Muscle Testing

Professional athletes are considered by most to be top physical specimens.  Some individuals are born with an innate ability to perform physically exerting tasks at an intensity level most individuals could never dream of attaining.  While others have to constantly work to achieve that same level of performance.  I would like to spend the next few minutes discussing the importance of bench-marking.

It is important for athletes to know themselves and their capacities at any given time.  An athlete will not be able to properly gauge improvement in the weight room or on the field without a deep knowledge of his initial starting point from which that improvement came.  Does an outfielder approach a college coach without knowing his 60-yard sprint time?  Would a catcher approach a professional scout without knowing his pop-time (time it takes him to throw from home-to-second)?  No, they would both be able to give that information up in a heart beat.  So, neither should an athlete be unaware of his or her areas of strength and weakness in the weight room.

Muscle testing should be performed roughly 4 times per year and should involve an assessment of both muscular strength and endurance.  For assessing muscular strength the 1 Repetition Max (RM) is considered the gold standard for dynamic strength assessment.  A well rounded 1-RM test will include most of the large muscle groups in a given region of the body. Some examples of valid upper body tests would include a bench press test or a *military press test.  Valid measures of general lower body strength include the leg press test or leg extension test.  These tests are scored by dividing the weight pushed by the individuals body weight (score = weight pushed / body weight) and then consulting the 1-RM tables in the ACSM’s Guidelines for Exercise Testing and Prescription 7^th Ed.

Below are the protocols for completing any of these 1-RM tests:

1. Complete a warm-up of 3 sets with corresponding repetitions of 10, 6, & 3.
2. Give 2-3 minutes of rest time in between each of the 3 warm-up sets.
3. Rest 3-5 minutes after warm-up sets before making first attempt at 1 rep. max
4. Estimate weight for 1^st attempt (Males Upper Body: body weight + 5-10%, Females Upper Body: body weight – 5-10%) (Males Lower Body: body weight + 10-20%, Females Lower Body: body weight + 10-20%) and attempt lift
       a.  If lift is successful wait 3-5 minutes, add 5-10% more weight and make a 2^nd attempt.
       b.  If lift is not successful wait 3-5 minutes and attempt lift at  2.5-5% lower weight.
5. Keep increasing and decreasing weight until a maximum left is performed.
6. Selection of starting weight is crucial so the maximum lift is completed within approximately 5 attempts post warm-up sets.

Muscular endurance can be judged by completing a 1-minute push-up test and 1-minute sit-up test.  These tests will assess general upper body musculature endurance, as well as, general core and abdominal endurance.  The standards for these tests can also be found in the ACSM’s Guidelines for Exercise Testing and Prescription 7^th Ed.; however, a quick reference is:

            Males Push-Up Test (ages 20-29):                  36+ push-ups in 60 seconds

            Females Push-Up Test (ages 20-29):               30+ push-ups in 60 seconds

            Male Sit-Up Test (ages 20-29):                       56+ sit-ups in 60 seconds

            Female Sit-Up Test (ages 20-29):                   50+ sit-ups in 60 seconds

The tests discussed above are good reference for players of all ages and skill levels.  The results received will provide necessary information to better your skills on and off the field.

If you would like more information on alternative tests that can be performed to assess muscular fitness please feel free to e-mail me.

Jake H.
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