This document summarizes various performance testing and monitoring protocols used at the Lake Placid Olympic Training Center to assess athletes' body composition, strength, power, speed, balance, and stability. Measurements include body mass, height, skinfolds, girths, bone widths, body fat percentage, isometric mid-thigh pull force output, vertical jump power and contact time, gait analysis, sprint times, and positional sway. Regular monitoring of these metrics allows coaches to track changes, identify asymmetries, gauge injury risk, and optimize training plans to improve athletes' performance.

1. Lake Placid Olympic Training Center
Sports Performance
Performance Testing and Monitoring Protocols

2. Body Composition and Girth Measurements
● Duration of Test: About 10 minutes.
● What is being measured?
○ Body mass in kilograms (kgs), and height in centimeters (cm)
○ 8 Skinfolds: Triceps, Subscapular, Biceps, Iliac Crest, Supraspinale, Abdominal, Front
Thigh, and Medial Calf.
○ 5 Girths: Bicep (relaxed), Bicep (flexed), Waist (minimum), Calf (maximum), and Glutes.
(maximum)
○ 2 Bone Breadths: Humerus and Femur.
○ Sum of 6 or 8 Skinfolds – gives an overall representation of absolute fat. Used to
determine percentage of fat.
○ Percent Fat – most widely used data point for athletic population. Based on “sum of 6
skinfolds”.
● Why Measure athletes’ Body Composition? An athlete’s body composition is an indicator of
relative leanness and muscularity. One of the major goals of performance training is to
increase an athlete’s strength, power, and speed to create stronger, more powerful athletes.
Typically athletes with higher strength, power and speed (assuming an equal skill level to
other athletes) perform better. Periodic monitoring of body composition allows coaches to
gauge changes in an athlete’s muscle mass and alter the athlete’s training plan and diet
accordingly.

3. The Isometric Mid-Thigh Pull
● Duration of Test: 3-5 seconds by 2-3 pulls. Total completion time including prep <5 minutes.
● What is being measured? This test shows an athlete’s maximal force output produced
isometric ally. Tested at 1000Hz (measures force output 1000 times per second), force
outputs and rate of force development (RFDs) can be tracked for any time point and time
period that are critical in sport.
● Why measure strength and force production through a mid-thigh isometric pull? This
test is conducted in the strongest and most powerful position (termed “power position”).
Testing in this position allows for best representation of how an athlete may transfer his/her
force output potential to sport performance. Additionally, the Iso Pull can expose any bilateral
deficiencies the athlete may have by analyzing the left and right leg separately. This is an
excellent way to measure and monitor return to play after an injury or surgery.
Total Force Production
Right/Left Symmetry Comparison
Iso Pull Setup and Capstone Data Collection

5. OptoJump Drift Protocol
● Duration of Test: Less than one minute.
● What is being measured? Important to see what is going in the Y-Axis, or vertically. The test
is done in a dynamic setting, meaning that the athlete will be physically moving to produce
power. The measurements taken for right and left sides are height of jumps, contact time,
power, and the ability to maintain dynamic balance control. Power, ability to execute the
power, and the ability to maintain stability while producing power.
● Why measure athletes’ Vertical Dynamic Power Production? Gives us a graphical
representation of power, ground contact time, and dynamic control an athlete possesses in a
unilateral manner. Being able to identify asymmetries in a dynamic setting is important.
Imbalances during competitive settings means susceptibility to injury (i.e. hamstring pulls,
groin pulls, etc.) and ultimately a lower performance output than each athlete’s potential.

6. Gait Analysis (Monthly)/Biofeedback (Daily)
● Duration of Test: 45 Seconds x2 trials (shoes/barefoot) for Gait analysis, 2-5 minutes for
Biofeedback dependent upon the athlete.
● What is being measured? Gait variables including: step length, load response, etc.. to assess
the degree of symmetry during normal gait of an athlete. Important to see what is happening in
the X-Axis, or horizontally, and not just vertically.
● Why measure athletes’ walking gait? Walking is actually a balance, timing and coordination
test over time or distance. The most important parameter to be measured is step length. We
want athletes to be in the “good zone” of asymmetry which is 0-5%, when above 5%
communication with sports medicine can begin to start, to explore why there is a an
asymmetry. The closer the athlete can get to a symmetrical gait, the higher chance to achieve
performance potential.
● What does the Biofeedback training do for the athlete? Biofeedback training gets the
athlete to learn what being symmetrical means, specifically for them. By doing this before
training, it allows the athlete to feel more balanced and thus reduce the likelihood of training.
After training, this can allow the athlete to go into recovery mode also in a balanced state.

7. Twenty-Meter Sprint Testing
● Duration of Test: 3 Seconds or less.
● What is being measured? The Opto-Jump will measure all variables related to sprinting such
as: flight time, contact time, speed, acceleration, stride length for each stride.
● Why measure athletes’ sprint variables? These measures instantly show an athlete’s ability
to accelerate, as well as point out any asymmetries between the right and left legs that may
need to be addressed through training or by sports medicine to help prevent future injury.

9. Positional Sway and Sport Specific Dynamic
Stability Analysis
● Test Duration: 6 Balance tests by 15 seconds each – total test time is under 5 minutes.
● What is positional and dynamic sway? Positional and dynamic sway is the measurement of
displacement of an athlete’s center of mass during specific positions. This can give an idea of
R/L symmetry discrepancies. The training to get better at these tests are the tests themselves.
Developing control in positions is especially important during ground contact phases. If an
athlete is unable to balance during single leg ground support (sprinting), then they will lose
hundredths or thousandths of seconds - valuable time when taking into consideration the
amount of time that often separates a winner from second or third place. Gyko also allows us
to monitor joint functionality and muscle strength during rehab by giving us objective
measurements.
● Why measure positional sway and sport specific dynamic stability? Measuring this will
give coaches and athletes an idea of control in a non-competitive environment. If an athlete is
unable to do this in a non-competitive environment, it is highly unlikely they will perform
when stressful situations (competition) arise. Thus, it is important to identify potential
weaknesses and work to improve them, as well as help prevent injury.