3 Rules for Testing Your Athletes Volt HQ

In some ways (perhaps many ways), a strength coach is like a scientist. We gather data, form and
test hypotheses, and are constantly seeking new insights into how training variables can be
manipulated to create better outcomes. The weight room is our lab, and athletic performance is
our field of studyand testing is central to our evaluation process.

Testing your athletes can give you a ton of information about how your athletes are performing,
and how your strength and conditioning program is working. It can help you assess physical
talent, identify areas of improvement, and set smart and attainable performance goalsboth on
an individual and team basis. A test can measure non-performance factors (like height, weight,
and body composition), or performance factors ranging from pure power output (like a vertical
jump) to aerobic capacity (like a 1.5-mile run test).

Identifying the tests and measurements important to your sport is the first step in implementing a
successful testing programbut there are a few caveats to remember when it comes to deriving
accurate and objective data from your tests.

There are, however, a few important caveats when it comes to deriving accurate and objective
data from tests. Here are the 3 more important rules to remember when testing your athletes, so
you can test and track the metrics that matter.
1. Your Tests Must Be Valid.
In order for a test to be useful, it has to actually measure what its supposed to measurein the
S&C world, we call this validity. According to the Essentials of Strength Training and
Conditioning, a test that is valid will accomplish the following objectives (251):

Measure abilities that are important in the sport. For example, a cross country team
shouldnt prioritize a 1RM bench press test, since maximal upper-body strength isnt
important in running.
Produce repeatable results (more on this in rule #2).
Appear meaningful to the athlete (so they are motivated to perform their best).
Be accessible to athletes with various levels of ability. For example, a 1RM snatch test
might not be the best measurement of full-body power for an entire football team, due to
the technical skill and ability required to execute the movement.
Allow for accurate scoring.
Include sufficient warm-up (or pre-test trials). This allows athletes to exert maximum
effort in the true test.

An example of two valid tests that measure aerobic capacity would be the 1.5-mile run and 12-
min run test. In each test, the athlete is instructed to run (after a sufficient warm-up that allows
them to exert maximum effort) either 1.5 miles for time, or 12 minutes for distance. If you have
the choice between several valid tests, choose the one that is easiest for you to implementit
might be easier for you to measure out 1.5 miles and time your athletes, rather than recording
their distance after 12 minutes, for example, making the 1.5-mile run test more valid for your
unique situation.
2. Your Tests Must Be Reliable.
Reliability is a measure of how accurate and repeatable a test is. In an unreliable test, an
athlete could score very high on one day, but very low on another (not correlated to their actual
performance capabilities). A test must be reliable in order to be valid, but simply because a test is
reliable does not necessarily mean its valid as well. For example, a 40-yd dash and 1.5-mile run
are both reliable test, but only the 40-yd dash is a valid test of speed/acceleration (while the 1.5-
mile test measures aerobic fitness).

Lack of consistent performance by the athlete being tested. For example, if an athlete gives

100% effort in an initial test but only 75% in the next test (for whatever reason), it affects the
reliability of the test. Good coaching can make a huge difference here!
Different test administrators. For example, in a back squat 1RM test, one test administrator

might be more stringent about ensuring the athletes hips break the plane of the knees, while
another might be more lenient.
Experience/skill level of test administrator. The results of a skinfold test for body composition

requiring the use of calipers, for example, can vary greatly based on the skill level or experience
of the persona administering the test.
Inconsistencies in scoring systems. Timing a 40-yd dash with a stopwatch typically yields faster

times than automatic timing systems, for example, due to a reaction-time delay on the part of the
test administrator. (Its also helpful in short test like the 40 to calculate the average of multiple
attempts, to help account for inconsistencies.)
Different methods of preparing athletes for the test. A well-prepared athlete will always

perform better on a test, so coaches must ensure that athletes are always sufficiently prepared
(preferably using the same warm-up methods) for each testing session.
Different testing surfaces, equipment, and time of day. If you implement a initial T-test for

agility on turf, you cannot retest athletes on grassthat makes the test unreliable. Likewise,
testing athletes first thing in the morning on one day and late afternoon for the retest might yield
unreliable results, as the body tends to warm up during the day.
It might seem like overkill, but recreating (to the best of your abilities) the exact same testing
conditions for each testing session will yield the most reliable results. Its pretty common for
coaches to be so eager to see improvement in their athletes that they may be unintentionally more
lenient during a retest (Ive done it!)so remember that striving to keep your data as clean as
possible will give you the best tools for honestly evaluating the effectiveness of your program.

3. Your Tests Must Be in the Right Order.

It might seem like overkill, but recreating (to the best of your abilities) the exact same testing
conditions for each testing session will yield the most reliable results. Its pretty common for
coaches to be so eager to see improvement in their athletes that they may be unintentionally more
lenient during a retest (Ive done it!)so remember that striving to keep your data as clean as
possible will give you the best tools for honestly evaluating the effectiveness of your program.

1. Non-fatiguing tests (height, weight, flexibility, body composition, vertical jump, etc.)
2. Agility tests (T-test, pro-agility, etc.)
3. Max power and strength tests (1RM hang clean, 1RM back squat, 1RM bench press, etc.)
4. Sprint tests (40-yd/m sprint)
5. Local muscular endurance tests (push-up test, sit-up test, etc.)
6. Fatiguing anaerobic capacity tests (300-yd shuttle, etc.)
7. Aerobic capacity tests (1.5-mile run, Yo-Yo intermittent recovery test, etc.)

This sequence has a lot to do with how the bodys different energy systems replenish themselves.
Essentially, you want to administer tests that require high-skill movements, like agility tests,
before fatiguing tests that can affect the results of later tests, like aerobic capacity tests. Ideally,
youd be able to perform anaerobic and aerobic tests on an entirely different day than the first 5
types of testbut if you have to do it all on one day, make sure to administer those tests last.
The Bottom Line
Testing your athletesand tracking those test results over timeis core to implementing a
successful strength and conditioning program. That's why we test and track athletes strength in
the hang clean, back squat, and bench pressand within Volt, you can also track customized
testing metrics beyond those core lifts. Volt's custom metrics feature allows you to track what
matters to youwhether its 60-yd sprint time, a specific cone drill, or your own unique testing
measure. Whatever tests you choose to track, make sure that they are:

1. Valid for your sport

2. Reliable and consistent
3. Conducted in the order that allows for best performance.

Welcome to the laband happy testing!