4.3 Fitness Evaluation: Strength, Endurance, Speed, Agility, and Power

4.3 Fitness Evaluation: Strength, Endurance, Speed, Agility, and Power

Quick Answer: Domain 1 Task C.3 includes muscular strength, muscular endurance, and speed / agility / power (cardiorespiratory capacity is the next section). A 10RM of 150 lb (68 kg) estimates about a 200 lb (91 kg) 1RM using NSCA sample load–repetition logic (10RM ≈ 75% of 1RM). Stop when form fails. Get medical clearance before maximal testing when screening says you should.

Match the test to the goal and to training age. A deconditioned client who wants to climb stairs does not need a 40-yard dash. An athlete who needs change-of-direction speed does not get only a 12-minute curl-up. The exam tests whether you can select, administer, and interpret these tests—not whether you memorized an unpublished NSCA percentile poster.

Qualities You Are Measuring

Absolute strength is the load on the bar. Relative strength is that load divided by body weight. Programming often cares more about relative strength for bodyweight tasks and more about absolute strength for a specific lift goal.

1RM Testing

A 1-repetition maximum (1RM) is the most load the client can lift once through a full range with agreed technique.

NSCA-style field procedure (record the lift and the conditions):

1. General warm-up, then a light set of 5–10 repetitions.
2. Rest about 1 minute.
3. A heavier warm-up of 3–5 repetitions at a moderate load.
4. Rest 2–4 minutes.
5. A conservative 1RM attempt.
6. If successful, rest 2–4 minutes and add about 5–10% (often 10–20 lb) for upper body or about 10–20% (often 15–30 lb) for lower body.
7. If failed, rest 2–4 minutes and reduce the load.
8. Find the 1RM within about 3–5 attempts.

Spot bench press and squat. Do not 1RM-test a pattern that failed the functional screen. Medical clearance before max testing when indicated: novice with risk flags, uncontrolled hypertension, recent surgery, older adult with unknown cardiac status, pregnancy, or any Chapter 3 referral trigger.

Multiple-RM Estimation (NSCA Sample Logic)

A multiple-RM (for example 5RM, 8RM, 10RM) is safer and more practical for most personal-training clients. NSCA textbooks commonly present this load–repetition relationship (field estimates, not a secret exam chart):

The exam’s sample arithmetic: a 10RM of 150 lb (68 kg) is about 75% of 1RM.

Estimated 1RM = 150 ÷ 0.75 = 200 lb (91 kg).

The Epley equation gives the same number: 1RM = load × (1 + reps/30) = 150 × (1 + 10/30) = 150 × 1.333 = 200 lb. Brzycki is 150 ÷ (1.0278 − 0.0278 × 10) = 150 ÷ 0.7498 ≈ 200 lb. Different published formulas cluster here; they still err more as reps climb above about 10 because endurance contaminates the estimate.

Second worked example: An 8RM at 160 lb. 8RM ≈ 80%, so 160 ÷ 0.80 = 200 lb estimated 1RM. Same client, two submaximal sets, similar answer.

Third worked example (relative strength): Estimated squat 1RM = 225 lb, body weight = 180 lb. Relative strength = 225 ÷ 180 = 1.25 × body weight. That number is a KPI. A published rating table, if a question supplies one, is only as good as the population it came from—do not memorize a fake NSCA percentile.

Use the estimate to set training loads. Strength work often sits near ≥85% 1RM (about 170 lb from a 200 lb 1RM, ~6 or fewer quality reps). Hypertrophy-style work often sits near 67–80% (about 134–160 lb).

Muscular Endurance: YMCA Bench, Push-Up, Curl-Up

YMCA bench-press test (commonly taught field protocol):

• Load: 80 lb (36 kg) for men, 35 lb (16 kg) for women (total bar weight).
• Cadence: metronome 60 bpm = 30 repetitions per minute (down on one beat, up on the next).
• Score: complete repetitions until the client cannot keep cadence or cannot lock out with agreed form.
• Spot the bar. Record sex-specific load and cadence so week 12 is the same test.

YMCA and ACSM manuals publish age/sex rating tables. If an item prints a table, use that table. If it does not, compare the client to their own retest. Do not invent an NSCA unpublished chart.

Push-up test: maximal quality repetitions. Record whether the client used toes or knees (modified). Chest approaches the agreed height each rep; stop at the last good repetition, not after the hips start sagging. A client who cannot hold a plank does not need a 60-second grind.

Curl-up / partial curl-up: cadence-controlled trunk flexion (metronome protocols vary by ACSM vs. textbook source—use one protocol and repeat it). Hands slide to a marked distance; scapulae leave the floor; stop when cadence or form fails. Some protocols cap the score (for example 25 or 75). Write the cap you used.

Worked endurance example: First test: 11 toe push-ups to form break. Eight-week KPI: 16 quality toe push-ups with the same hand width and depth standard. The KPI is the repeatable count, not a percentile you cannot source.

Power, Speed, and Agility

Vertical jump: countermovement jump for maximal height (Vertec, jump mat, or wall mark). Record arm swing vs. no arm swing, shoes, and best of 3 trials after practice jumps. This estimates lower-body power. Do not quote an unpublished NSCA jump-height cut-score; track change and, if needed, compare to a table the question actually provides.

Linear speed: 10-yard or 20-m fly or standing sprint for athletes who already decelerate well. Most general-fitness clients do not need a 40-yard dash on day one.

T-test (common NSCA-taught agility layout):

• Four cones in a T: start at the base; 10 yards forward to the stem; 5 yards left and 5 yards right of the stem (10 yards across the top).
• Sprint forward, shuffle left (feet do not cross), shuffle all the way right, shuffle back to center, backpedal to start.
• Touch cones or lines as the protocol specifies. Best of two good trials after a walk-through.

Pro-agility (5-10-5) shuttle: three cones 5 yards apart. Straddle the middle line, sprint 5 yards, 10 yards the other way, 5 yards back through the middle. This is change-of-direction speed, not a medical test.

Do not agility-test a client who still shows painful valgus or cannot single-leg stand. Teach deceleration first.

Safety Rules That Beat the Score

• Stop if form fails. A rounded lumbar spine on a 10RM deadlift is the end of the test, not a fourth attempt.
• Clearance before max testing when indicated by health history, age/risk, or clinician instruction.
• Environment: dry floor, collars on, spotters, uncluttered agility lanes.
• Compare apples to apples: same lift, same depth, same cadence, same shoes when the shoe changes the jump or sprint.
• Medications and pain change scores. A client who skipped a beta-blocker or who is guarding a shoulder is not a valid 1RM.

Read the chart as field estimates from NSCA textbook teaching, not as a guarantee for every lift or every client. A 10RM at 150 lb sits on the 75% bar: 150 ÷ 0.75 = 200 lb (91 kg) estimated 1RM. Accuracy falls as repetition number climbs and when the last reps turn into a grind with broken technique—those repetitions are not a true RM.