There is a huge variety of different fitness tests that are designed to determine the cardiovascular fitness of athletes. Of all these tests, the most accurate are the ones that are the most structured. Since the most structured type of physical fitness test is one that involves a CD recording with specific directions and timed intervals, it can be said with relative confidence that it is this type of test that will give the most accurate results, so it is therefore the best style of fitness test for athletes. The following is a list of the 3 best fitness tests that fit into the CD recording style.
1. Twenty-Meter Multistage Fitness Test
Also known as the beep test, the twenty-meter multistage fitness test is the simplest of the fitness tests that use recorded intervals on CD. Participants start at one end of a twenty-meter stretch of floor space. When they hear a beep from the recording, they must cross the twenty meters before they hear the next beep. Every minute, the interval between the beeps gets smaller, and a participant is removed from the test when that participant can no longer keep pace with the recording. Scoring is based on the 'level,' or number of minutes a participant reaches before he finishes the test (and the total distance ran).
2. Yo-Yo Intermittent Fitness Test
The Yo-Yo intermittent fitness test involves a twenty-five meter stretch of floor space, divided into two sections: one five-meter section, and one twenty-meter section. The participants start at the dividing line between the two sections, and, when prompted by the CD recording, run across the twenty-meter section, where they wait for the beep signal to run back. Once the subjects are back where they started, they are given ten seconds to walk or jog across the five-meter section and back before the next beep, which signals them to repeat the process.
The interval between beeps gets progressively shorter throughout the test, and if a participant does not make it across the twenty meters before the beep, they are given a warning. If a test subject fails to make it across before the beep a second time, they are removed from the test. A participant's score is the total number of meters that the participant ran.
3. J.A.M. Intermittent Fitness Test
For the J.A.M. intermittent fitness test, a triangular circuit is established, and each side of the triangle is designated with 'walk,' 'jog,' or 'run.' Participants start at one corner, and when they hear the first beep from the recording, they begin moving around the circuit in the designated way for each side. At intervals of approximately two minutes, the 'run' side is replaced by a twelve-meter sprint bout. Participants must complete the whole circuit before the next beep, and the interval between the beeps shrinks as the test goes on. If a participant fails to complete the circuit in time, they are removed from the test. A participant's final score for this test is the length of time that that participant took to complete the test.
The best way to measure athletes' cardiovascular physical fitness is to subject them to a standardized fitness test. Such tests are useful because they provide a rigid framework by which any athlete can be compared quantitatively to any other athlete.
