Testing Your Fitness (Grade 11 NSC Matric Life Orientation): Revision Notes

Testing Your Fitness

Physical fitness testing helps you understand your current fitness levels and track improvements over time. Testing involves measuring the key components that make up overall physical fitness and comparing your results to established norms for your age and gender.

Understanding physical fitness components

Physical fitness refers to your ability to perform physical activities with vigour whilst still having energy left over for other daily tasks. Good physical fitness forms the foundation for overall health and well-being.

There are four main health-related components of fitness that you need to assess:

Cardiorespiratory endurance

This measures your body's ability to deliver oxygen and nutrients to your tissues whilst removing waste products during sustained physical activity. Good cardiorespiratory endurance means you can exercise for longer periods without becoming breathless or overly tired. Key indicators include:

• A strong heart that doesn't need to beat as frequently during rest
• Large lung capacity allowing more oxygen uptake into your bloodstream

Muscular strength and endurance

Muscular strength refers to your muscles' ability to exert maximum force in a single effort. Muscular endurance measures how long your muscles can continue working before becoming fatigued. Both components work together to help you perform daily activities and sports effectively.

Flexibility

This describes your ability to move your joints and muscles through their complete range of motion without experiencing pain or stiffness. Good flexibility helps prevent injuries and allows for better movement quality in daily activities and sports.

Body composition

This refers to the proportions of different tissues in your body, particularly the ratio of fat mass to lean mass (muscle, bone, and organs). A healthy body composition typically includes lower fat percentages and higher muscle mass.

Physical activity recommendations

The activity pyramid shows how often you should engage in different types of physical exercise:

• Daily activities: Walking, dancing, running, jumping should be performed every day
• Aerobic exercise: Activities like dancing, volleyball, soccer, and running should be done 3-5 times per week
• Strength and flexibility training: Include strength training, free weights, resistance exercises, push-ups, sit-ups, and flexibility work 2-3 times per week
• Limit sedentary behaviour: Reduce time spent sitting, using screens, watching television, and playing computer games

Testing cardiorespiratory endurance

Taking your pulse

Before conducting cardiorespiratory tests, you need to know how to measure your heart rate:

Step test

This simple test requires a step or bench that's 30cm high:

Cardiorespiratory endurance norms (beats per minute after step test):

• Female (15-16 years): Great = 95 or less, Good = 96-105, Below average = 106-125, Very weak = 125+
• Male (15-16 years): Great = 85 or less, Good = 86-95, Below average = 96-114, Very weak = 115+
• Female (17-20 years): Great = 90 or less, Good = 91-100, Below average = 101-119, Very weak = 120+
• Male (17-20 years): Great = 80 or less, Good = 81-90, Below average = 91-109, Very weak = 110+

12-minute run test

Run as far as possible in 12 minutes and measure the total distance covered:

• Female (15-16 years): Great = 2100m+, Good = 1900m, Below average = 1700m, Very weak = 1500m or less
• Male (15-16 years): Great = 2800m+, Good = 2500m, Below average = 2300m, Very weak = 2200m or less

1.6km run test

Time how long it takes you to run 1.6km. The cardiorespiratory endurance norm suggests you should complete this distance with ease in 9.5 minutes (female) and 7.5 minutes (male).

Run-on-the-spot test

Testing flexibility

Flexibility testing measures how well your joints and muscles can move through their full range of motion.

Sit-and-reach test

This test measures flexibility in your lower back and hamstrings:

Trunk extension test

This measures flexibility in your upper back muscles:

1. Lie face down on the floor with your hands behind your head
2. Raise your head and shoulders as high as possible
3. Hold for three seconds whilst a partner measures the height of your upper-body stretch

Arm and shoulder reach test

This test focuses on shoulder flexibility:

1. Lie flat on the floor face down, keeping your arms straight in front of you with your chin on the floor
2. Raise your arms as high as possible, keeping them shoulder-width apart
3. Hold for three seconds whilst your partner measures the height from the floor

Shoulder stretch test

Flexibility norms:

• Sit and reach: Great = 25cm, Good = 15cm, Below average = 14-6cm, Very weak = 5-0cm
• Trunk extension: Great = 55cm, Good = 45cm, Below average = 35cm, Very weak = 30cm
• Arm and shoulder reach: Great = 35cm, Good = 25cm, Below average = 20cm, Very weak = 15cm

Testing muscular strength and endurance

Standing long jump (muscular strength)

This test measures the explosive power in your leg muscles:

Standing long jump norms:

• Female: Great = 1.85m+ (¾+ of body length), Good = 1.65m+ (⅔+ of body length), Below average = 1.45m+ (½+ of body length), Very weak = 1.30m or less (less than ½ of body length)
• Male: Great = 2.10m+ (body length+), Good = 2m+ (¾+ of body length), Below average = 1.75m+ (½+ of body length), Very weak = 1.50m or less (less than ½ of body length)

Knee push-ups (muscular endurance)

This test measures endurance in your upper body muscles:

Push-up test norms:

• Female: Great = 35+, Good = 34-27, Below average = 10-6, Very weak = 1-0
• Male: Great = 56+, Good = 55-47, Below average = 18-11, Very weak = Less than 4

Testing body composition

Body composition describes the make-up of your body in terms of lean mass (muscle, bone, vital organs) versus fat mass. An ideal ratio of fat to lean mass indicates good fitness levels.

Body Mass Index (BMI)

BMI provides a simple calculation to assess whether your body weight is appropriate for your height:

BMI calculation: $\text{BMI} = \frac{\text{weight in kg}}{(\text{height in m})^2}$

BMI guidelines for teenagers:

• Age 15: Male = 16.8-26.6, Female = 17.0-28.7
• Age 16: Male = 18.0-27.3, Female = 17.7-30.1
• Age 17: Male = 17.8-28.3, Female = 17.1-32.1
• Age 18-19: Male = 18.8-31.0, Female = 17.7-32.1

Skin-fold test

This test provides a rough estimate of body fat percentage:

Recording and interpreting your results

Create a fitness testing chart to track your progress over time. Record results for each component:

• Date and week number
• Cardiorespiratory endurance (pulse rate after step test)
• Flexibility (distance measurements from various tests)
• Muscular strength (long jump distance)
• Muscular endurance (number of push-ups completed)
• Body composition (BMI calculation and skin-fold measurement)

Compare your initial results (Week 1) with follow-up testing (Week 10) to measure improvements. Discuss results with a partner or teacher to identify areas needing development and set realistic goals for improvement.