Student Fitness Testing

Five Major Components of Fitness

CES tests students twice a year in five major components of fitness directly related to improvement of health.

1. Cardiorespiratory Endurance --- the ability of the blood vessels, heart and lungs to take in, transport, and utilize oxygen. This is a critically important component of fitness because it impacts other components of fitness and decreases the risk of cardiovascular diseases.

2. Muscular Strength --- the maximum amount of force a muscle or muscle groups can exert.

3. Muscular Endurance --- the length of time a muscle or muscle group can exert force prior to fatigue.

4. Flexibility --- the range of motion in the joints.

5. Body Composition --- the amount of fat versus lean mass (bone, muscle, connective tissue, and fluids). While some fat is essential for insulation and providing energy, too much fat can cause serious health problems.

**Students can view their old fitness scores, take teacher-assigned assessments, create a personal fitness plan, and set SMART goals! To start, just click on Focused Fitness and log in on Welnet! User name is student's firstnamelastname (no spaces) and password is firstnamestudentnumber (no spaces).

Selected Tests For MCPS Elementary Students

PACER - The PACER (Progressive Aerobic Cardiovascular Endurance Run) is a multistage fitness test adapted from the 20-meter shuttle run test. The test is progressive in intensity-it is easy at the beginning and gets harder at the end. The BMI provides an indication of the appropriateness of a child's weight relative to height. Body mass index is determined by the following formula: weight (kg) / height2 (m). BMI is needed to calculate HFZ for the PACER.

Curl-Up - The curl-up is completed with knees flexed and feet unanchored. Tape is recommended for the fingertip start and stop lines so that students can feel when they achieve the necessary range of motion.

Trunk Lift - The trunk lift is a single repetition, partially body weight limited, restricted range item. It is a minimal assessment of the components of trunk strength and flexibility. The movement should be performed in a slow and controlled manner with eyes on an object placed on the mat. The maximum score on this test is 12 inches.

Flexed Arm Hang - The flexed arm hang is a static test of upper body strength and endurance. Test Objective is to hang with the chin above the bar as long as possible.

Back-Saver Sit and Reach - The back-saver sit and reach is very similar to the traditional sit and reach except that the measurement is performed on one side at a time. By testing one leg at a time a determination can be made of any asymmetry in hamstring flexibility, and hyper-extension of both knees is avoided. The sit and reach measures predominantly the flexibility of the hamstring muscles.

Physical Fitness Assessments

FITNESSGRAM uses criterion-referenced standards to evaluate fitness performance. These standards represent a level of fitness that offers some degree of protection against sedentary lifestyle diseases. Performance is classified as either in the Healthy Fitness Zone or Needs Improvement, Scores in the Needs Improvement range indicate that the child may be at risk if that level of fitness stays the same over time.