Parameters of Athletic Performance

Methods of Strength & Conditioning -- Chapter 13: Administration, Scoring, and Interpretation of Selected Tests, Pt. 1

What are the measuring parameters of athletic performance?

• Maximum muscular strength

• Anaerobic or maximum muscular power

• Anaerobic capacity

• Local muscular endurance

• Aerobic capacity

• Agility

• Speed

• Flexibility (RoM)

• Mobility (Quality of Motion)

• Balance and Stability

• Body Composition

• Anthropometry

Maximum Muscular Strength

low-speed strength, the force a muscle or muscle group can exert in one maximal effort

How is maximum muscular strength tested?

1-rep max in a particular lift

Anaerobic or Maximum Muscular Power

high-speed strength or anaerobic power, the ability of muscle tissue to exert high force while contracting at a high speed, only uses the phosphagen system

How is maximal anaerobic muscular power tested?

vertical jump height, standing long jump, Margaria-Kalamen test, etc.

Local Muscular Endurance

local muscle strength, ability of certain a muscle or muscle groups to perform repeated contractions against a submaximal resistance

How is local muscular endurance tested?

sit-ups (max reps), push-ups (max reps), YMCA bench press test, etc.

Anaerobic Capacity

maximal rate of energy production by both the phosphagen and anaerobic glycolytic energy systems for moderate-duration activities (phosphagen first, glycolysis second)H

How is anaerobic capacity tested?

Wingate test, 300-yard shuttle (with ~5 mins of rest), etc.

Aerobic Capacity

aerobic power, maximum rate at which an athlete can produce energy through oxidation of energy resources, usually expressed as volume of O₂ consumed per kg of BW per minute, aka a MET (ml*kg^-1*min^-1)

How is aerobic capacity tested?

1.5 mile run, 12 minute run, Yo-Yo intermittent recovery test, maximal aerobic speed test, etc.

Agility

the ability to change direction or speed of the whole body in response to a sport specific stimulus, generally confined to physical capacity testing or cognitive components

How do you test agility?

T-test, hexagon test, pro agility test (5-10-5), 505 agility test, (change-of-direction tests, speed tests, anticipation tests), etc.

Speed

movement distance per unit of time, typically quantified as the time taken to cover a fixed distance

How do you test speed?

Timed 10m, 40m, or 10m splits (Distance/time = speed)

Flexibility and Mobility

range of motion about a body joint, and the quality of motion about a body joint

How do you test flexibility and mobility?

sit and reach test, overhead squat, etc.

Balance

the ability to maintain static and dynamic equilibrium

Stability

the ability to return to a desired position following a disturbance to the system

How do you test balance and stability?

Balance Error Scoring System (BESS), Star excursion balance test

Body Composition

the relative proportions by weight of fat and lean tissue

How do you measure body composition?

Skinfolds technique, DEXA, etc.

Anthropometry

the science of measurement applied to the human body

What are anthropometry measures?

height, weight, girth, etc.

How can you maximize the reliability of tests?

Make conditions as similar as possible for all athletes being tested and between tests and retests of the same athlete

What conditions should be kept similar to maximize test reliability?

temperature, humidity, environment, surface tested on, type of equipment used, etc.

Should you test an athlete who is fatigued?

NO

How should you advise an athlete to arrive to testing?

normally hydrated with standard nutrition and no supplements taken

What type of warmup should athletes complete before a test?

one that is standardized that focuses on the muscles that will be used for that particular test

Descriptive Statistics

Central tendency, variability, percentile rank

Central Tendency Statistics

mean, median, and mode

Variability Statistics

range, standard deviation

Mean

the average of scores

Median

the middlemost score when a set of scores is arranged in order of magnitude

Mode

the score that occurs the most often

Range

the interal from the lowest to the highest scoreS

Standard Deviation

a measure of the variability of a set of scores about the mean

Percentile Rank

the percentage of test takers scoring below an individual

Normal Bell Curve

“normally distributed” scores form this shaped curve, when standard deviation is most useful

Z-score Equation

Z= x - μ / σ ; where x is the score, μ (mu) is the mean, and σ (sigma) is the standard deviation

Inferential Statistics

Can draw general conclusions about a population from information collected in a population sample, the population sample must be representative

Magnitude Statistics

allows for interpretation of the clinical significance of fitness testing, identifies the smallest worthwhile change (the ability of a test to detect the smallet practically important change in performance), uses effect sizeEf

Effect Size

used to calculate group performance following a training program or to compare between groups of athletes

Effect Size Equation and Scale

ES = (Post-test — Pre-test) / SD of the Pre-test

Scale:

• Small = 0.2

• Medium = 0.6

• Large = 1.2

• Very Large = 2.0

Steps of developing an athletic profile

1. Selection of appropriate test

2. Choose valid and reliable test

3. Administer the test battery

4. Compare to population specific normative data

   1. Or develop own norms when standardized procedures are used

5. Conduct repeat test (e.g. before and after training program)

   1. Present results with a visual profile with figures

6. Identify the strengths and weaknesses of the athletes

   1. Design the training program with these in mind

Testing administration order

• Non-fatiguing tests/anthropometrics (height, body weight)

• Power development (vertical jump)

• Speed (40-yard dash)

• Anaerobic (Wingate)

• Resistance Training (225-lb bench press test)

• Aerobic (1.5-mi run test)