Tips for your fitness assessments

Tips Prior to Assessments
1. Get a good nights sleep- helps improve performance
2. Know what times you have to beat
3. Visualize yourself achieving the times/reps that you want to complete
4. If you are and endurance athlete and do better at your mile time with a longer warm-up, get to class early and do a short run prior to class starting

Improving your run time

• Think you are only running to the next light pole, bench, tree, etc. Thinking of only short distance mile markers that you are running to can help you keep a fast pace, instead of having to run fast for a mile can seem like a long way.
• Try to catch the someone in front of you and stay with them or pass them. Try not to let anyone behind your pass you up- run with fear
• Remember the faster you run the sooner it will be over
• Watch out for starting out too fast, which can leave your legs feeling heavy
• Gradually pick up your pace and finish all out
• Think about and focus on only two things 1. running form (arms, legs, breathing) 2. what is motivating you (quote, repeating something motivating, wedding dress, a person)
• Arm- remember the faster you move your arms the faster your legs will go
• Arms are at a 90-100 degree angle with relaxed shoulders and hands and they do straight in front of you to move you forward, not swinging across your body to slow you down
• Legs- lift knees, open stride, quick turn over
• You can cut off a few seconds by running fast past the pole where we will be calling out your times- avoid slowing down prior to the real finish.
  

Chin-up/Hang time

• Get a good grip of the bar by wrapping your thumb around
  
• I recommend thinking about anything else- think of laying on the beach relaxed
  
• Tell your self you are "Light as a feather" (as Claudine always says)
• Pulling up- focus on using your back- it is a large strong muscle

Push-ups

• Good luck with this one- partners this is where your encouragement really helps
  
• Put the weight into your fingers
  
• Tell yourself you can do it, you are strong
• Listen to the metronome
  

Sit-ups

• Remember that only your elbows have to touch the top of your thighs and the small of your back touches
• Make sure you feet are not too far away from your hips

Wall Sit

• Think about something else- distract yourself

Plank

• Squeeze your thighs, glutes, and abs
• Try to relax your shoulders