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Field Test Lab Information

Fitness Appraisal Theory 6

Purpose of Fitness Appraisal   Fitness

  Exercise prescription  Motivation to train  Monitor progress  Assess training program

  Sport  Channel (sports schools)   Team selection   Exercise prescription  Motivation to train  Monitor progress  Assess training program  Strategy

Purpose of Fitness Appraisal   Medicine

 Diagnose  Assess safety  Assess capacity  Monitor progress  Monitor effect of therapy

  Law  Assess disability  Expose fraud

Purpose of Fitness Appraisal

  Industry  Job screening  Job redesign  Need for training (skill)  Need for conditioning (fitness)  Baseline for later injury claim

  Research   test hypotheses

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Criteria for Determining a Good Test

  A test should measure what it is supposed to measure (validity)

  with consistency (reliability)

  using an accurate scoring system (objectivity)

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Evaluation of Test Quality

 Other criteria to consider  are norms available

 Achievement level to which scores can be compared - interpretation and evaluation

 Economy - safety, practicality, time, cost, simplicity

 Appropriateness - target group for norms and test design, relevance of outcome to goals

Referenced Tests   Norm-referenced test:

  compared against others in the same age and gender category

  somebody always has to be in the lower percentile rankings

  Criterion-referenced test:   compared to some criterion. This target could be set

appropriately for the age and gender of a client.   e.g. police and fire fighter standard tests

  validating a criterion (pass/fail) is a tricky task - reporting a percentile ranking is easier.

 most criterions based on normative data originally

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Validity

  How well does a test measure what it is intended to measure - most important aspect of test design

  There are several types of validity   Construct Validity

 degree to which a test measures an underlying attribute based on existing knowledge

 Old CSTF sit-up test - legs held, hands behind neck, rate of 60 / min   Inappropriately tests stabilizer muscles at high contraction

rate, allows contribution of psoas muscle group.

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Validity

  Content validity  Is the test battery measuring all the component

abilities for performance  List ability components for sport, and ensure they

are all represented  Eg soccer - speed, agility, coordination, kicking power…

  Criterion-Referenced Validity - includes concurrent and predictive  Continued on next slide

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 Concurrent Validity  Used when a test is proposed as a substitute for another test that

is known to be valid  Degree of correlation with a criterion test should be reported

 over 0.8 validity coefficient is acceptable.  E.g. Coopers and VO2 Max (0.897) (see next slide)  SEE - standard error of estimation - should also be small

  But Cooper used adults who were well trained & motivated  Applicability to other groups ?

  Predictive validity - amount by which test score corresponds to future behaviour or performance  Does prior fitness actually reduce injury in demanding jobs?  Do fitness scores relate to sport performance measures?

(goals, rebounds, assists)

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Swedish classification, compare with American in handout (e.g. female who ran 6 laps)

Know What the Score Means

Typical Canadian Values for VO2 max. (ml/kg.min) Male (20-29) 40-49 (5.5-6.8 laps) Male (50-59) 30-35 (4.5-5 laps) Female (20-29) 34-38 (5-5.5 laps) Female (50-59) 24-28 (4-4.3 laps)

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Construct Validity

  Degree to which a test measures an attribute that cannot be directly measured  e.g. – assertiveness and other

psychological attributes, athletic ability, % body fat

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Reliability   Consistency or repeatability of a test - a test must

be reliable to be valid   test can be reliable but invalid

 e.g. 60 sec sit up test   Also defined as the ability of the test to detect

reliable differences between subjects   Pass/Fail tells us very little if everyone gets the same result   Applicable when comparing to norms

  Ensure test is being administered as it was designed   Single test, test retest, individual test score

  Factors influencing reliability   Type of test, Ability, Length  Consistency of client preparation

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Reliability (cont.)

  Inter-judge reliability - degree to which different testers agree  Standardization of training and certification

important

  Other sources of error  Calibration of equipment  Preparation of subjects  Personality of tester (motivation)

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Field-Tests Laboratory

  Advantages and Disadvantages   allow examiners to test numerous participants at once

without the need for sophisticated and expensive equipment.

  Validity of Field-Tests   Field-tests are not as accurate as the criterion-test they

are designed to emulate   Field-tests are usually used as motivational tools rather

than in scientific studies, so the lower level of accuracy is often quite acceptable

 Care must be taken however to use the field test on the population group it was designed for (may have concurrent validity for a certain age population but not for another)

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  Reliability  If the field-test does not have a skill component

they will usually be very reliable  e.g. Cooper test requires pacing skill

 Simple tests of maximal strength, like the grip strength, have very high reliability

  Objectivity  Field-tests usually have excellent objectivity (e.g.

timed runs, laps completed in set amount of time)   Normative Databases

 Field-tests often have large databases, in part because so many people can be tested easily

 Care should be taken to use the appropriate database for the clients whom you have tested

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Safety of Field Tests

  Most aerobic tests are sub maximal and less likely to put excessive strain on subject

  20m aerobic shuttle is maximal   Screening during test often difficult

  ECG, BP

  Rely on prescreening tests   Anaerobic tests require maximal effort - select

clients carefully  High risk of muscle strain in sprint tests if not fully

warmed-up or inexperienced with sprinting

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Field Tests

  Virtually all field-tests are very inexpensive to run  test numerous subjects at same time,

reducing personnel costs  minimal equipment is required

  There are numerous field-tests available so finding an appropriate test for your client(s) should not be a problem.

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Lab Organization

  Warm Up (done in the 10 min prior to test participation)   2 laps of 400m track   stretching   2 X 50 m sprints at 50-75 % max

  Purpose   to have you complete, administer and/or observe some

common filed tests

  Decide after outline   one aerobic   one anaerobic if you are used to sprinting

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Anaerobic

  Phosphagen and glycolytic Systems  Usually reserved for specific sports groups   does not contribute to cardiovascular/respiratory fitness   can be associated with muscle strain

  600 m and 100 m shuttle tests   norms are for elite athletes   useful on test/retest basis only   require good warm up/stretching

  T-Test and other agility tests   Test of agility (approximately 7-15 seconds)   Two trials

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Anaerobic (cont.)

  600-m, 400-m Sprints (runs)  Glycolytic System   2 trials (one in 343)   4 runners max. use inside lane  warm up essential

  100m shuttle   Phosphagen/glycolytic systems   sprint 5 times between 20m lines   practice trial at 75 %

  20-m, 50yd, sprints   Phosphagen system   practice trial at 75 %

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Aerobic System

  Coopers Test   Target subjects - large groups, assumed to be healthy,

experience running as pacing is important   Normative data for Swim and Bike Coopers tests are also available

 warm up important   12 minutes around 400 m track   pacing is important (experience)   up to 30 runners, keep to inside lane   use table slide 28 for miles and VO2 max estimates   administrator calls out times and records completed laps -

to nearest quarter or tenth   good correlation to VO2 max test results

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Aerobic Tests (cont)

  1.5 mile run   Target subjects

  Large groups   Prior experience running this test distance as pacing is

important   Timed test - 6 laps of 400 m track   Moderate warm up and stretch   One administrator can time up to four subjects,

keeping track of completed laps   Compare time to age and gender specific fitness

scale

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  20 m Aerobic shuttle (Léger et al, 1988)  Target subjects

 Healthy subjects of any age

 warm up included in protocol  avoids pacing problem  pace increases progressively from brisk walk  If subject fails to keep pace

 by two steps on two consecutive laps   the last number called out is their stage level

 MET estimated by stage and age  MET is Metabolic Equivalent  1 MET = 3.5 ml O2 kg-1 min-1

Yo-Yo Intermittent Recovery Test 36

  "The Yo-Yo Intermittent Recovery Test A Useful Tool for Evaluation of Physical Performance in Intermittent Sports", by Jens Bangsbo F. Marcello Iaia and Peter Krustrup, Sports Med 2008; 38 (1): 37-51

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Aerobic (cont.)

  Rockport Fitness Walking Test  Target group

 sedentary, older individuals, those not accustomed to running

 walk at fast, comfortable pace  record time for four laps  timer can use lap function for more than one subject  record 10-second heart rate at finish with stop

watch  Compare results to age and gender specific graphs

in lab book