1. Assessing Muscular Fitness
Chapter 5
Anatomy and Physiology for Coaches

2. Why Assess Muscular Fitness?
 “If you don’t know where you are
going, you may end up someplace
else” (Anonymous)
 Evaluate Strengths and Weakness
 Assess Training Plan

3. Basic Criteria of Assessment
 Sport Specific
 Valid
 Reliable
 Objective
 Appropriate
 Easy to Administer
 Easy for Athletes to Learn
 Results capable of monitoring progress

4. Sport Specific
 Identify specific movement skills and their
corresponding muscular fitness component.
 Skill related components
 Strength
 Power
 Endurance
 Flexibility
 Agility

5. Test Design
 Test Characteristics
 Validity
 Does the test measure what you want it to
measure?
 Reliability
 Is the test repeatable? Would different
testers get the same results? Would the
athlete achieve a similar score the next day?

6. Test Design
 Inconsistent Test results can be due to
measurement error.
 Use standardized instructions
 Use consistent testers
 Give athletes time to learn the test
 Avoids “learning curve”
 Ensure Consistent test measurements are
recorded
 Trial the test before giving it to athletes

7. Test Design
 Objectivity and Bias
 The ability of separate scorers to
independently agree
 Clearly define measurement / scoring method
 Use scorers who have no personal interest in
the athletes

8. Criteria for Good Tests
 Relevant
 Objective
 Specific
 Appropiate
 Learning Curve
 Gamelike
 Meaningful
 Individual
 Simple
 Challenging
 Sensitive

9. Administering Tests
 Test order
 Agility and coordination
 Strength and power
 Aerobic and anaerobic
 Warm-up
 Allow appropriate warm-up time

10. Administering Tests
 Instruction
 Give Clear instructions
 Demonstrate test procedure
 Oversight
 Ensure safety and accuracy
 Encouragement
 Offer equal encouragement to all athletes
 Rest
 Allow adequate rest between tests or trials
 Feedback
 Give immediate feedback
 Results are for personal benefit, not competition

11. Sample Tests
 The reminder of the chapter discusses specific tests for
specific skill components.
 Please review these tests, so you have an
understanding of how they work and be able to identify
what tests are related to what skill components.
 Another great resource for testing procedures is the
ACE Personal Trainer Manual: The Ultimate
Resource for Fitness Professionals (Fourth Edition)
 Appendix D also contains some great information about
testing.

12. Sample Tests
 Strength
 1-3 Repetition Max
 Power
 Standing long or vertical jump
 Wingate cycle test
 Power endurance
 Push-ups, sit-ups
 Speed
 5-40 yard sprint
 Flexibility
 Sit and reach
 Balance
 One-legged stance
 Agility
 Ladder runs.