Results of Post-Fitness Test on An Athlete's Fitness Level

Introduction

In order to succeed and perform well in any sport a specific level of fitness is required. To improve upon performance, an athlete’s fitness level must also improve. This is achieved by utilizing the principles training during program design. In the duration of this essay, a five week training program the athlete completed will be assessed to validate its effectiveness. This will be discussed by examining the training program in relation to the principles of training and the comparison of and post test results. Additionally, suggestions will be made to further enhance the effectiveness of the program and ultimately the performance of the athlete.

Method:

Information was collected on a number of fitness tests to acquire the athlete’s level of fitness. The tests that were conducted each assessed a specific component of fitness such as: beep test (aerobic endurance), sit and reach (flexibility), phosphate recovery test (phosphate recovery), vertical jump (muscular power), push-ups (muscular endurance), sit-ups (abdominal strength), grip test (muscular strength). Then a training program was undertaken by the athlete to improve each component of fitness. Finally, a post test was completed to determine the effectiveness of the training program when the pre and post test results were compared.

Results:

The results of the pre and post fitness test were compared and tabulated (appendix 1 & 2) so that improvements upon the training program could be justified. In appendix one, an excellent rating was achieved in: the shuttle run, the Illinois agility test, the vertical jump, the catch and throw, the pushups, stomach crunches and the 50m sprint. A fair rating was also achieved in the athlete’s flexibility test. The tr...

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...make the training program more suited to the athlete’s selected event. The training program undertaken was a very generalized in its specificity. However, it was still effective as the athlete did achieve improvement when comparing the two fitness tests. The major weaknesses of the program were its specificity and its frequency. These two combining factors contributed to the amount of improvement in the athlete’s fitness level. To further improve the athlete’s level of fitness; the program could be altered, by utilizing SPORT and FITT, to suit the specific event the athlete is training for. This could include exercises such as weight training for events that demand muscular power such as long jump and javelin. This essay had successfully evaluated and effectively suggested methods of improving the training program designed for athletic events.