Ten components of fitness, ten named tests
Each component of fitness has ONE named test; learn its name and unit together. Cardiovascular endurance -- MSFT or Cooper run; flexibility -- Sit and Reach (cm); muscular endurance -- Abdominal Curl (reps); power -- Vertical Jump (cm); speed -- 30 m Sprint (s); strength -- 1-RM or Hand Grip (kg); agility -- Illinois Agility Run (s); balance -- Standing Stork (time); coordination -- Wall-Toss (catches); reaction time -- Ruler Drop (cm). Learn each pairing both ways.
MSFT: one progressive 20 m shuttle run
The Multi-Stage Fitness Test (MSFT, bleep test) is ONE continuous, progressive shuttle run, not a circuit of exercises. The performer runs 20 m between two lines in time with a bleep. After a set number of shuttles the bleep speeds up to the next level, so the pace rises throughout. It ends when the performer twice fails to reach the line in time; the level and shuttle reached is the score, used to estimate cardiovascular endurance.
Six reasons to carry out fitness testing
Learn six distinct, creditable reasons and develop ONE, not several vaguely. Suitability -- does the performer have the components the activity or position needs. Strengths and weaknesses -- which components need most work. Monitoring improvement -- compare a performer's own before/after scores to judge a training block. Comparison -- against normative data or a rival. Programme design -- baseline results set targets and methods. Motivation -- a score gives a target to beat.
Drawn from real examiner reports.
Recall the test NAME and its procedure
Knowing what a test involves does not mean you can recall its NAME -- and the reverse traps candidates too. Strength and reaction-time tests are weak points: describing lifting a maximum weight earns nothing without the name 1-RM, and grip strength needs the name Hand Grip dynamometer. Always pair the exact name with its procedure, and practise recall both ways.
Flagged s22 P12 Q5a; s23 P11 Q3a
MSFT is one shuttle run, not a circuit
The MSFT is often wrongly described as several different exercises. It is ONE continuous, progressive 20 m shuttle run paced by a bleep that speeds up each level -- not a circuit of varied activities. Calling it "a series of different exercises" is a factual error, not just vagueness: the same run simply gets faster until the performer cannot keep pace.
Flagged w22 P12 Q3b; w23 P13 Q3b(ii)
Thin procedure loses "describe" marks
On "describe how the test is carried out" questions, a vague "run between two lines" misses credit-worthy detail. Give the key steps in order: the distance or equipment (e.g. 20 m), how the pace or effort is controlled (the bleep), and how and when the test ends and is scored. A summary that omits these cannot reach full marks.
Flagged w22 P12 Q3b; w23 P13 Q3b(ii)
Agility test vs speed test
Agility and speed are different components with different tests. Agility -- changing direction quickly -- is the Illinois Agility Run (weaving a cone course, timed in seconds). Speed -- covering a straight distance fast -- is the 30 m Sprint (also in seconds). Both record a time, so candidates swap them; match the test to the component named.
MSFT vs Cooper 12-minute run
Both test cardiovascular endurance, but the protocols differ. The MSFT (bleep test) is a 20 m shuttle run to a bleep that speeds up each level, scored by the level and shuttle reached. The Cooper run is one continuous 12-minute run covering as much distance as possible, scored by the total distance in metres. Naming one test but then describing the other loses marks.
Match each test to its component and unit
Marks are lost by pairing a test with the wrong component or the wrong unit. Power is the Vertical Jump (cm), not a strength test; strength is the 1-RM or Hand Grip dynamometer (kg). Reaction time is the Ruler Drop, recorded as a distance (cm), not a time. Flexibility is the Sit and Reach (cm). Learn the component, its test and its recording unit together as one set.
A demonstration is not a fitness test
Students treat any demonstration of an ability as a fitness test, but 0413 wants the standardised NAMED protocol. Reacting to a surprise pass is not the Ruler Drop test; standing briefly on one leg is not the Standing Stork test. A genuine test has fixed equipment, a set procedure and a recorded score, so results can be compared or repeated -- a demonstration cannot.
Flagged s22 P12 Q5a; s23 P11 Q3a
Name the test, then its ordered procedure
For "name and describe" questions, give the exact test NAME first, then the key steps in order -- what is measured, how it is run, and the unit the result is recorded in. A name with no procedure, or a procedure with no name, earns only partial credit.
Apply each reason to a named performer
Do not give a reason generically ("to see strengths and weaknesses"). Apply it to a named performer -- e.g. a swimmer tested for flexibility because greater shoulder range lengthens the stroke. Applying to the named activity is the most rewarded habit in Paper 1.
Let the command word set the depth
Match answer depth to the command word. "State/name" wants the test name only. "Describe" wants the name plus ordered procedure and unit. "Explain/apply" wants the point developed and linked to the named performer. Under-developing an "explain" answer loses marks.
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