“What gets
measured gets improved.” It may be clichéd to quote leadership expert Robin
Sharma in yet another fitness post, but you know why clichés are a thing? Because they’re based in reality. And
this quote nails it.
We’re flush in an age where tracking your fitness is fashionable. From Garmins to Fitbits to Apple Watches, collecting and measuring data has never been easier. But is there something they’re missing?
We’re flush in an age where tracking your fitness is fashionable. From Garmins to Fitbits to Apple Watches, collecting and measuring data has never been easier. But is there something they’re missing?
When clients and gym members ask how to measure progress, it usually turns into a discussion revisiting what exactly they’d like to achieve. If their method of tracking isn't measuring what they actually want to improve, I’m wasting their precious time.
At The Movement
Minneapolis, the gym I co-own with my husband, David Dellanave, we use
custom-built tracking software to measure every workout. In the context of
strength, we make it easy for members to see if they’ve loaded more on the bar
or if they’ve become able to perform a few more reps week by week. They
periodically test their strength in the way of five-, three-, or (for some
clients) one-rep max attempts, keeping the intensity appropriate for their
lifting experience.
As I mentioned
earlier, for a test to be valid, it needs to measure what you’d like to
improve. Another key piece of the puzzle is finding a reliable test. Meaning, you’re able to reproduce it so that you can
compare each data point objectively and learn if you’re headed in the right
direction or not. As we say at the gym, “better questions lead to better
answers.”
Measuring strength is pretty simple — achieving the same range of motion, can you lift more than the previous week or max attempt? Cardiovascular endurance is also straightforward — assuming you’re running the same distance each time, are your times increasing or decreasing?
Measuring strength is pretty simple — achieving the same range of motion, can you lift more than the previous week or max attempt? Cardiovascular endurance is also straightforward — assuming you’re running the same distance each time, are your times increasing or decreasing?
But how do we effectively measure athletic qualities?
The plot thickens, and I’m
so glad you asked. (Or that I pretended that you did, rather.)
Enter the Broad
Jump, 10- and 40-Yard Dash and Pro Agility tests. I like these tests for several reasons:
- They measure qualities that are applicable to training goals involving speed, agility, and explosive power.
- Their simplicity allows for reliable results, allowing me to know for certain if I’m moving the needle in the direction I want to go, or if I need to make adjustments in my training.
- They’re easy to do with minimal equipment. You need only a little space, a tape measure, and a stopwatch.
If you’re
interested in measuring your current athleticism in this manner, try the tests
below.
After performing
a full-body dynamic warm-up, complete the following tests with adequate rest
between each one. Repeat them every three to four weeks so you can compare
your progress (and perhaps brag a little about your gains in speed and power).
Broad Jump
You can also
lengthen the tape measure across the floor and straddle the tape to make
measuring easier. Repeat the test three times with adequate rest in between
each attempt.
10- and 40-Yard Dash
The 10-yard dash
helps measure explosive strength, while the 40-yard tests your maximum speed.
Set a starting
line and place cones or other obvious markers (such as a water bottle) at 10
yards and 40 yards from the start. Be sure you have enough room to decelerate
safely at the end of each attempt.
It will be
easiest to have a training partner or coach time your attempts, instead of
trying to do this yourself. As with the broad jump test, you can take three attempts.
Be sure to recover completely between each rep.
Pro Agility Test
This test has
long been the standard for agility that strength coaches rely on, and it’s
regularly used at most pro combines to test change of direction, quickness, and
body control over short distances, as most sports call for.
To perform the
test, you’ll need three cones and a stopwatch, plus someone to time you.
Measure out the cones in a straight line, 5 yards apart. Start at the center
cone with your hand touching the ground or standing in an athletic stance
facing perpendicular to the direction you will sprint first.
The stopwatch starts on your first movement. You’ll turn and sprint 5 yards to one of the cones, touch the ground, then race 10 yards to the other, again touching the ground next to the cone, then sprint 5 yards back through the center cone. That’s when your timer should hit the button to end the test.
The stopwatch starts on your first movement. You’ll turn and sprint 5 yards to one of the cones, touch the ground, then race 10 yards to the other, again touching the ground next to the cone, then sprint 5 yards back through the center cone. That’s when your timer should hit the button to end the test.
You can choose
to move to your left or right first, but perform two repetitions each side for
a total of four attempts for this test, recovering fully between each rep.
Record your
times for all four attempts. And, to get even more feedback, videotape each
attempt so you can compare your movement mechanics from rep to rep.
Are you ready to improve your strength, power, speed and agility? Lightning & Thunder will help you become a force of nature.
Lightning & Thunder is a brand new strength, speed, and agility program written by Tim Moyer, MS, CPT, and Angie Brambley-Moyer, MS, MSCC, with me (Jen Sinkler), personal trainer, fitness writer, and former U.S. national team rugby player.
Moyer,
Brambley-Moyer, and I have teamed up to get you stronger, faster, and
more agile. You don't have to have any experience playing sports, and
you don't have to play any in the future, either, if you don't have the
inclination. You only need to be interested in training like an athlete, in
moving like one and looking like one.
Whether you’re a
seasoned athlete or you’ve never played a sport, the program gives you
everything you need to hit the ground running (pun intended, of course) and
will include:
- A comprehensive training manual that
lays the groundwork for this philosophy of training for both the strength
and the speed and agility (SAQ) programs.
- Both beginner and intermediate
12-week SAQ programs.
- Both beginner and intermediate
12-week strength programs, with an explanation and calendar on how to
combine the strength work with the speed work.
- A complete exercise glossary with
written coaching cues and images for every single strength and SAQ
movement. This detailed description of 180 moves is a resource in and of
itself!
- A streamable video library of more
than 25 speed and agility demonstration videos. In the videos, Tim and
Angie coach the athlete through the fundamentals of their SAQ patterns and
drills, allowing them to know what they need work on whether they are
watching from home or watching it as they hit the gym.
Here’s the best
part. To celebrate its release, Lightning
& Thunder is on sale for HALF OFF now through midnight Friday, June
3rd. For more information click here.
About Jen Sinkler
A lifelong competitive athlete, Jen played rugby for 13 years, many of those on the U.S. women’s national 7s and 15s teams. She co-owns The Movement Minneapolis with her husband, David Dellanave.
