A Screening Method for Fitness Assessment

Abstract

In recent years the health and physical status of the Russian population, in particular that of those living in St. Petersburg, has deteriorated considerably under the influence of various social, economic and environmental factors. There is little hope for improvement in some of these harmful factors in the near future. Under the prevalent social and economic circumstances, the only commonly accessible means to improve and maintain the health of the general populations appears to be an increased level of fitness training (Bouchard et al, 1988; Gettman, 1989). To make health-related fitness training efficient, it is essential to have a screening method, which would classify those who practice or would like to practice fitness exercises according to their physical abilities, and provide them with comprehensive and suitable recommendations on the type, quantity and intensity of these exercises (ACSM Position Stand, 1988; Blair, 1994). To meet the special requirements of mass population screening, such methods must meet the following requirements:

• To conform to modern scientific knowledge in the field of health-related fitness

• To be absolutely safe and accessible to the vast majority of the subjects

• To be simple and not require any special skills or preliminary training on the part of the subjects

• To provide sufficient capacity for mass population use

• To be standardized and feasible