FITS is proud to make our athletic testing guide available for you. This guide is a work in progress as we are constantly updating the guide to reflect our research. The purpose of this guide is to: Explain why we emphasize movement in our testing (black box effect, basic movement screen and high powered movement screen) Explain how we evaluate movement Explain the utility of our collaborative database to better help athletes reduce injuries and improve sport performance Demonstrate movement dysfunctions so you will understand the implications of common movement dysfunctions We post updates of the guide here, so you can easily bookmark this page: Draft March23: FITS Athletic Testing Guide [scribd id=29212602 key=key-wz49kyfq57iolzp2x4x mode=list] Related posts:Athletic Testing Testing is purposeful evaluation of ...

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Your vertical, speed, agility and explosiveness are directly related to your abilities to produce force. Therefore developing your abilities to produce force will improve your athleticism. Speed, power, agility and explosiveness are slaves to force, power, and time. These are the dimensions we manipulate and develop to build a better athlete – we call this process Full Spectrum Training. We will discuss five concepts that related to force, power and time. Force Force to Weight Force and Time Force and power Reactive Abilities 1.1       Force  Force is a push or pull that can cause an object with mass to accelerate 3. We produce force from signals developed in the brain and delivered from nerves to control muscular contractions. These signals control the magnitude ...

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  I'm sure you’re eager to discover specific exercises to build, your 5-SITE integrity vs. the “CORE”. I believe the wait is worth it, because it will greatly contribute to your or to your young aspiring athlete’s development. It has taken over a decade of practical experience, and years of research to develop 5-Site Integrity and the classification system of exercises that develop 5-Site Integrity. If you’re wondering why I’m using the term 5-Site Integrity I would refer you to Part One of this series.   So without further wait, Figure 1 is the classification system we use to group trunk exercises. This classification system is based on the loading characteristics being applied to the trunk, see ...

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In the previous article we discussed that no one test can properly evaluate the “CORE” as we defined; as the body’s ability to control against spine movements. We also discussed important qualities of the core, which are: capacity / endurance; control against large magnitude loads (direction specific); motor control of the spine during movement. Therefore without further wait the battery of tests we use to evaluate each “CORE” quality can be found in Table 1: CORE qualities and testing methods. Table 1: CORE qualities and testing methods Quality Method of Evaluation Capacity / Endurance Side Bridge Plank Sorensen Back Extension Endurance test Control against large magnitude loads Video motion analysis of the spine during high powered loads: Jumping and landing mechanics during the drop jump test, pent jump, and countermovement ...

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     You may have had your “CORE” tested at one point in time. Perhaps this test involved the number of sit-ups you could perform before fatiguing. Perhaps this test was performed with a metronome to help pace your efforts. I’m here to say this testing method of the core DOES not evaluate the “core” according to how we defined the function of the core which is to transmit forces, while maintaining neutral spine - see part one.    To evaluate the core involves testing several factors.  capacity / endurance the magnitude of load “CORE” musculature can resist (direction specific) motor control of the spine during movement    The important concept here is that the spine is tested in a neutral spine position. Sit-ups ...

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The CORE has received a lot of attention. There are many books, articles, gimmicks, and research conducted on this perennial hot topic. But WHY? Some people train it for aesthetic reasons. Athletes train under a belief that it will improve performance. But will it? Currently there is no research to support this concept 12, 13, 30, 31. But absence of evidence is not evidence against. Before we continue we need to define the CORE and understand why people believe it will help with performance. We will discuss this topic from an anatomical and functional   perspective. An Anatomical Perspective –Is there a  beginning and an end? The abdominals and the low back muscles are the common muscle groups ...

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