Bradley Simpson

No matter what your training level is it is important to test yourself every now and then to monitor your progress and assess your training programs effectiveness.

Testing protocol must be strict with any test you run. At the very least ensure the following:

1. The test is reliable and repeatable. If you are at the same fitness level you should get exactly the same result. Basically try and eliminate any external factors as much as possible. Wind/heat/surface etc should be kept as constant as humanly possible. A timed 3000m run on a windy day on grass in winter, and then repeated on a footpath on a calm day in summer obviously fails this one. I would compromise some specificity for controlled conditions, but this is just a personal preference. For example swimming in the pool not the ocean, on a treadmill or indoor track/bike if you are a runner/cyclist.
2. The tester is objective i.e they do not count a press up if you don’t go all the way down. This usually excludes your personal trainer, coach, or anyone else who may not want to tell you what you don’t want to know.
3. That the test tests what it is supposed to. No point doing press ups if you want to measure your flexibility. If you want to lose weight: on the scales, if you want to lose fat: body composition (or in the mirror), if you want to sprint the 100m faster: run a 100m through timing lights.

For example push ups:

1. Yes, the test is reliable because the same tester over time will get the same result (assuming the athletes ability does not change).
2. Finally, it is objective as long as the assessor sticks to the exact testing protocol. This is where most people slip up in my opinion. If one assessor lets the person only come to a 110 degree bend in their elbow and the protocol says it must be 90 degrees, then when the person retests a few months later with a different assessor it will be hard to attribute any change to anything but the testing protocol.
3. Yes, it is a valid test: for upper body strength/endurance, not for body composition.

Be strict to yourself if you are doing the testing (most likely scenario), and over time your results will be not only interesting, but a source of motivation. It also helps you revise your ideas around your training to make sure it is aimed towards meeting your goals. For example, what is your primary goal: to look better, run/bike/ski/swim/paddle faster or longer, beat your brother in an arm wrestle, be quicker off the mark, be able to put your foot behind your head, have a higher vertical jump, pass a physical entry exam into the Police…??? All of these require significantly different training programs and so testing them from time to time will only help measure the programs effectiveness.

I say this because sometimes I speak to people trying to be ‘fit’ or achieve a certain goal, but the training they are doing does not match it.

It is best to record the results down somewhere, then you can look back on your results in years to come and laugh at how fat/slow/inflexible/weak you were.

…And hopefully not how slim/fast/flexible/strong you were