Power: The amount of force a muscle can exert.

• Reaction Time: The ability to respond quickly to stimuli.

• Speed: The amount of time it takes the body to perform specific tasks

EFFECTIVENESS OF TESTING• Variables tested should be relevant and specific

• Tests should be valid and reliable

• Test administration should be rigidly controlled and standarized

• Testing should be repeated at regular intervals

• Results should be interpreted to the player in a manner they can understand

PURPOSE OF TESTINGWhat the player gains?

• The testing program will indicate the athlete’s strengths and weaknesses

• Testing will provide baseline date for individual training program prescriptions

• The testing program will provide feedback, allowing the player to compare results from pre-post testing and assess the effectiveness of the intervening program (evaluate gains).

• The testing program is an educational process during which the player gains a better understanding of his/her body and the demands of the sport.

• The testing program possibly provides info about the health status of the player.

PURPOSE OF TESTING

What does the coach gain?

• Results of the assessment become the basis for prescribing an optimal program that concentrates on identified areas of weakness.

• Pre-post testing can indicate the effectiveness of an intervening program.

• Results can help in setting goals for motivational purposes.

• Testing helps in getting to know the players.

• Interpreting results can become a medium for positive feedback and better understanding between coach and player.

DISADVANTAGES OF TESTING?

WHAT TO TEST FOR: BASED ON DEMANDS OF SPORT

Anthropometric and body compositionFlexibilityAerobic capacity/powerAnaerobic capacity/powerSpeedAgilityReaction TimeBalanceStrength (upper and lower body)Power (upper and lower body)

Sport specific vs generalField tests vs lab tests

SCHEDULING TESTS: ORDER IS IMPORTANT

The non-fatiguing tests should be performed prior to tests that require strength and endurance, to avoid producing invalid and unreliable test results.

If possible, the cardiovascular endurance tests should be scheduled for a different date to eliminate the fatigue factor

(NSCA, 2012).

ORDER OF TESTING

ANTHROPOMETRIC MEASUREMENTS

Height

Weight

Waist circumference or waist to hip ratio

Wingspan

Others? Sport specific

BMI (body mass index): body weight divided by the square of your height (kg/m2).

MEASUREMENT METHODS OF FAT COMPOSITION

• Hydrostatic weighing

• DEXA (dual energy x-ray absorptiometry)

• Bod Pod (air displacement phlethysmography)

• Skinfold Measurements (20, 7, 4, 3 sites)

• Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis

- Pros/Cons?

- Assumptions

HOW DOES BODY FAT AFFECT ATHLETIC PERFORMANCE?

Range of body fat%:

WOMEN             MEN10-16%              6-12%            canoeing10-16%              5-13%            gymnastics10-18%              7-11%            track – jumpers10-15%              5-11%            triathlon12-18%              8-14%            field hockey12-19%            12-16%            baseball12-19%              6-14%            rowing12-19%              8-10%            track – runners14-24%              9-13%            swimming15-20%              5-14%            cycling16-24%            12-15%            tennis16-24%            11-14%            volleyball20-27%            14-20%            track - throwers20-28%              6-12%            basketball

FLEXIBILITY TESTS

How does flexibility affect sport performance?

Joint specific: direct vs indirect

Sit & Reach, straight leg raise, shoulder ROM

Examples of trunk and lower body tests?

ANAEROBIC POWER TESTSExplosive power associated with anaerobic metabolism (ATP-PCr system)

Tests:

-Lewis Nomogram: jump reach to test leg power knowing the score of jump reach and body weight, in kg-m/sec.

-Margaria-Kalamen Power Test: 6 m from staircase, run as fast as possible taking 3 steps at a time, place switchmat at 3rd and 9nth step, time between mats.

Power=Wgt (kg) x Distance b/w mats/time

-50 yrd Dash Test r=0.974 with Margaria Test

-Windgate Test (30s), determines both peak anaerobic power and mean power output

Others?

Blood lactate concentration

at different levels of exercise

expressed as a percentage of maximal

oxygen uptake for

trained and untrained subjects. Increases

seen at 55% VO2max

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The Respiratory System

Anaerobic threshold: point where VE/VO2

increases without an increase in VE/VCO2

BLOOD LACTATE ACCUMULATION

Trained: occurs at 75%, blood lactate threshold or onset of blood lactate accumulation (OBLA)

With lack of O2: anaerobic glycolysis partially meets the energy requirement, and H release begins to exceed it’s oxidation down the ETC, lactate forms and accumulates.

LT AND VT

Lactate Threshold: Point where blood lactate levels rise and minute ventilation increases disproportionately in relation to oxygen consumption.

Rise in ventilation is due to the excess CO2 resulting from the buffering of lactic acid.

Muscle: CO2 + H2O → H2CO3 → H+ + HCO3-

(via carbonic anhydrase) * bicarbonate:carried form in plasma

Lung: H+ + HCO3- → H2CO3 → CO2 + H2O

carbonic acid

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The Respiratory System

Disproportionate increase in CO2 relative to O2

AEROBIC TESTSVO2 max tested on treadmill, cycle or step-test

Treadmill:

-Saltin-Astrand Method or Ohio State Method (continuous increases in work load) measured directly with a metabolic cart or indirectly with a Astrand-Astrand nomogram

•Bicycle: discontinuous loading or continuous loading

•Directly: VO2max

•Indirectly: submax VO2 with continuous loads (HR), Beep Test, Yo-Yo intermittent

•Others?

VO2 MAX PREDICTORS

Criteria for True VO2max:

1. Volitional exhaustion

2. HR within 10bpm of predicted max HR

max HR estimation: 220-age

3. RER of >1.15 (ratio of CO2/O2)

4. Lactate above 8mmoles/L

Peaking-over in oxygen uptake with increasing work output on the treadmill. Each point represents the average oxygen uptake

of 18 sedentary male subjects.

An illustration based on observations showing the % of a subject’s max aerobic power: he can tax during work of different duration,

and how this is affected by his state of training.

Potential physiological factors limiting VO2MAX

Potential physiological factors limiting VO2MAX

MUSCULAR STRENGTH

1 RM directly (good warm-up, 6-7 sets) or indirectly

Squat/Power Clean/deadlift: lower body and bench press for upper body

Websites: http://www.timinvermont.com/fitness/orm.htm

Brzycki equation: 1RM=100*load rep/(102.78-2.78*rep) where load rep is the workload value in kg

Muscular Endurance? (different)

1 REP MAX CALCULATOR

http://www.timinvermont.com/fitness/orm.htm

After a general warm-up, you'll slowly work your way up to your actual 1RM.

For the first warm-up set you'll do 5 reps with 33% of your 3RM, and 90% of your 3RM for the last warm-up, with four relatively even increments in between these two. Time in between sets 3-4 minutes

After these sets, rest upwards of 5-7 minutes to try your 1 RM.

PROTOCOL FOR DETERMINE 1 RMAs follows:

[u]REPS x WEIGHT5 x .33*3RM (5 reps with 33% of your 3RM)

3 x .45*3RM (3 reps with 45% of your 3RM)

2 x .55*3RM (2 reps with 55% of your 3RM)

1 x .70*3RM (1 rep with 70% of your 3RM)

1 x .80*3RM (1 rep with 80% of your 3RM)

1 x .90*3RM (1 rep with 90% of your 3RM)

1 x 3RM (1 rep with your actual/estimated 3RM)

1 x 1RM (Based on your performance with your actual/estimated 3RM, attempt 1 rep with your actual/estimated 1RM)

1 x PR (Based on your performance with your actual/estimated 1RM, attempt a new PR)

Followed by additional PR's if you feel confident.

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SKILL TESTS: GENERAL VS SPORT SPECIFIC

Agility

Balance

Coordination

Power

Reaction Time

Speed

FIELD TESTS VS LAB TESTS

TASK

Individually create a testing plan for an athlete (provide rationale, timing (based on season), type of tests, order of tests, lab setting/field setting, etc.): sport selected.