WilliamsGram/FitnessGram
Aerobic Capacity
Description:
The 20m PACER test is a cardiovascular fitness test that measures aerobic capacity. Participants’ performance is measured according to Healthy Fitness Zone standards based on age and gender, developed by The Cooper Institute.
What is cardiovascular fitness?
Cardiovascular fitness, also known as aerobic fitness, is a measure of how fit and efficient your heart and respiratory systems are.
What is aerobic capacity?
According to The Cooper Institute, “Aerobic capacity is a measure of the ability of the heart, lungs, and muscles to perform sustained physical activity.” Basically, the more you exercise, the higher your aerobic capacity level will be.
How is aerobic capacity measured?
Aerobic capacity is measured according to VO2max, or the body’s maximum oxygen intake. This tells us how fast the body can take in, transport, and use oxygen when exercising. The faster your body can complete this process, the more fit you are.
Why is it important?
Your risk for many health problems such as heart disease, obesity, high blood pressure, stroke, and diabetes can be reduced by having good aerobic capacity. Though it may seem like you are not at risk until you are an adult, these diseases can begin in children and teens so it is important to start living a healthy lifestyle now!
How do I improve my score?
If you want to see a significant and meaningful improvement in your overall PACER score there is no easy way around it. You need to work hard. Aerobic exercise training in some form is a must. Here are some workout suggestions for you to get started!
Pre-run preparation
Make sure you are recovered with at least 24 hours rest since your last training session. You should be well hydrated and prepared with a light meal or snack 1-2 hours beforehand. It’s advisable to wear comfortable athletic wear (shirt / shorts) as well as a good pair of athletic sneakers.
Pacing Strategies
Pacing plays a large role in the number of laps completed. You may be able to improve your score simply through pacing yourself so that you don’t waste energy from one end to the other. When you’re out there running stay relaxed. Run with your shoulders back while breathing deeply and smoothly.
Training
In order to significantly improve your PACER score you will need to do focused aerobic and anaerobic workouts. It’s advisable to gradually progress your exercise time, frequency and intensity. Trying to do too much, too soon is a recipe for injury.
The American College of Sports Medicine recommends for individuals to get at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise per week. This can be met through;
30-60 minutes of moderate intensity exercise (five days per week) or
20-60 minutes of vigorous intensity exercise three days per week
The chart below provides examples of light, moderate, and vigorous activities you can engage in.
Inside and on the treadmill - The simplest type of treadmill workout for PACER training would be to set the treadmill to 1% incline and 5 mph. Then each minute on the minute increase the speed by 0.3 mph. This simulates the progressive increase in speed for the PACER.
Outside Exercise - One of the best exercises that you can complete is a interval run.
After warming-up head out on some safe roads or track and complete a 5-10 min easy jog / walk.
Once warmed up, if your running on the street or sidewalks you can use telephone polls and if not on street you can use a watch to track your time.
Simply up the tempo a bit, not anywhere close to an all out sprint. Jog either every other telephone pole or 30 -45 seconds up tempo then 30-45 seconds of a slower tempo.
Cool down with a 5 minute walk.
You can complete this workout 2-3x per week and keep track of the distance or duration of your run to try and increase it each time.
Cross Training Methods
If running 3-5 days per week isn’t your favorite thing to do there are certainly other ways to go about improving your health and cardiovascular fitness. As long as your heart rate is in the target heart rate zone of 60-85% of your maximum heart rate your fitness will be improving. Sample exercises include;
Erg (Rowing Machine)
Exercise Bike or Cycling
StairMaster
Elliptical
A way to keep workouts and exercises fun can be varying the speed and intensity of what you’re doing.
You can attain 20 minutes of vigorous activity by first warming up and then completing intervals of 1 min hard and 1 min easy (recovery) repeated 10x.
A different and more challenging variation would be 30 seconds of hard work with 30 seconds of recovery done 20x.
These are great workouts on the bike or erg. Since they are non-weight bearing they are a great way to get started with cardiovascular training. These exercises also get your heart rate up without putting added stress to your ligaments, joints, and muscles.
Muscle Endurance
What is Muscular Strength and Endurance?
Muscular Strength is the amount of force a muscle can produce with a single maximum effort.
Muscular Endurance is the ability of a muscle or group of muscles to sustain repeated contractions against a resistance for an extended period of time.
What are the testing items?
There are three (3) testing items that are designed to gauge your Muscular Strength and Endurance:
Push-up Test- used to assess upper body muscular endurance. Participants are asked to begin in a high-plank position (on hands and toes, flat body). From there, an audio cadence (“down”) guides them from the starting position, to lowering themselves until elbows are 90 degrees. Another audio cue (“up”) indicates to return to starting position.
Curl-up Test- Similar to a sit-up, used to assess abdominal muscular endurance. Students are must keep his or her hands/arms on the mat at all times. He or she must come 2/3 of the way up (not completely vertical or have his or her chest touching his or her thighs) when the cadence says "up" then lower them self on "down." The maximum a student can achieve is 80 repetitions.
Pull-up or modified pull ups: Students can choose a full pull up on bar or a modified pull up that his or her feet will be on the ground at all times to complete.
Why are these an important Health-related Components of Fitness?
Increasing your muscular strength and endurance is an important component to living a healthy lifestyle. Decreased body fat percentage, reduced risk of chronic disease, accident prevention and increased capability of daily tasks are just some of the major benefits for addressing this fitness component.
What can I do to improve my score?
Improving your score on all of these assessments requires a regular (2-3 times per week) resistance training program. The program should address all the major muscles and actions of the body, and not neglecting any areas thereby creating strength imbalances. Each program should be performed in four week cycles. Below are some simple suggested resistance training plans designed to increase your muscular endurance and, in turn, your score on the three Fitnessgram assessments.
