The beep fitness test should not be taken lightly. It is a maximal test, which means the participants are required to go as hard as they can for as long as they can (though they do not always do this). This was highlighted recently when 27 year old Welsh man Adam Rumming died while performing the bleep test as part of an army fitness test at the Sandhurst Academy where elite British Army officers are trained. He is believed to have had an undiagnosed heart problem, which is often the case for sudden death during exercise in seemingly healthy young people. If you are ever in charge of conducting fitness testing, particularly exhausting tests, you should exclude anyone with a fever or other risky medical condition, or even better get them to complete a PAR-Q (Physical Activity Readiness Questionnaire).
Rob's Sports, Fitness & Science Blog
Entries Tagged as 'Fitness'
The Beep Test Can Kill
January 30th, 2011 · No Comments · Fitness, Rugby Union, Sports Medicine
Tags: beep test
RPE is Now Easy
September 12th, 2010 · No Comments · Fitness
I’ve just updated my pages on Rating of Perceived Exertion Scales, and I decided to make up my own! Instead of a 1-10 or 6-20 scale, my RPE Scale uses the hand to indicate the 1 to 5 ratings. It utilizes the ‘thumbs up’ sign which is fairly universally used to indicate that you are doing OK, while the five fingers hand out is also a familiar signal for stopping. Compared to the other RPE Scales, this is so simple to use, it does not need any printouts (all you need is a hand), the 5-point Likert scale is familiar to a lot of people, and it is non-verbal so is great for research where the subject is unable to talk. See more about my RPE-5 Hand Scale.
- Not all all hard (I’m feeling great and could keep up this pace all day long)
- slightly hard (I’m still comfortable, but am breathing a little harder and starting to sweat)
- moderately hard (This is a good workout)
- very hard (It is getting pretty tough, I could only keep at this pace for a short time)
- extremely hard (It’s too hard, I need to STOP!)
To see the original RPE scales, and now download a printable version, see RPE Scale 1-10 and RPE Scale 6-20.
Tags: RPE
Perth City2Surf 2010
September 6th, 2010 · No Comments · Fitness, Track & Field
Last weekend I joined a record number of 40,468 people in the Perth city to surf event, from the city centre to City Beach, a distance of 12 km. As a sign of my increasing age, I had opted to join the walkers of the 12 km event, pushing my 3 year old and 9 mth old in a stroller. It was still a brisk walk to complete the course in 2 hrs 10 minutes, with plenty of people still behind us, and the sore feet to show for it.I would have just beaten the marathon runners!
I’m glad I was not in the half marathon event, as the lead out cyclist took the runners the wrong way, requiring the leaders to backtrack quite a bit. I cannot imagine they would be too happy about that.
As usual there were plenty of characters, people dressed up like the one pictured. It was a fairly warm day, so he would have been feeling the heat. As would have the two dressed in Storm Trooper outfits. All done to raise funds for a worthy charity.
What Makes a Champion?
August 29th, 2010 · No Comments · Fitness, Sports Psychology
There is a huge range of components that contribute to successful sports performance, mainly physical and mental. In addition, there are many more minor factors including supply of equipment, opportunity for training, expertise in coaching and skill teaching, nutritional status, a good support network, funding (and probably many more). Success also requires these factors to come together and interact in the right way.
Our challenge was to list these factors, and ultimately rate and rank them for a range of sports. After much discussion, it has been narrowed down to the following 15 factors. The physical components predominate here, as sport is mostly a physical endeavour, but it is the role of the other factors that can make the difference in a champion. I do not expect all of these to be factors for all sports, and the importance of each will vary between sports. See more on these factors.
- Body Composition
- Cardiovascular Endurance
- Muscular Endurance
- Muscle Strength
- Explosive Power
- Speed / Quickness
- Anaerobic Capacity
- Flexibility
- Agility
- Balance and Coordination
- Reaction Time
- Analytic and Tactical Ability
- Motivation and Self Confidence
- Coping with Pressure
- Skill and Technique
Why don’t you have a go at rating the importance of these factors. See this page and select your sport.
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Naked Sunday Workout
March 6th, 2007 · 1 Comment · Fitness
Do you have a dream of exercising naked? Maybe you should head to Holland, where the Fitworld gym in Heteren has opened its doors to have the first clothing-free workout. About a dozen middle-aged and elderly men braved the glare of nearly twice that number of journalists, photographers and at least five television crews. The participants said they “feel more free” and that “it just feels better to do it with your clothes off”. The event was dubbed Nudifit, or Naked Sunday. Some women had signed up, which may have explained the high number on onlookers, though none attended this first session.
Related Pages: finding a gym
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No grunting please
November 23rd, 2006 · No Comments · Fitness, Tennis
A New York fitness club, which has outlets nationwide, has a long list of “dos and don’ts” that its members have to follow. That does not sound too bad. However, one of these rules is that no grunting is allowed, apparently to create a non-intimidating environment. And they enforce the rules too. Recently, one of the club’s members was expelled for grunting. I don’t know if he ended up giving a bit more resistance, but eventually Police Officers were called in by the management to escort the patron out. He admitted emitting several grunts when he was about to lift 227 kilograms. I think sometimes you have to make some noise to get the most out of a lift, and it usually feels good too. Where they need to stop the grunting is during women’s tennis matches. It really annoys me when I am trying to enjoy watching a game of tennis and all I can hear are the women grunting. The Wimbledon Championship have laid down the law in the past with regulating the clothing people could wear, now they should regulate the sounds the women can make too.
Related Pages: chosing a fitness club, tennis, Wimbledon
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