A–B. Active Living and Movement Competence · Active Living and Movement: Move Well, Train Smart, Stay Safe

Know Your Numbers: Assessing and Monitoring Health-Related Fitness

A2.3 1.1About 70 minutes

Learning goals

I can choose a fair test for each health-related fitness component.
I can assess my health-related fitness during a variety of activities, not only in tests.
I can record, graph and calculate change and percent change in my results.
I can describe my trend over time and reflect on it privately and kindly.

Words to know

fitness assessment
A way of measuring a component of fitness, such as a timed run or a plank hold.

baseline
Your first result, which later results are compared with.

recovery heart rate
Your heart rate shortly after exercise ends. A faster drop often shows better cardiorespiratory fitness.

reliable
A test that gives similar results when done the same way each time.

valid
A test that measures the component it claims to measure.

trend
The general direction of results over time (up, down or level), rather than any one result.

Remember from Grade 8

In Grade 8 you tested both kinds of fitness, chose valid and reliable tests, graphed results and calculated percent change. Grade 9's expectation A2.3 focuses on health-related fitness: you assess it in many activities, not just on test day, and you monitor it over time. Those results become the starting point for your personal fitness plan in the next lesson.

Hook: the scale that only weighs apples

Imagine a kitchen scale that only measures apples. Useful for apples, useless for flour. Fitness tests are similar: each one measures one component. A plank tells you about core muscular endurance, but nothing about your flexibility. To see your whole picture, you need the right test for each part, done the same way each time.

Component	Home or park assessment	How to record
Cardiorespiratory endurance	Time to walk/run 1.6 km on a measured route, or a 3-minute step test with recovery heart rate	Minutes and seconds; beats per minute (lower recovery heart rate = better for you)
Muscular endurance (core)	Plank hold with good form	Seconds
Muscular endurance (upper body)	Push-ups (full or from knees) to a steady beat until form breaks	Number with good form
Muscular strength	Hard to test safely at home; track a hard exercise you can do only a few times with good form (for example, slow single-leg squats to a chair)	Repetitions
Flexibility	Sit-and-reach with a box and ruler; back-scratch shoulder test	Centimetres
Body composition	Not measured in this course	Focus on habits (activity, eating, sleep) instead

A fair test for each health-related component. Use the same route, surface, time of day, warm-up and rules every time so your results are reliable.

Assessing during real activities

A2.3 asks you to assess your fitness during a variety of physical activities, not only formal tests. For example:

In a 3 v 3 soccer game, how long can you keep up before you need a break? What's your heart rate at the end?
On a hike, can you climb the big hill at a talking pace now? Last month you couldn't.
In yoga, can you reach further in a forward fold than you could in September?

These observations are real evidence about your fitness. Write them down, just like test scores.

The 3-minute step test

Use a sturdy step about 20 to 30 cm high (the bottom stair works; hold the railing).
Step up-up-down-down to a steady beat (24 full steps per minute is common: a metronome app at 96 beats per minute, one foot movement per beat) for 3 minutes.
Sit down right away and count your pulse for 1 minute, starting within 5 seconds.
Record the number. Over weeks, a lower recovery heart rate on the same test usually means your heart and lungs are getting fitter.

Use the same step, beat and timing each time, and compare only with your own results.

The step test pattern: up-up-down-down. Keep the same rhythm the whole time and stand fully upright on the step.

Monitoring: change, percent change and trend

Change = new result − baseline.
Percent change = change ÷ baseline × 100.
For time-to-finish tests and recovery heart rate, a decrease is an improvement.
Look at the trend across many results. One bad day (poor sleep, a cold, a hot afternoon) doesn't erase your progress.

Your results are private and yours. Use them to plan, not to compare with friends.

Maya's plank times over 8 weeks. Weeks 4 and 6 dipped a little, but the trend line clearly rises from 45 s to 63 s.

Worked example

Let's analyse Maya's results

Maya's plank went from 45 s (week 1) to 63 s (week 8). Her step-test recovery heart rate went from 105 bpm to 96 bpm. Calculate the change and percent change for each and interpret them.

Plank change: 63 − 45 = 18 s. Percent change: 18 ÷ 45 × 100 = 40%. More time is better, so this is a 40% improvement.
Recovery heart-rate change: 96 − 105 = −9 bpm. Percent change: −9 ÷ 105 × 100 ≈ −8.6%. For recovery heart rate, lower is better, so this is an improvement of about 8.6%.
Trend: the plank graph has two small dips (weeks 4 and 6) but rises overall.
Interpretation: her core muscular endurance and cardiorespiratory fitness have both improved.

Plank: +18 s (+40%). Recovery heart rate: −9 bpm (about −8.6%), which is an improvement. Both show progress.

Hands-on activity

Fitness assessment day (baseline)

You need: running shoes, a sturdy bottom stair or step with a railing, a metronome app or a song with a steady beat, a timer, a box (about 30 cm high), a ruler or measuring tape, tape, a mat, and a notebook. Do this with a grown-up or friend who can time and count.

Warm-up (6 min): march, arm circles, gentle squats, leg swings holding a wall, 1 minute of easy jogging on the spot.

Step test: 3 minutes up-up-down-down, then a 1-minute pulse count (sit down right away). Rest 5 minutes.
Plank: hold with a straight body. Your partner stops the timer when your hips sag or lift. Rest 3 minutes.
Push-ups: full or from your knees (choose one and always use the same one), lowering until elbows reach about 90°, to a steady beat. Stop when form breaks.
Sit-and-reach: sit with legs straight and feet flat against the box. Tape the ruler on top of the box so it sticks out toward you, with the 0 cm end nearest you. Reach forward slowly along the ruler with both hands, no bouncing, hold 2 seconds, and read the number at your fingertips. Best of 2 tries.
Record every result with the date, time of day and how you felt (sleep, energy).
Cool down with walking and stretches.

Safety: Step only on a stable step and hold the railing; don't use a chair. Stop if you feel dizzy, faint or chest pain. Keep any inhaler nearby. No bouncing in stretches.

Just for fun

Why did the sit-and-reach ruler look so stressed?

Every single person kept pushing it to its limits.

Your turn

Name a home test for each: cardiorespiratory endurance, core muscular endurance, flexibility.

What makes a test reliable?

A step-test recovery heart rate goes from 110 bpm to 102 bpm. Did fitness improve?

Push-ups went from 12 to 15. Find the change and percent change.

Give one way to assess your fitness during an activity, not a test.

Why should you compare only with your own results?

More practice: warm-up

What is a baseline?

Which component does a plank measure?

For a 1.6 km run time, is a lower or higher number better?

What beat does a 24-step-per-minute step test use on a metronome?

Is body composition measured in this course?

More practice: on your own

Sit-and-reach went from 24 cm to 30 cm. Find the percent change.

A 1.6 km time went from 11:30 to 10:42. Find the change in seconds and the percent change (to one decimal place).

Explain why the plank is a valid test of core muscular endurance but not of flexibility.

Jamal's week 5 step test was worse than week 4. He slept 5 hours and had a cold. How should he interpret it?

Why should you start counting your pulse within 5 seconds after the step test?

Challenge

Plank results over 6 weeks: 30, 34, 33, 38, 41, 40 s. Describe the trend, calculate the percent change from week 1 to week 6, and suggest a next step.

Design a reliable cardiorespiratory test using a local park, and list four things you would keep the same each time.

A fitness tracker shows 9800 steps but your heart rate stayed low most of the day. Explain why step counts alone don't tell you whether you met A2.1, and what else you'd monitor.

Check your understanding

Quiz

Which test measures flexibility?

After a step test, a lower recovery heart rate (compared with your last test) usually means:

Push-ups went from 10 to 14. The percent change is:

A test is reliable when:

Why look at the trend instead of one result?

Which is the best way to use fitness results in this course?

For parents and teachers

Big idea: Expectation A2.3 asks students to assess their health-related fitness during a variety of activities and monitor changes over time. Living skill 1.1 (self-monitoring) is central.

How to help at home:

Be the timer and counter for assessment day, and help keep conditions the same each time.
Help with the percent-change maths if needed.
Keep the conversation on personal progress and habits.

Common difficulties:

Forgetting that lower is better for times and recovery heart rate.
Treating one result as the whole story. Point to the trend.
Comparing with siblings or friends. Redirect to their own baseline.

Safety and sensitivity: Use a stable step with a railing. Body composition is not measured; please avoid comments about weight or shape. Stop any test if your teen feels dizzy, faint or has chest pain.