For any fitness assessment you need to conduct a health appraisal first and

then move on to a fitness assessment. By using the Par-Q and you questionnaire
you can get a good overview of what a clients health is like. If you then feel like you
need to make a more extensive questionnaire then you can do so by creating a
Health Status Questionnaire (HSQ). Using this will give you a more extensive idea of
the clients health background and it will be able to tell you more than the Par-Q.
Measuring the girth of the client or obtaining their BMI is a good way to show
the client their weight loss without scaring them with a scale. Some people tend to
lose inches before the scale begins to drop and this will ensure they always have a
bit of motivation.
The Par-Q and HSQ can help you in determining how you have to tailor your
cardio assessment. The client might have a health problem and can only walk in the
fitness test or they might already be an avid walker so you can work towards them
running. If you are only having them walk then you might want to try a 1 mile walk
test. Have them walk as fast as possible on a measured track (Howley & Franks,
2007). This can give you a good jumping off point for a walking program. If they are
running try a 1.5 mile or 12 min jog/run test where the client jogs/runs as fast as
they can for 1.5 miles or 12 min (Howley & Franks, 2007). Again this will help you
with a starting point for their cardio.
Muscular fitness is another part of the assessment that you should try to
assess when doing a fitness assessment. Again the Par-Q and HSQ are going to be
helpful in this assessment. If you have someone with health problems you should
try to keep the weight at a minimum to keep them from hurting a muscle or bone.
Muscular fitness is assessed by the number of repetitions a client can do with the

weight they have (Howley & Franks, 2007). This means you can begin at a low
weight and work your way up. Younger clients might also do well with a push-up and
sit-up test where as an older client might need to perform a chair stand test that will
be easier on their health conditions.
The last part of any fitness assessment should be the nutrition of the client.
You need to ensure that they are trying to give their body the nutrient that is
needed while they are in your care. If your client is eating bad food they are not
going to be able to perform like they need to in order to improve their health. With
all of these components you should be able to get a good idea of a fitness
assessment and what should be involved in one. The most important factor in the
assessment being the questionnaires that you have given to your clients.

Works Cited
Howley, E. T., & Franks, B. D. (2007). Fitness Professional's Handbook. Champaign:
Human Kinetics.