Our fitness test will be starting again around the first of March. Here is a list and description of all five skills that each student will be on.
Fitness Test
Push-ups - Right angle push-ups are what they are officially called. In a push-up position, arms bend and the shoulders are even with your elbow. Some of the common problems we see for push-ups are:
- Student's back not staying flat
- Student's shoulders not staying over their hands
- Not going down far enough to count as a push-up
Pull-ups - Grab a straight bar with arms fully extended. Pull body up until the chin is over the bar. Lower body back down until arms are totally straight. Pull-up will not count if arms stay bent throughout the entire motion. The grip of the bar does not matter. Palms facing you is normally easier.
*Students are asked to do pull-ups first. If they cannot perform a pull-up, students will attempt a push-up. Kindergarten, first and second graders options are pull-ups or flexed arm hang. Flexed arm hang is where you pull your chin over the bar and see how long you can hold that position.
Sit-ups - Student will lay down on their back with knees bent. There should be some space between the body and the heels. Arms should remain straight and on the thigh. Using the stomach muscles, lift shoulders and back off the floor. Hands should slide up the leg until the wrists are touching the knee cap. Some of the common problems we see for sit-ups are:
- Student's not coming up far enough
- Student's using their neck to lift them up instead of squeezing their stomach muscles
- Heels too close to the body, or too far away. Feet should be about one foot away from body
Shuttle run - Mark an area 30 feet apart. Place two objects like an eraser or a small plastic cup at one end. Runner starts at the other end. Person with the stopwatch starts the watch on the first motion of runner. Runner will run down and pick up one object and place it on the starting line. Runner cannot drop the object, they must place it on the ground. Runner will then run down to get the other object. Runner will run through the line with object. Stop the time when runner runs through the starting line with second object.
V-sit - Sit on the ground with legs straight and feet one foot apart. Have a ruler in the middle of legs, at the end of the feet. Put hands on top of each other and with arms straight, stretch as far past the feet as possible. Measure how many inches past the feet you can stretch. Legs must stay straight and on the ground.
Mile run - Fourth and fifth graders run a full mile. All third grade runs a half mile. Second graders will run either a half mile or a quarter mile depending on their birthday. If student is eight years old before the start date of the test, they will have to run a half mile. Kindergarten and first grade run a quarter mile.
I know that some of this is confusing, but hopefully this will shed a little light on how the students are tested. If you have any questions about the skills, please contact me. Please check back soon for the exact date of the start of the next fitness test.
Please encourage your students to practice at home.
