Fitness Testing

Fitness Testing

Introduction

A physical fitness test is designed for the measurement of agility, strength and endurance. Fitness test are commonly used in many situations. These include educational institutes, military and sometimes even private companies. These tests are designated as essential parts of eligibility required for many institutions. Scientific evidence supports that exercise and training is useful in maintaining good health. Over the past century, fitness tests have been standardized as part of overall selection procedures. Some of the usual activities in a fitness test are distance running, time running and physical feats. These feats include push-ups, pull-ups and many such physical moves. Specific tests are created to gauge performance of an individual for a particular job description. There are many benefits of fitness testing. Its major use is the assessment of strengths and weaknesses of a person. This is done by the comparative study of persons within the same group. Previous test results can also be used to set up normal standards for a given test. By comparison of results, each person's training can be modified to suit him better. This gives advantage of better rime and resource management (Coulson & Archer 2009).

In a fitness program, an initial test determines the position and fitness levels of a person at the start of training. Subsequent tests are planned for different phases of a training program. By repeating test, one gets the idea of the effectiveness of his or her training regime. Usually it takes at least two weeks before an appreciable change is observed in such tests. Fitness testing gains information about health and skills of an athlete. The place of testing can vary according to the kind of information required by a test (Decker 2006).

Discussion

Fitness Tests

Fitness tests required for duty must be carefully planned. They must only measure an employee's professional abilities required for his or her job description. It should not be designed to specifically find physical and mental problems in employees. If the tests are of extensive nature, there is always a chance of the test being declared a medical test by a governing authority. If that is the case, the employer has to provide concrete evidence that this information is necessary for the specific tasks which need to be performed by the employee. Computerized tests are quickly coming as an alternative to the traditional biological testing. Duty fitness tests suffer from a lot of criticism. There is some research going on this field which addresses the problems faced by the designers of these tests ( Adams & Caplan 2007).

Types of Physical Tests

There are many kinds of physical fitness tests. They examine different physiological functions of the body. Some tests measure specific body parameters required especially for certain sports, while others provide a generalized fitness condition of an individual. Some of these tests are discussed briefly below (AllOneHealth).

Multistage fitness Test

This is termed as “beep” test. The individual has to run 20 meters between two lines continuously. The running is synchronized with recorded ...