1st Edition
Performance Assessment in Strength and Conditioning
It is an essential skill for any strength and conditioning coach to be able to reliably assess the physical performance of their athletes and communicate the results and their implications to performers and coaches, alike. Performance Assessment in Strength and Conditioning is the first textbook to clearly and coherently suggest the most appropriate and reliable methods for assessing and monitoring athletes’ performance, as well as including detailed sections on testing considerations and the interpretation and application of results.
The book explores the full range of considerations required to reliably assess performance, including questions of ethics and safety, reliability and validity, and standardised testing, before going on to recommend (through a comparison of field- and laboratory-based techniques) the optimal methods for testing all aspects of physical performance, including:
- injury risk
- jump performance
- sprint performance
-
change of direction and agility
- strength
- power
- aerobic performance
- body composition
Closing with a section on interpreting, presenting and applying results to practice, and illustrated with real-life case study data throughout, Performance Assessment in Strength and Conditioning offers the most useful guide to monitoring athlete performance available. It is an essential text for upper-level strength and conditioning students and practitioners alike.
Introduction: The Role of Assessing and Monitoring Performance
Mike McGuigan
Part 1: Testing Considerations
1. Ethical and Health and Safety Issues
Steve Atkins
2. Psychological Issues during Assessment of Performance
Jon Radcliffe
3. Reliability, Validity and Measurement Error
Peter Mundy and Neil Clarke
4. Standardisation of Testing
John J. McMahon, Paul A. Jones, and Paul Comfort
5. Structured Testing vs. Continual Monitoring
Paul Comfort, Paul A. Jones, and Guy W. Hornsby
Part 2: Assessment Methods
6. Assessment of Factors Associated with Injury Risk
Lee C. Herrington, Allan G. Munro, and Paul A. Jones
7. Vertical Jump Testing
John J. McMahon, Jason P. Lake, and Tim J. Suchomel
8. Sprint Testing
Robert Lockie
9. Change of Direction and Agility
Paul A. Jones and Sophia Nimphius
10. Strength – Isometric and Dynamic Testing
G. Greg Haff
11. Assessment of Power
Jason Lake and Peter Mundy
12. Aerobic Performance Assessment
Fred J. DiMenna and Andrew M. Jones
13. Body Composition Assessment
Carl Langan-Evans, James P. Morton and Graeme L. Close
14. Combined Assessment Methods
Tim J. Suchomel, John J. McMahon, and Jason P. Lake
Part 3: Interpretation and Application
15. Interpretation of Results
Jeremy A. Gentles, Guy W. Hornsby, and Michael H. Stone
16. Presentation and Communication of Results
John McMahon and Peter Mundy
17. Application to Training
Guy W. Hornsby, Jeremy A. Gentles, and Michael h. Stone
Biography
Paul Comfort, PhD, CSCS*D, ASCC, is a Reader in Strength and Conditioning and Programme Leader for the MSc Strength and Conditioning at the University of Salford, UK.
Paul A. Jones, PhD, MSc, BSc (Hons), CSCS*D, BASES Accred. CSci., is a Lecturer in Sports Biomechanics and Strength and Conditioning at the University of Salford, UK.
John J. McMahon, PhD, CSCS, ASCC, is a Lecturer in Sports Biomechanics and Strength and Conditioning (S&C) at the University of Salford, UK.
