PHYSICAL FITNESS TEST

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The physical health can also be tested using exercise. Physical fitness test is the act of using exercise to gauge ones health status and capacity. The test and its scoring differs in age and gender.
The pattern of testing physical fitness is divided into two, that is, the school age (age 10 – 15) and adults.

Physical Fitness Testing for School Age
Different schools adopt different ways of testing and scoring their students physical fitness. This test is to be administered by a trained physical educator with the aim to help the student in starting life long habit of regular physical activity and to be healthy throughout the period of training.
The following are physical fitness testing modalities:
1. Partial curl-ups: This is done by lying on the back with the knee flexed and feet 12’’ from the buttocks which cannot be rested or held by any object. The arms are extended and resting on the thigh with up and down movement. This is expected to be done at the pace of 3seconds. The aim is to measure abdominal strength and endurance.

2. Modified Sit and Reach: This is done with the student facing a box with shoes off. One leg is extended with the foot placed flat against the end of the box, with the other knee bent with the sole of the feet placed against the medial side of the opposite knee. The knee of the extended leg should remain straight and the hips must remain squared to the box. The aim is to ensure flexibility of the lower back.


3. Right Angle Push-ups: In this, the student assumes a prone position with the hands placed slightly wider that the shoulder width with fingers stretched out. The student is expected to take 1.5secs up and 1.5secs down. The aim is to measure upper body strength and endurance.

4. One-Mile Run/Walk: The student will be given a standard and tips on how to run/walk the mile. The aim is to measure aerobic endurance. It is a good indicator of the ability of the circulatory and respiratory system to supply oxygen to functioning muscles. It also tells the ability of the student to perform activities using large muscle groups over an extended period of time.


Physical Fitness Test for Adults
Adult fitness level can be gauged in three steps

1. Test of Strength: Do as many classic push-ups as you can without stopping but this precaution has to be taken: take 2secs to lower your body until your upper arms dip below your elbows, pause for 1sec, and the 1sec to push your body up.

2. Test for Flexibility: Place a yard stick on the floor and put a foot-long piece of masking tape across the 15’’ mark, sit down with your legs arched infront of you and your heels at the edge of the tape, one on each side of the yard stick. Put one hand on to of the other a reach forward over the yard stick as far as you can by bending at your hips.


3. Test for Endurance: On a treadmill or on a flat source outdoors, run or walk 1.5miles as fast as you can and record the time. Before this is performed, one needs to warm up first by walking or jugging at an easy pace for 5mins.

For these exercises to be carried out, one needs to know his biological (body’s) age, exercise recovery time and personal best time to exercise.