10/10 This
10/10 This
Burpee...
...if you could work out the various "measurements" would be a good possibility.
It includes the vertical jump (power), pushup (upper body/core strength), and cardiovascular endurance (if repeated for time).
"V Sit and reach"
Shuttle runs of various sorts. You get some of the explosiveness of a vertical jump, plus a speed component and a change of direction component.
for the most popular sports played in the USA, this has to be high on the list.
The ability to race up the Alpe d'Huez after 18 or 19 days averaging 100 miles of bicycling at 30 mph or so. Shuttle runs, vertical jumps, 800 runs, and hitting a woman's g-spot seem pretty simple in comparison.
And that is why I am the smartest Let's Run poster.
Athletic ability is about more than just strength and speed. There's also hand eye coordination, reaction time, quick decision making skills, calm under pressure, depth perception, anticipation, etc. etc. With the exception of a few sports like track and field, athleticism is about responding to one's opponent. VJ and VO2 are a small fraction of one's ability to do that.
good lord wrote:
Burpee...
...if you could work out the various "measurements" would be a good possibility.
It includes the vertical jump (power), pushup (upper body/core strength), and cardiovascular endurance (if repeated for time).
Scoring would be combination of:
1.) average height achieved on vertical jumps; and
2.) number of repetitions completed in X minutes.
I only ran recreationally in the 9th grade (took it more seriously the years after that) and my vertical leap was 22". Not amazing but decent. In college, when I was running 70 MPW my vertical leap was 19". It declined because of all of the miles on my legs.
How about rock climbing. You need great strength, muscular endurance for long routes, cardiovascular endurance for the same if you're doing a speed ascent, explosiveness for certain moves, coordination and balance for delicate moves.
No one's mentioned standing long jump yet? That's my clear choice.
Steve Nash says NOT!Tyson Gay says NOT!Mesi says NOT.Beckham says NOT.Diego Maradona says NOT.Larry Bird says NOT.Sidney Crosby says NOT.Rory McIllroy says NOT.Gebreselasse says NOT.Bekele says NOT.Gordie Howe says NOT.Bjorn Borg says NOT.Pete Sampras say NOT.Andre Agassy says NOT.Joe Montana says NOT.Shack says Not for sure.etc.the best indicator of raw athletic ability is in the mind.
Make you wanna wrote:
No one's mentioned standing long jump yet? That's my clear choice.
The most common measure of fitness is the cooper test. It measures how far you can run in 12minutes to access your vo2max. The airforce has been using this test for forty years now.
rdot wrote:
What would you choose?
I almost agree with Men's Health, but only because of how they worded what they are testing for: "Raw" athletic ability. The word "raw" indicates more natural talent and genetic ability than it does anything resulting from periodized training. But how important is "raw" athletic ability when as someone pointed out before, there are mediocre athletes who can test better at the VJ than Olympic caliber athletes?
I like the 3 point Shuttle Run (some tests use 5 points) because it's quick, inexpensive, and you can do it anywhere. Also, it focuses on not just "raw" power, but you also need coordination/balance, agility, speed, ability to change direction quickly, and even a fair amount of muscle flexibility. There is a small aerobic component in in compared to the VJ also. I also like this test because it's a good way to narrow down track athletes at the high school level and help them find their niche in competition. Sometimes it's hard to recognize an 800m runner from a miler, or a 100m from a 200m guy.
Discussing "raw athletic ability" is about as useful as discussing "raw intellectual ability."
You can sit around all day comparing your vertical jump or your IQ scores, but all that really matters is how you're using it in the real world to accomplish something meaningful.
jose can you see wrote:
Discussing "raw athletic ability" is about as useful as discussing "raw intellectual ability."
You can sit around all day comparing your vertical jump or your IQ scores, but all that really matters is how you're using it in the real world to accomplish something meaningful.
I completely agree with you-- if I sounded confusing I didn't mean to be. I don't like "fitness tests" that simply focus on one type of exercise or only recruit a specific set of muscles. Like I mentioned, the VJ is mainly Type 1 fibers and anaerobic. The 3-Cone shuttle drill has a small amount of everything but is still quality over quantity when it comes to testing for physical fitness. It has an aerobic component compared to the VJ, but it's no where near that of a V02 test. If I only could choose one test to assess almost any individual or even an athletic team, I think I'd choose that one. It tells you a lot in a short period of time.