Fitness Testing

Fitness Testing > Help > FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

Other Tests

Beep Test FAQ - specific questions about the beep test

Where can I find some more information?

There are several options if you require some information about fitness testing or fitness in general.
Fist you should search throughout my pages to make sure the info is not somwhere already on the site.
If you are looking for a journal reference, I find the best source in this field is PubMed. Here you will find original journal articles.
There are also several USENET discussion newsgroups on fitness topics that you can post to, such as:
- misc.fitness.aerobic All forms of aerobic activity.
- misc.fitness.misc General fitness topics.
- misc.fitness.weights Bodybuilding, weightlifting, resistance.
- rec.running Running Newsgroups
There is a sportscience mailing list
If you need to contact me directly, you can contact me via my feedback page.

Where can I find some norms?

This is the most often asked question. Most norm tables are too big to be included on these web pages, so there is not many of them presented. You will just have to search around to find something suitable. Some of the books listed in the further reading section of the fitness guide have norm tables included, and some of the books on my fitness testing books page may also be suitable. Do not email me for normative data, as the reason they are not on my page is that they are too big and detailed, so I wouldn't be able to email these to you.

What is the source of the norms on your website?

I have listed the source of the norm table when it is known. If there is none listed, I do not know the source.

I cannot find any norms for a particular test

Not having norms isn't necessarily a problem if you are just interested in monitoring improvements. You can still rank the participants within their own group to see how they stand compared to their peers.

Can I use your website information in my assignment?

Generally you can. For more details and for all copyright information, go here

How do I reference information from this site?

You can use this general reference style and insert the correct date, or change the details to reflect the specific page your are referring to.

Wood, R. J. (2005). Title of Page. Retrieved month day, year, from Rob's Home of Fitness Testing <http://www.topendsports.com/testing>

For more information, see the APA website: http://www.apastyle.org/elecref.html

What does that ?! term mean?

You may come across a few words on this website that you do not understand. I have set up a glossary page to list such words with their meanings.

Where can I get my body composition measured?

If you want just your skinfolds measured, try your local gym or a sports dietitian. If you are after underwater weighing or other more complex body composition measurements, try the kinesiology / physical education department of your local university.

Why do they use those particular skinfold sites?

I do not know why each particular skinfold site is used, however, I know that there have been other sites used previously that are no longer in vogue. Earlier research would have used a greater number of sites, and this number would have been whittled down till they found the current sites (up to 7) which give the best correlation when compared to the original criterion measure of bodyfat measurement, hydrostatic weighing. There is a compromise between having a small number of sites to measure (and less chance of an error being made), with a large number of sites which would give an overall measure of the distribution of bodyfat (as this varies widely between individuals).

Is it wrong to take the measurement of skinfold with the clothes on?

Taking skinfold measurements with clothes on does affect you accuracy and reliability, so it is not an ideal way to do the test. However, sometimes you have to do such measurements when it is appropriate for a modest client. If you have no choice but to take the measurement through clothes, you can take a measurement of the thickness of the clothes using the calipers, then subtract that from your skinfold measure.