Fitness Tests for UWH

Thanks for all that.

We did some really painful tests last year (remember these Gav?):

Swim 200m as fast as you can, rest 4min (record HR at 30sec, 1min, 2min & 3min intervals), swim 200m as fast as you can and measure HR recovery again. The test was meant to give an indication of endurance fitness and recovery rate (drop in HR).

It was interesting to see the difference between the swimmers. Eg. my recovery was very slow compared to others. (NB It wasn't much better 10 years ago). We did this test ~ 6months, 3months and 1month out from the Worlds. Everbody recorded improvement in speed and recovery rate. I just hated the test because it was so painful (for so long - I am not a long distance type of person)! I was thinking that there maybe is no need to swim the 200m - is it really applicable or would a 50m swim suffice?

Amc32, I like your version with the 150m one day, then the shorter sprints the next. Gives a more balanced view.

We normally also do sprint tests (25m uw etc) but I find the timer error having too much affect on results. Need touch pad electronics!

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Off Half-Backs Rule

you're so right lena, there is practically no point doing timed sprints without pads. accuracy is a joke over that distance.

Yes, I remember painful tests Lena :? At least the pain in the beep test only lasts a short time though.

I agree with you Liam regarding your mental state in the beep test. A lot of players will give up when it starts to hurt and be done with it. If you are stubborn enough to push the pain barrier for another couple of minutes you can go so much further. I've done it before with a shocking cold (+ hangover) and still got one of the highest levels.

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Personally, I reckon that's all the Beep Test is good for - to see how players handle pressure. It's interesting to see who drops out first and, maybe more importantly, who drops out soon after; nobody wants to the first to fail, but as soon as somebody else does, then there are those that are quick to follow. Quitters?

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I think these are too very important aspects of fitness tests. For starters this is a great conversation, as really there should not be any single test that gives the best information for a group of individuals but these factors, overall speed and mental state, ARE part of the test. If the test is for "fitness" then a simple HR recovery test for swimming or running is fine. But if the test is for benchmarks or progress for a worlds level team, OR as a basis for making a cut between two players who are in most respects equal but sadly only one of them will make the team, the one who is jest plain faster or can push through a pain barrier will be more help when push comes to shove.

funny to point out about the shame of being the first out, years ago, one of the first times I had tried/done one of the "standard" benchmark tests 25 x 25 unders on 25 seconds, around numbers 18-19 I wanted to quit SOOOO bad, but there were only three of us swimming it, one of them I was absolutly NOT going to lose to!!! so when he quit on #20 it actually gave me a huge boost of inspiration to finish.

I must admit i have probably done too many fitness tests to recount them all but i think this discussion is missing one of the key points. These tests are not for comparison between players. They are to gauge individual improvement and judge whether your training is making a difference to your performance.

The trick is finding a test that can highlight small improvements in performance. The reason the beep test is limited is that if you maintain a reasonable level of fitness it can take quite some time to improve levels once you get to the top end of the spectrum. i.e it has taken me 8 years to increase from 42 laps at age 17 to 53 about 6 months before 2006 worlds (age 25).

I wont go into specifc tests but in general they take the following forms
- Time (total, average, best)
- Distance
- Average speed
- Stroke count/ Kick count

and can be a mix of surface swimming, surface kicking or underwater kicking, with or without the puck.

AMC highlighted ian important point when talking about coaching, each position has a different role to play in the pool. Does it not stand that they will probably also require a different skill set or speed/fitness profile. Therefore it stands to reason that they also will probably require a different set of tests to measure progress.

The key is to identify what you are training for what you need to work on and devise a test that will allow you to measure progress against your goal(s) within a given time frame. i.e the beep test may be great over 10 years but over 3 months may not be relevant.

fair, but some tests ARE also intended to pit player against player, for selections etc.

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I thought that was actually one of the points is that the purpose of the fitness test is at least as varied as the test themselves.

If we just want to focus on individual progress, a test you can do yourself, to measure benchmarks I would change a couple things. The mental barrier thing is less important. The beep test is just too long boring and I lose count too easily. Many of the tests used for team selection or done in groups are just not appropriate.

I would add a bit to Hamish's list keeping all his points, the test should be simple and repeatable, basically it could be a normal (swim, unders, kick, under/over) workout set of ~1000 to 2000 m. With a set warm up or pre-set done every time, with the same rest times and measurable goal times. Also for this to truly be suitable and give you the information you want, a Heart Rate monitor is nearly essential. there are times you may feel like you didn't do very well, and maybe times didn't show any improvement, but your HR recovery can show you that you are improving.

Here's a set that was tossed out to me and I thought would be fun, at least from a coach's perspective...

500 yards. Underwater. Full on Sprint. Go as far as you can on your starting breath. Take one breath and repeat going as far as you can on that one breath, repeat, repeat, etc. Curl at the T before the wall with no push off, only kicking. No breathing at the turns. When I heard it I thought I might try it for 200 to see what it might be like. I imagine the first 100 would be fairly fast followed by a survival 100. Obviously I don't think I'm in shape. Haven't tried it yet so I don't know. But I like the concept.

Duck

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Yards?

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