1.2a Components of fitness

• power

  • speed x strength
  • vertical jump test
  • standing jump test
• vertical jump test

  • with feet flat on the ground, reach your highest point by jumping vertically
• standing jump test

  • jump horizontally with your feet together and measure from the nearest impression
• strength

  • ability to exert a large amount of force in a single maximum effort
  • one rep max test
  • hand grip dynamometer
• one rep max test


  one repetition of weight at highest possible weight
• hand grip dynamometer test


  start with hand vertically up and bring down to side slowly whist pulling in the handle
• reaction time

  • time taken to respond to a stimulus
  • ruler drop test
• ruler drop test

  • hold ruler between finger and thumb
  • thumb needs to be in line with 0
  • ruler is released and measurement is taken from the highest point caught on ruler
• cardiovascular endurance

  • ability of the heart and circulatory system to meet the demands of the body for a long period of time
  • multi stage fitness test
  • 12 min Cooper run
• multi stage fitness test

  • mark 20m distance with cones and athlete must run from cone to cone by the bleep
• 12 min Cooper run


  complete max distance possible in 12 minutes
• muscular endurance

  • ability to use voluntary muscles over long periods of time without fatigue
  • 1 min sit up test
  • 1 min press up test
• 1 min sit up test


  athlete performs as many sit ups as possible in 1 minute to test their abdominals
• 1 min press up test


  athlete performs as many press ups as possible in 1 minute to test their biceps, deltoid and pectorals
• speed

  • time taken to cover a set distance
  • 30m sprint test
• 30m sprint test


  athlete performs straight 30m sprint from a standing start
• flexibility

  • range of movement at a joint
  • sit and reach test
• sit and reach test 


  athlete needs their legs straight with feet touching the box as they lean forward and push the marker as far as possible with their hands without bending their knees
• agility

  • ability to change direction at speed
  • Illinois agility test
• Illinois agility test


  follow the course round all the cones
• balance

  • ability to retain your centre of mass over your base of support without falling
  • standing stork test
• standing stork test

  • lift leg and place of side of kneecap
  • raise heal to stand on toes
  • time how long you can stand for
• co-ordination

  • ability to move 2 or more body parts at the same time
  • alternate ball toss test
• alternate ball toss test

  • stand 2m from a wall
  • ball is thrown against the wall+ caught with opposite hand for 30s
• 3 things needed for fitness testing

  • reliability
  • validity
  • practicality
• quantitative data


  actual values which are in turn compared to averages
• qualitative data


  open ended testing procedures and less structured protocols