Unit 7: Fitness testing for sport and exercise

Scenario You are working as an assistant to the Sports Scientist at the football club. The coach has asked you to assist with fitness testing the apprentices’. Prior to undertaking the tests, You will be required to design a health screening questionnaire and perform appropriate health monitoring tests on the academy teams, interpreting the results.

Marking Scheme P2 prepare an appropriate health screening questionnaire P3 devise and use appropriate health screening procedures for two contrasting individuals

Health Screening Questionniare What are they? Why are they used? Who uses them?

Health screening questionnaires

Research task We will split you into five groups Research the test protocol (i.e. how it should be performed and any important safety points) of the following: Resting heart rate, Maximum heart rate, Blood pressure, Lung function, Waist-to-hip ratio & Body mass index.

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Resting heart rate The measurement of resting heart rate or pulse rate (the number of heart beats per minute) should be taken after a few minutes upon waking whilst still lying in bed. Give your body some time to adjust to the change from sleeping before taking your pulse (2-5 minutes). If you are not able to take a measurement first thing in the morning, make sure you lie down for at least 10 minutes before taking a measurement. Taking a radial or carotid pulse measurement (at the wrist or neck) is usually the easiest method. Carotid Pulse (neck) - To take your heart rate at the neck, place your first two fingers on either side of the neck. Be careful not too press to hard, then count the number of beats for a minute. Radial Pulse (wrist) - place your index and middle fingers together on the opposite wrist, about 1/2 inch on the inside of the joint, in line with the index finger. Once you find a pulse, count the number of beats you feel within a one minute period.

Maximum heart rate Measuring Maximum Heart Rate Heart rate will increase gradually as workload increases, up to the maximum possible. As the heart rate will begin to decrease as soon as exercise is completed, maximum heart rate is best measured using a heart rate monitor to the final moments before competition of exercise. Maximum heart rate can be recorded during a maximal aerobic fitness test such as MSFT or YO-YO though any maximal exercise should be able to elicit a maximum heart rate, as long as the exercise workload is gradually increased.

Blood pressure What is measured? It measures the maximum pressure (systolic) and the lowest pressure (diastolic) made by the beating of the heart. The systolic pressure is the maximum pressure in an artery at the moment when the heart is beating and pumping blood through the body. The diastolic pressure is the lowest pressure in an artery in the moments between beats when the heart is resting.

Lung function Lung function tests, also called pulmonary (PULL-mun-ary) function tests, measure how well your lungs work. These tests are used to look for the cause of breathing problems, such as shortness of breath. Lung function tests measure: How much air you can take into your lungs. This amount is compared with that of other people your age, height, and sex. This allows your doctor to see whether you're in the normal range. How much air you can blow out of your lungs and how fast you can do it. How well your lungs deliver oxygen to your blood.

Waist to hip ratio The WHR has been used as an indicator or measure of the health of a person, and the risk of developing serious health conditions. Research shows that people with "apple-shaped" bodies (with more weight around the waist) face more health risks than those with "pear-shaped" bodies who carry more weight around the hips.

Body mass index BMI (kg/m2) Weight Status Below 18.5 Underweight Body Mass Index (BMI) is a person’s weight in kilograms divided by the square of their height in metres. It is one of the most commonly used ways of estimating whether a person is overweight and hence more likely to experience health problems than someone with a healthy weight. It is also used to measure population prevalence of overweight and obesity. BMI (kg/m2) Weight Status Below 18.5 Underweight 18.5 to 24.9 Healthy weight 25.0 and above Overweight 30.0 and above Obese