Fitness Testing for Alpine Skiing
A standardized fitness testing battery was created in 2002 for the Norwegian World Cup alpine team, published as the Ironman Test Battery. Since then the testing protocols have been fine-tuned, and is used to assess athletes from club level to elite world cup athletes, and there is a modified protocol for junior athletes. Although these test protocols were initially developed for alpine skiing, they can and has been used in the assessment of athletes in multiple sports.
There is a series of tests for senior and junior athletes, each consisting of eight exercises, designed to test a wide range of physical characteristics that are important for alpine skiing. At least 30 minutes of warm-up should precede all testing, and rest periods are set in the protocol.
Ironman Test Battery
The Ironman Test Battery is designed for males and females, 17 years and older.
- Endurance - 3000 m run
- Speed and agility/coordination - Hexagon obstacle
- 30 min REST PERIOD
- Leaping power and max leg strength - Squat 1RM
- Strength lower body - Submaximal Squats, as many repetitions as possible at 1.5 x body weight (men) 1.2 x body (women).
- Strength upper body, core, chest, triceps - Bench Press 1RM
- Strength upper body/back, latissimus dorsi - maximum number of continuous chin-ups, no time limit but no resting for more than 3 seconds.
- Abdominal strength - tempo Sit-ups
- 15 min REST PERIOD
- Anaerobic capacity and leg strength - 90 seconds of box jumps
A total performance score is calculated based on separate scores from all tests.
Ironman Jr Test Battery
The Ironman Test Battery has been adapted for younger athletes (12‐16 years) - the Ironman Jr Test Battery. The main differences between the two test batteries are the replacement of submaximal and maximal squats (1 RM) with squat technique and standing long jumps, and push‐ups instead of bench‐press. For the Ironman Jr test‐battery, there is also no scoring system available.
Tests for Junior Athletes
- Endurance - 3000 m run
- Speed and agility/coordination - Hexagon obstacle
- Leaping power and max leg strength - Standing long jump
- 30 min REST PERIOD
- Strength lower body - squat technique evaluation, so to progress to the max squat test for seniors. e.g. 15 year olds do body weight x 20 reps
- Strength upper body, core, chest, triceps - maximum number of continuous push-ups, no time limit but no resting for more than 2 seconds.
- Strength upper body/back, latissimus dorsi - maximum number of continuous chin-ups, no time limit but no resting for more than 3 seconds.
- Abdominal strength - tempo sit-ups
- 15 min REST PERIOD
- Anaerobic capacity and leg strength - 90 seconds of box jumps
References
- Ironman Test Battery "Attacking Vikings," version 4.2, August 15, 2013, att. 7
Related Pages
- Fitness testing for bobsled and luge
- Winter Sports Home
- Season Ski Passes: Are They Worth it or Not?
- Sport Specific Fitness Testing
- Complete list of fitness tests
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