KINS 260 Speed, Agility & Power Lab
For this lab you (or a partner) will complete the following assessments.
SPARQ – Speed, Power, Agility, Reaction, and Quickness
3-Cone Shuttle Drill Test
This test is part of the fitness testing battery for the NFL combine. It is also sometimes called the ‘L-Drill’.
- purpose: this is a test of agility, including speed, quickness, flexibility, change of direction, body control.
- equipment required: stopwatch, measuring tape or marked football field, marker cones, a flat non-slip surface.
- procedure: Three marker cones are placed to form an “L.” with cones at the corner and at each end, 5 yards apart (see diagram). The player starts by getting down in a three-point stance next to Cone 1. On the command ‘Go’, he runs to Cone 2, bends down and touches a line with his right hand. Then he turns and runs back to Cone 1, bends down and touches that line with his right hand. Then he runs back to Cone 2 and around the outside of it, weaves inside Cone 3, then around the outside of Cones 3 and 2 before finishing at Cone 1. The player must run forward while altering his running direction, as opposed to strictly stopping and starting in opposite directions. Each time they perform the 3-cone drill for a different side (e.g. first time they curve to the left, second time they curve to the right).
- scoring: The time to complete the test in seconds is recorded. The score is the best time of two trials.
- results: US Decathlete Bryan Clay reached 7.85 seconds in this test during a SPARQ testing exercise (published in SPARQ Magazine, Summer 2008).
target population: This test is part of the NFL testing combine, though it would be suitable for athletes involved in many team sports where agility is important such basketball, hockey, rugby, soccer.
Agility T-Test
- purpose: the T-Test is a test of agility for athletes, and includes forward, lateral, and backward running.
- equipment required:tape measure, marking cones, stopwatch
- procedure: Set out four cones as illustrated in the diagram above (5 yards = 4.57 m, 10 yards = 9.14 m). The subject starts at cone A. On the command of the timer, the subject sprints to cone B and touches the base of the cone with their right hand. They then turn left and shuffle sideways to cone C, and also touches its base, this time with their left hand. Then shuffling sideways to the right to cone D and touching the base with the right hand. They then shuffle back to cone B touching with the left hand, and run backwards to cone A. The stopwatch is stopped as they pass cone A.
*L-Drill results –Client: __________Time in sec__________
*T-Test results – Client: ___________ Time in sec___________
Vertical Jump
Anaerobic power – Mean or peak power output in exercising lasting 10s or less. Anaerobic power is typically evaluated with tests that stress the phosphagen or ATP-PCr system and require very high intensity for short duration.
The jump-and –reach test is the most basic method for determining vertical jump displacement. This method measures the difference between the standing reach height of the subject and the height that the subject can jump and touch.
Standing reach is determined by having the subject stand with feet shoulder width apart and then reaching up with their dominant hand with palm facing marking scale, and moving as many markers out of the way as possible while keeping feet flat on the floor. Next the subject starts from a stationary semi-squatting position, or pauses at the lower level of the squat before jumping upwards and reaching for the highest point possible. The vertical jump displacement is then measured as the height difference between the standing reach height and the maximal reach achieved during the jump.
Vertical displacement (cm) = jump height (cm) – reach height (cm)
*Client: _________ Ht. ______ Wt. ______Vertical Displacement: ______
The classical vertical jump test is important, it does have some drawbacks; specifically, it yields only a vertical jump displacement and does not truly yield a power output. To compensate for this limitation, numerous methods can be used for estimating the power output achieved during vertical jump. Harman et al., developed two formulas to estimate peak and average power output based on force plate data and regression analysis.
Peak Power (W) = 61.9 x jump height (cm) + 36 x body mass (kg) + 1,822
Average Power (W) = 21.2 x jump height (cm) + 23 x body mass (kg) – 1,393
Sayers et al. have questioned the validity of Harman peak and average power equations because only static jump was used and the sample size was small (n=17).
The counter movement vertical jump can result in 10%-23% higher vertical displacement compared with a static vertical jump. To address this Sayers et al., used a force plate system to test both countermovement and static vertical jump performance of a larger sample (n=108). After performing regression analysis on these data, they generated the following equations:
Peak Power (W) = 60.7 x jump height (cm) + 45.3 x body mass (kg) – 2,055
*Client’s estimated Peak Power:
*Discussion Questions
- In the vertical jump why would a counter movement help your jump height?
- What safety precautions should be taken into consideration?
- What kind of training would you include to improve a client’s vertical jump? What about their speed? What about agility?
- What would contraindications for speed, agility and power assessment/training be?
- Complete a 3-2-1 of this activity. What are (3) things you learned, (2) things you need to practice and (1) lingering question or stand out observation.
