Unit 1;- Fitness Training & Testing..

Assignment 1 - Components Of Fitness (Part 1.1)

There are 10 physical components of fitness. They can be split up into two categories, Health Related and Skill Related. The Health Related components are ones that are needed for day to day life, without them you wouldn't be able to do all the tasks that you need to in an average day. The Skill Related components, however, are needed for any sporting activity.

The 10 components of fitness are;-

CV Endurance/Stamina

Muscular Endurance

Flexibility                                                 Health Related

Strength

Body Composition

Speed

Agility
Power/Explosive Strength                         Skill Related
Co-ordination
Balance

The sport I have chosen for this specific piece, is tennis. For this sport I believe that most of the components of are needed, especially if you want to achieve a level of excellence. However, I have chosen the components I think are most important in order to play the sport well. They are, 3 health related and 4 skill related components of fitness.
   The first, and most important, components of fitness you need to play tennis to a level of excellence is muscular endurance. Muscular Endurance is a health related component and is the ability of the muscles to keep going for an extended period of time without becoming fatigued. This is a majorly important part because tennis is a very intense, fast game and you've constantly got to be ready and prepared for the next shot. This puts a lot of strain on your muscles which is why your muscular endurance need to be at a high standard. You also need to sprint around the court constantly and hit shots all the time so can't afford for your muscles to become fatigued at any time. Also, when playing tennis at a high level, shots are hit with lots of strength, so your arms can not be tired as they won't be able to return a shot. I think that without having good muscular endurance, which prevents your muscles becoming tired during the game, you wouldn't be able to maintain any of the other components. Without muscular endurance you wouldn't be able to run at your fastest or hit a powerful shot in the middle of the match, your limbs would be too tired. This is why I have put this as the most important component.
   After Muscular Endurance, Speed is a very important component of fitness to play tennis successfully. Speed is the ability to move all or part of your body quickly, it is one of the skill related components. Speed is needed for tennis because if you are, for example, playing quite a deep baseline rally and then a short, drop shot is hit, you will need to sprint in to get to it and be able to return it. Without having good speed you would not be able to do that. Also, another aspect to speed is when you are serving you need a fast swing to hit the ball hard and put top-spin on it. So, you also need speed to move just one part of your body quickly. To improve a players speed, in training they will do a lot of short, explosive runs. As, i am also a competitive sprinter i do not have to focus as much on improving this component of fitness as some other people may need to. Giving me more time to work on other things.
   The next most important component of fitness is Cardio-Vascular Endurance. The ability of the heart and lungs to keep going for a long period of time. CV Endurance is a health related component but like anything, gets better with training. This is a very important part of being a great tennis player because if a match is lasting 5 sets then you need to be able to keep going for that time. Breaks in between games are not long enough to fully recover, so your body needs to be able to keep going. I know that myself and most tennis players try and work hard and for a fairly long period of time without stopping when they are in training to help try and build up their CV endurance. As tennis is such a fast game, there is no way you would be able to rest at all on court. So having good CV Endurance is important.
    The next most important component of fitness, after CV Endurance, is Co-ordination. This is really important because hand-eye co-ordination is one of the main elements of the game. Without it you wouldn't be able to hit the ball or be able to combine swinging for the ball and timing when to do it and how far away the ball is. Also, if you didn't have good co-ordination you wouldn't be able to serve, which involves doing lots of different things at the same time. Co-ordination is a skill related components and is the ability to do a variety of different moves at the same time.
    After co-ordination, flexibility is the next most important component of fitness. Flexibility is also a health related component, meaning that you do need it for everyday life but for this sport you need a much better level. It is an important component to achieve a level of excellence in tennis because without it you would not be able to stretch for a shot, if you hadn't quite run to it in time. Meaning that you could miss some crucial shots. Also, it is important to have good flexibility because to get as much power into a shot as possible, you need your body to reach it's full range of motion at each joint. For example, to get good top-spin onto the ball you need to swing the racket round onto your opposite shoulder. To do that you need good flexibility in your shoulder joint. To prevent injury during a match all your joints need to be flexible. All athletes will have a stretching routine that they have adapted to their own level of flexibility which they should carry out at least once a day. They do this to keep their muscles stretched and to help prevent injury.
   Another important component of fitness, after flexibility, is agility. The ability to change direction at speed without losing control. Agility is important to becoming a good tennis player because you need to be alert as to which direction each shot is coming from and respond to that quickly. You need to be able to get to each one very quickly, so will need to change direction at speed. Any tennis player will do agility drills, in training, to make them better. They will need to do things like, side-stepping, sprinting around cones and backwards and forwards jogging, changing direction on a stimulus. It is very likely in a match that your opponent will try and hit shots to opposite sides of the court each time, to try and trick you and tire you out. So having good agility will make you used to these rapid movements.
   The other component of fitness you have to have quite a good level at is, power. This is another skill related component and is the ability to exert maximum force from a muscle in an instant burst of movement. To hit a fast serve, to gain an advantage in a match, or hit a strong shot, power is quite important. Power is also a component that you can get better at with practise, it especially gets better with a lot of practise in a sport like tennis.
   The ideal body shape that you need to be a good tennis player is a mesomorph. This means that you are not overly tall and you are carrying a good amount of muscle. This is perfect for a tennis player because if you are too tall, the long limbs will take too long to move quickly and you will be carrying too much bone which will make you tire quickly.

A perfect example of someone who has reached a level of excellence in their sport is, Rafael Nadal. He is ranked the best tennis player in the world and is only 23 years old. But how?
   Nadal is know to many people for the muscles in this arms, so it is assumed by many people that he is such a great player because he can hit shots hard and use his strength to win that way. However, we can see that there are many other things that make him such an amazing player. I think Nadal is such a great player because he has an extremely high level of all of the components of fitness which you need to play tennis successfully. He has great speed, he always gets to every shot. His speed is also used for his powerful serve which has often given him a huge advantage over other players. He also has a great level of agility which also makes him able to change direction and get from one side of the court to the other, really quickly. This is one of the components Nadal has claimed to have worked on quite a lot in training as he thinks it is quite important. Not only has he worked hard at the skill related components but he also has very good levels of health related components as well. He has very good CV Endurance, meaning that he can last for a whole game without becoming tired. He is known for going out for long runs to try and keep improving his levels of CV Endurance.
Nadal has often said how important having good flexibility is, and that really shows in his performance. He can reach every shot, if his speed is not quite up to scratch then this helps him make up for it. This also ties in with the great amount of power that he has. We can see this in the speed of serves he can hot and amazing 'down-the-line' backhands. He has claimed that in training sessions he will never just stick to practising one thing, and having a varied training session has made him that much better at a wide variety of components. Making him such a true sports-man.
(http://www.gq-magazine.co.uk/entertainment/articles/2011-01/10/gq-sport-rafael-nadal-tennis-fitness-training-tips-workout/ins-and-outs)

Training Methods For Tennis (Part 1.2)

To be able to achieve the best of your ability in tennis and become the best player you can be, you need to train in the right way.
 The first training method any tennis player would need to do is, interval training. This is when you do have a period of work interspersed with a set rest time. A tennis player would need to train in this way because in a match a player will be working very hard for a set amount of time, or however long the games last but will then be able to rest in between them. Training in this way will get your body used to this sort of exercise and will help your body to recover quickly so that you are ready for the next interval of work.

They also need to do S.A.Q training. This stands for Speed, Agility, Quickness. This method of training involves a lot of short and sharp exercises, also incorporated with exercises that will improve muscular endurance. To achieve a good level of the components of fitness said to be needed to play tennis to a level of excellence, you need to train. Speed and Agility are important components of fitness for tennis so this method of training is very important to make them better. All tennis players always need to improve thier agility, to change direction quickly. Also make themselves faster to get to the ball quickly.

A good tennis player also needs to do continuous exercises when in training. Continuous Training means training for at least 15 minutes without have a rest. This method of training is needed for a tennis player because ig the game that they are playing lasts for hours then they are going to feel extremely tired. Also, if a set hads gone to tie break, for example, the players CV system is going to be pushed to the limit. So continuous training will improve their heart and lungs ability to keep going and will make it stronger so that when player an important match, getting tired will not be too much of a problem.


Comparing Of Positions (part 1.3)

From the sport i have chosen there are not really two different positions that I can compare, so for this part I have chosen to change the sport I am going to talk about to netball. I have chosen this sport because it is also a sport that I have a great interest in and also a sport that i play myself.
  The two positions I am going to compare are a goal shooter and a centre.

Similarities..  
The similarities between a goal shooter and a centre are they both need to have good co-ordination. They both need to be able to catch, throw and move their feet properly in a game situation. Even though a goal shooter may not be passing the ball to a team mate, they still need to have a good hand-eye co-ordination to aim for the goal and to receive a pass. Both positions need to be able to have good footwork at the same time as doing all of this as not to get penalties against them. A goal shooter and a centre also both need good agility. Both of these positions will have an opponent marking them so they need to be able to move quickly to get the ball and to help other team mates. Both of these two positions also need to have good flexibility. They need this to also be able to reach for the ball, also so that they do not become injured or pull muscles during the match.



Differences..
The differences between a goal shooter and a centre in a netball match is that, a centre has a much more tiring job. They have to run around the whole court and have to always be ready to receive the ball to get it from one side of the court to the other. This is different to a goal shooter because they can not go out of their third. Their job is done in the goal circle so for most of the match they will not leave it. This means that a centre needs to have much better CV Endurance and will need to do a higher amount of continuous training. A goal shooter also needs to have a different body build to a centre. A perfect goal shooter should be tall, long-limbed and relatively thin, an ectomorph. They need to be like this so that they can mark their opponent more efficiently and reach for the ball better and so that they are close to the goal to make it easier to score. Whereas a centres requirements are to be quite small and strong, an mesomorph. They need to be like this to get around the court quickly and efficiently and if they are smaller it is less likely that they will get tired as quickly. The centre will have to have much better speed in comparison to the goal shooter. They will need this so that they can run quickly from one end of the court to the other to help the other players. Also so that they can easily dodge the person that is marking them. 

The Lifestyle Factors That Effect A Sports Person.. (part 1.4)

There are many lifestyle factors that can have a huge impact on the way a sports person performs.

Media; for a professional sports person, being in the media can affect you in two ways. Good or bad. Being all over the newspapers and magazines can be a good thing in some cases. Having good stories written about how well you have done in competitions and matches for example can boost a sports mans confidence and publicity. It can be a great way for quite unknown sports people to become more widely recognised.

   Being all over the media can also have a really bad impact on your life. Especially if you are a well known professional sportsman. Someone like Wayne Rooney knows all about the impacts being in the media can have on your life. He has had lots of good things written about him and his football talent but he has also experienced the negative side to being in the press. Not only has having paparazzi following him everywhere and waiting outside his house put pressure on him and distracted him from his sporting career but the press make up stories about him and his relationship with his wife. Wayne Rooney has been in the press a lot recently because he has claimed to have cheated on his wife. As if this wasn't bad enough for him and his family to deal with, having newspapers and magazines writing stories, a lot of which are made up, about you makes matters worse for him. Having all this to deal with in his personal life will distract him from his professional sporting career. It will turn his fans against him and put extra pressure on him when he goes onto the pitch.

Also, things that normal people do in their everyday lives becomes stories all over the newspapers when you are a well known sportsman. For someone like Wayne Rooney even doing something as normal as going to the local supermarket gets put all over the media and he has paparazzi taking photos of him from the minute he leaves his front door to the minute he returns home. This would become frustrating after a period of time as you have no privacy. Stories have been written on magazines of nights out Wayne has had where he has had too much to drink and stayed out until early the next morning. He had unfortunately been caught on camera by paparazzi smoking, drinking and urinating in the street. For all normal people this kind of behaviour wouldn't be seen by many people but now the whole world can see Rooney behaving in this manor.

Stress; Stress is also a factor which can massively affect a persons sports training and performance. Even though most people play a specific sport because it is something that they really like to do, but it can also create major stresses on their lives.

There are different types of stress that can especially affect a sports persons performance. If for whatever reason, which there could be many, that a person doesn't have a positive mental attitude whilst performing, the pressure could really get to them. Being nervous and anxious during performing is a form of stress and too much of this type of stress attacking a person is called 'choking'. This type of stress really affects a sportsman performance because it can lead to things like muscles tightening and also a persons co-ordination, speed and hand-eye movement. 

Being under a lot of stress can lead to worse affects than just being anxious whilst performing. It can also lead to longer lasting things like depression. Depression can affect not only the performance side to your life but also your everyday concentration and diet. All people deal with stress in different ways. Some people become very jittery and panic about the smallest of things, other people become very down and give up on everything. For a sportsman, any type of stress can affect your training and performance. Wayne Rooney is a person who has been put under a huge amount of stress and in some of his performances you can see, just by the looks on his face, that he not fully focused on the sport he is playing.

Injury; For any professional sportsman, being injured can massively affect your training and competing regime. An injury can be bad enough for a person to have to stop playing their sport for even a number of months. For a sportsperson to have to go from training a number of times a week, to not at all can have a massive affect on their life. All people who love to play sport are naturally active people, and for them to be forced to sit down and do nothing all day can affect their mental attitude as well as their physical fitness which can put all the hard work they have done over a period of time in training to waste. Having an injury can also lead to stress as you can begin to worry about what in happening at your team and what other people may be taking your place whilst you are not there. It can make you become more frustrated and can also change your eating habits as you are not using the amount of energy that you normally would be.

Smoking; One of the worst things that any sportsman can do to their bodies is smoke. To play any team sport a player needs to have a good level of CV Endurance. Smoking cigarettes reduces your lung capacity and has extremely negative effects on your breathing and as breathing properly is the only way your muscles can receive the sufficient amount of oxygen that they need to do any sporting activity, let alone play a professional match. No sportsman can play to the best of their ability with these effects on their lungs and heart. Smoking regularly can also increase the risk of catching diseases and weakens the immune system. A sportsman would not be able to train to a high standard on a regular basis because they are more likely to be ill quite often and not physically fit enough to carry out any sporting exercises.

Fitness Tests (part 1.5)

For this part of the assignment we had to test the fitness levels of a teacher of our choice. The teacher that took part in these tests was Mr Meek. Before we were able to choose the tests that we wanted him to take part in we had to put together an informed consent form and a PARQ which they would have to fill in before they could take part in the tests.
This is the Informed Consent we gave to the participant of our fitness tests before they began.



Multistage Titness Test - This is a test of C.V Endurance. This test is also 'maximal and progressive', which means that it starts off slowly and gradually gets fast and by the end you will be working maximally. For this test the equiptment needed is a CD player and the multi-stage fitness test CD. Also cones are needed to mark out the right distance (20m).
To carry out this test we had to make sure that they were prepered corrrectly to take part in the test and then explain to them what they were going to do. We then explained to them  that they would start on 1 of the 20m marking lines and on the signal of the beep they would have to run at a steady pace to the other line before it bleeped again. We then explained that the bleep would gradually increase in speed and so would they so that they would be over the line before the bleep went off or they would be disqualified. We chose to carry out this test because it is a very good indecation on a persons CV Endurance and also how generally fit they are.

35m Sprint -  This is a test of speed and is also a maximal test. For this test, the only equipment that is needed is a measuring tape, cones and a stopwatch. This is a very simple, old fashioned style test that most people know about or understand, so therefor it is easy to explain the test to people. Starting on one line, on the given stimilus, sprint as fast as you possibly can to the next line. The amount of time it takes will be recorded on a stopwatch and then wrotten down. They will get three attempts and their best score will be their final result. We chose to carry out this test because it is a very simple test to carry out but it is a good way of seeing how fast someone is.

Illinois Agility Test - This is a test of agility and speed. This test is also maximal as they will have to put as much effort in as possible. To carry out this test you need to set cones up as they are in the diagram below, and run in the direction that the arrows are showing. This test is set up over 10 metres and in total you will have to run a total of 60 metres. You need to start on one start line. srint 10 metres to one cone, run around it and then back to the start line. You then weave in and out of cones for 10 metres andf then turn and weave back again. Sprint 10 metres and turn at the next cone and then back to the finish. For this test, the only equipment that is needed is cones, a stopwatch and a tape measure. Everyone has three attempts atthis test. We chose this test because it is a different type of test to what people are used to doing and it is also quite difficult so can show some good results.

Trunk Extension Test - This is a test of Flexibility. This will target the flexibility in the back and stomach. The only equipment needed for this test is an agility mat and a meter ruler. To carry out this test all they have to do is lay on the floor on their stomach with their hands behind their back. When they're ready, lift their shoulders off the floor as far as possible. The distance from their chin to the floor will be measured in centimeters. In this test they will also get three attempts. We chose to do this text imperticular because it's a very good way of seeing how flexible someones back is which can be very important as not not to cause injury later in life.

This is the table of results we collected from Mr Meeks fitness tests.

This is a video of me explaining to Mr Meek what he had to do to undertake the multi-stage fitness test.



Untitled from Elise Davies on Vimeo.

This is a video of Mr Meek doing the 35m Sprint.


Untitled from Elise Davies on Vimeo.

Evaluation Of These Results..

From Mr Meeks results we can see that he has various strengths and weaknesses in his fitness.
In the multi-stage fitness test he had a score of 6.0. We can now tell that this is not a very good score because according to the national average data, 5.9 is a below average score for a man aged between 41-50. (http://www.brianmac.co.uk/beep.htm)  He probably didn't do too well on this test because it is a test of CV endurance and that is something that has to be worked on as to improve it. If Mr Meek did regular exercise which improved his CV endurance then we would have seen a better result from him in this test. This is a graph to compare mr meeks results to the other teachers that were tested. We can see that in comparison to some of the other teachers, mr meeks results were average. However that isn't a very reliable comparison because they are all different ages and genders.

For the illinois agility run, our teacher had a score of 18.0 seconds. This is an average score for a man (http://www.brianmac.co.uk/illinois.htm) but considering that he is older than the average age for a person to take out this test, this could be thought of as a better score. He might have got a score like this because he could have experienced sprinting when he was younger. Also, the fact that he is not extremely tall might thave helped towards the fact that he was able to change direction really quickly.

In the 35m sprint test Mr Meek got a score of 3.23 seconds. However, i think we have made an error in the timing of these tests as they seem to be too fast when considering his age and also he doesn't train of sprint on a regular basis. The results we have collected also do not fit in with the national average data (http://www.brianmac.co.uk/speedtest.htm).

In the Trunk Extension test Mr Meek got a best score of 41cm. This is a very goot score however it is not a very widely used test as there are so many tests for flexibility. This result shows that the flexibility in his back is very good and this could mean that he gets little trouble in his back when he's older.

For Mr Meek to improve his flexibility, speed, agility and CV Endurance, he would need to train more than he does. From the questionnaire we found out that he is a regular swimmer which has helped him to maintain an average level of fitness. However if he really wants to improve he would have to specificly train for the components that he wants to improve. If he has to start training we would recommend that he focused more on his CV Endurance more than his speed or flexibility. We recommend this becasue his score for the Multi-Stage Fitness Test was below average for his age group and gender and also because as he is not a sportsman who regulary takes part in high intensity sprint type activities so a better level of CV Endurance would be more beneficial to him. Also, as you get older having good CV Endurance can be good as if can help prevent heart conditions at an older age. It means that your heart is stronger and more capable to keep working strongly even as you get older.

This means he would have to do some continuous training a few times a week, slowly overloading the session to a level that he is able to cope with as time goes on. An example of a suitable continuous session that he could do is; 15-20 minute continuous swim.

Psycholigical Factors That Affect Sports Performance (1.6)

Psychological factors are the mental factors that help or prevent sportspeople from being in the right 'frame of mind' to perform well. There are many psycological factors that can affects an athletes performance and each person will get affected in a different way. This is why sport psycholigy is such a deep topic and has to be looked into in great detail. As each athlete will react differently and be affected in a different way, mentally, to the others in their team, family or to their coach.
The main factors that will make an athlete performe better or worse that they normally are capable of, are;-

• motivation
• arousal
• confidence
• anxiety

Arousal is the level of aggression that you have before the game you're about to play. People need a good level of agression to be determined and do well in the performance they are about to make. however, on the other hand for some sports having a high level of arousal is uneccessary and can affect the performance in a negative way. Your personality can also affect the level of arousal you need to perform to the best of your ability.
Anxiety is experienced by every sports person. It's the thoughts and physical sensations that go with being agitated, nervous or worried.
Extroverts are people that are socially outgoing. These are the type of people that need high arousal levels to perform. Coaches and team mates need to keep them 'excited' about performing. They prefer team games with open skills and lots of unpredictability. Open skills are used in sports where you cannot predict what will happen next, eg in an invasion game such as hockey. These types of people are best suited to team games.
However, Introverts are usually shy. They perform better at lower arousal levels. Coaches and team mates need to allow them to stay calm and focused. Too much stimulation will cause them to be over-aroused and they will not perform well. They prefer sports with fine movements, closed skills and regular routines. Closed skills are used in sports where you can control the environment, eg putting in golf.
(http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/pe/performance/3_performance_personalfactors_rev2.shtml)
Arousal actually increases muscle tension and affects co-ordination. Too much tension can create difficulties. As well, it affects attention. However, attention can become too narrow with too much arousal, and can make one pay attention to too much in their environment when there is too little arousal.
(http://www.psychologycampus.com/sports-psychology/arousal-anxiety.html)


Motivation is the self drive to do well, it's the determination to perform and train to the best of your ability. All sports people are extremely highly motivated and posses a willingness to work hard in order to achieve success.
There are two types of motivation; intrinsic and extrinsic motivation.
Intrinsic motivation comes from our inner drive. It is a major factor that gets people involved in a sport in the first place and keeps them participating in their chosen sport over a peiod of time. This type of motivation includes factors such as; fun, enjoyment, satisfaction in performing well and meeting friends. It is this type of motivation that, for example, a young boy has to start playing football for his local team. Even though he is only young, he knows that he wants to play because it will be fun, he can be with his friends and he will enjoy it. It is majorly important that you are intrinsicly motivated to participat in your sport becasue if you are not enjoying it, or not wanting to do it for yourself then there is not much point as you will soon lose interest.
The second type of motivation is extrinsic motivation. This type of motivation comes from rewards and external pressures. this involves factors such as; money, trophies, league titles and medals.  However, it could also involve wanting to please significant others, coaches and teachers or avoid lettingyour team mates down. This type of motivation mainly applies to proffessional sports people who get paid a large amount of money to play for their team. The amount of motivation a person has defers from person to person and it is often thought that the amount of motivation a person has is linkied to their personality and characteristics.


Confidence is the ability to belive in your ability to do something. A perfect quote to sum up confidence is; 'You only acheive what you believe'. Confidence results from the comparison an athlete makes between the goal and their ability. The athlete will have self-confidence if they believe they can achieve their goal. When an athlete has self confidence they will tend to: persevere even when things are not going to plan, show enthusiasm, be positive in their approach and take their share of the responsibility in success and fail.
Confidence is a positive state of mind and a belief that you can meet the challenge ahead - a feeling of being in control. It is not the situation that directly affects confidence; thoughts, assumptions and expectations can build or destroy confidence.

High self confidence

• Thoughts - positive thoughts of success
• Feelings - excited, anticipation, calm, elation, prepared
• Focus - on self, on the task
• Behaviour - give maximum effort and commitment, willing to take chances, positive reaction to set backs, open to learning, take responsibility for outcomes

Low self confidence

• Thoughts - negative, defeat or failure, doubt
• Feelings - tense, dread, fear. not wanting to take part
• Focus - on others, on less relevant factors (coach, umpire, conditions)
• Behaviour - lack of effort, likely to give up, unwilling to take risks (rather play safe), blame others or conditions for outcome

(http://www.brianmac.co.uk/psych.htm)

Competition can cause athletes to react both physically (somatic) and mentally (cognitive) in a manner which can negatively affect their performance abilities. Stress, arousal and anxiety are terms used to describe this condition.

The major problem in competition is letting your mind work against you rather than for you. You must accept anxiety symptoms as part and parcel of the competition experience; only then will anxiety begin to facilitate your performance.

 (http://www.brianmac.co.uk/companx.htm)

Sometimes, despite having practiced, trained and performed your best in these sessions countless times before, during the actual competition you find the anxiety and pressure to succeed so high that you ‘choke’. This is performance anxiety, and it can be difficult not to take the poor performance to heart. However there are some simple ways you can manage your stress and eventually overcome this anxiety.
Performance anxiety develops when there is too much perceived stress – specifically this state of mind is created and moulded by you and your thoughts and feelings. They way you think about the event is the source of the stress, not the actual event itself.(http://www.healthcentre.org.uk/sports-medicine/sports-performance-anxiety.html) A term that is ofetn refered to when talking about anxiety is 'choking'. Choking is when the pressure or anxiety becomes too much for the performer to cope with and at a crucial moment in their sport they are unable to perform to the level that they usually can. Choking in sport is the ability to snatch defeat from the jaws of certain victory. When players or teams succumb to the intense pressure of getting over the line, slotting that final putt or scoring that vital penalty on the world stage, their collapses become part of sport's rich folklore and their names forever linked with failure.


Self Fitness Testing (1.7)

For this assignment we had to undertake 4 fitness tests. We had already tested a teacher as a practice so this was a final piece of testing for us. Before we could take part in these fitness tests we signed a PARQ and informed consent form which agreed that we could undertake all the tests required. IT also showed that we were healthy enough to take part.

Sit & Reach - The first component if fitness I was tested on was my flexibility by the sit and reach test. This is a test of the flexibility in the hamstring, hip and lower back. Flexibility is the range of movements possible about a joint so this component is very important for all sporting activities. To do this test all you need is a sit and reach box. Once warmed up you sit on the floor with your legs straight and feet flat against the front of the box. You then stretch forward as far as possible along the top of the box, without bending your knees. You then need to record how far you could reach and repeat the test 3 times, then take your best score.





This is a video of me doing the sit and reach test.














Untitled from Elise Davies on Vimeo.

Max. Sit Up Test - The next component of fitness i tested was my muscular endurance. Muscular Endurance is the ability of a muscle or group of muscles to keep working over a prolonged period of time. This test assesses the muscular endurance of the abdominal muscles. To do this test you need a stopwatch. You sit on the floor with your knees bent at a 90 degree angle and bring your chest you your knees and then lay back down to the floor as many times as you can in 1 minute.





This is a video of me doing the maximul sit up test.



Untitled from Elise Davies on Vimeo.


35m Sprint - The next components of fitness i tested was speed. This is the ability to move a part of the body quickly. This is a traditional test for speed and all you need to do for this test is run as fast as you can from one end of a marked 35m area to the other.





This is a video of me doing the 35m sprint test.



Untitled from Elise Davies on Vimeo.


Alternate Hand Ball Wall Test - This is a test of co-ordination. Co-ordination is the ability to performe a series of skills at the same time smoothly and efficiently. This test is a test of hand-eye co-ordination. To do this test you need a stopwatch, tennis ball and have a wall near by. You need to kneel about 1.5m away from the wall and throw the ball against the wall with your right hand and catch it once it bounces off in your left hand, then back. You need to keep doing this for 1 minute.
This is a video of me doing the alternate hand wall ball test.

Untitled from Elise Davies on Vimeo.

Evaluation Of My Results

This is the table of results that i collected by doing the 4 fitness tests.

From these results we can see that I have strengths and weaknesses when it comes to types of fitness. In the sit and reach test I had a score of 20cm. When comparing this to the national average for a women aged between 16 and 19 years old, we can see that my flexibility is poor. The average score for someone of my age would be between 30 and 34cm, this is a much better score than i am currently achieving. From doing this fitness test we can see that the flexibility in my hamstring, hip and lower back needs to improved greatly and to do that i need to include more stretching (e.g, PNF stretching, static and dynamic stretching) into my weekly training. I also need to be stretching on a daily basis as to increase the range of movement possible about the hip (ball & socket joint) and hamstring. I feel that my flexibility is poor as i only stretch before and after training sessions and i do not do strenuous (PNF) stretching exercises very often.


In the max. sit up in 1 min. test, i got a score of 41. I feel that this was quite a good test for me as sit ups is something that i am used to doing. When this is compared to the national average ican see that my score is abover average for a female 16-19 years old. I am pleased with this score but still feel like there is room for great improvement. I think i could improve the muscular endurance in my abdominal muscles by doing more core stability exercises during my training sessions. Next time i would like to recieve a score of over 50 so my result can then be classed as excellent.

In the alternate hand ball wall test i achieved a score of 69. I do not feel that this is the best score i could possibly had achieved as during the test i was not fully focused and made mistakes that i feel i would not normally. From these results we can see that my score is in the barrier of above average (60-70). I feel that i did ok in this test as my hand eye co-ordination in naturally quite good and the sports that i do regularly, tennis and athletics, often require a fair amount of hand eye co-ordination.


In the 35m sprint i achieved a best score of 5.95secs. When compared to the national averages my result was average. I am not pleased with this result as i am training to be a sprinter but i feel that i recieved this score as the conditions we ran on were unsuitable. We conducted the test on wet grass but it should have been done on a non-slip surface. I think to improve this result i need to keep training to a high level and practicing my speed often.