Fitness tests can be devised to test all aspects of fitness, providing the test follows fitness testing principles. The following are examples of simple fitness tests which can easily be reproduced away from a lab and measure strength, power, anaerobic endurance, local muscular endurance, aerobic endurance, flexibility, balance, reaction time and body composition. Strength fitness
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Fitness testing is a way of gaining information about the health-related and skill related components of an athletes fitness. Testing can take place in a number of environments, with laboratory testing being the most accurate. However, you can carry out a large range of tests outside of the lab, which provide a lot of useful
In order to get the most out of your training, you must follow some basic simple training principles which are overload, specificity, reversibility, and variance. Overload means we must put our bodies under more stress than normal in order for adaptive changes to be made. Specificity relates to ensuring the training done is specific to
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Training methods are different types of training to improve your fitness. The training method you select has a significant impact on training outcomes. Training must be relevant to your goals, this refers to the training principle of specificity. Those interested in improving strength and power may use weight or plyometric training whereas someone wanting to
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Athletes need to programme their training year carefully so they can improve fitness, optimise performance, and peak during competition as well as reduce injury risk. Periodisation is key to planning a training programme and involves dividing the year into specific blocks with each block having a particular goal. These training blocks are referred to as
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The subject of nutrition is complex and varied. It encompasses everything from weight loss and gains to sports performance and supplements. Here we aim to give you a basic understanding of the requirements of a balanced diet and the importance of this in sport. What does a balanced diet actually mean? For most people a
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Fats have many essential functions in the human body, they are vital for hormone synthesis, the integrity of cells, energy production, absorption of fat-soluble vitamins, and protection of vital organs and can be useful in providing insulation in specific activities, a deficiency of fat in the diet can lead to fatigue, low hormonal synthesis, vitamin
Water is vital for life and ensuring adequate hydration is important for both physical and mental well-being and performance. Hydration has many important functions for health, including the regulation of body temperature and blood pressure, cleaning the body and removing it of stored toxins, supporting immune function, aiding digestion and ensuring transportation of oxygen and
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Sports supplements are commonly used by athletes to enhance performance. Some are more often used by power and strength athletes such as creatine, protein supplements, and amino acids and others tend to benefit endurance athletes such as glycogen loading, caffeine, and sodium bicarbonate. Effectiveness of a supplement depends on an athlete’s diet, nutritional deficiencies, the type
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Protein is the most important macronutrient when it comes to maximising health, body composition, muscle growth, and recovery of body tissue. Protein has many important functions in the body, particularly muscle growth and repair. But how much do we need? Why is protein important? When training, our muscle fibres become damaged and our muscles require
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