(This article, written by lawyer Edson Eufemio, deals with physical fitness and the science behind the Fitness Quotient Test in the realm of sports. The Peak Form Sports Medicine Center, together with sports medicine specialist and orthopedic surgeon Dr. Gar Eufemio, will stage the Extreme Fitness Challenge, an event that will demonstrate the potential of this test to change sports development programs at the grassroots level, on Feb. 1 at Xavier School.— Ed)
First of a series
We have all heard about the intelligence quotient (IQ) and how IQ test scores can be used as predictors of educational attainment, performance at work and even income.
Various classifications have been used to categorize individuals. With a median score of 100 implying average, you can be considered a genius (140 and above) all the way down to an idiot (24 and below).
Then, there is also the concept of an emotional quotient (EQ) started in the late 1960s with the famous “Stanford Marshmallow Experiment.”
What do these tests have in common? They serve as forecasts into life outcomes; like a crystal ball looking into the future… However, when it comes to sports, we have yet to encounter an examination that can predict who among our young wannabes will be the next world-class athlete like Manny Pacquiao, Paeng Nepomuceno, Caloy Loyzaga or Lydia de Vega.
Currently, there is also no test that measures one’s fitness level by quantifying it with a numerical score.
This is why Dr. Gar Eufemio, orthopedic surgeon and sports medicine specialist, together with Peak Form Sports Medicine Center, devised a series of fitness challenges that can assess not only an athlete’s current fitness condition, but also gives him or her a numerical score just like an IQ Test or exam.
With this kind of test, we can now hopefully narrow down the list of athletes who may, one day, achieve world-class status.
This test is called Peak Form’s Fitness Quotient, or FQ Test.
Where do you begin? The first thing is to determine and identify the different components of fitness that should be part of a valid FQ Test.
Believe it or not, excelling in one aspect does not mean you are completely fit.
For example, a marathon runner may have endurance, but what about the other aspects of fitness like strength, coordination or balance?
In Peak Form’s FQ Test, there are 10 components of fitness that will be analyzed:
1) Strength
2) Explosiveness
3) Speed
4) Agility
5) Coordination
6) Balance
7) Flexibility
8) Endurance
9) Recovery
10) Mental
Topend Sports Australia (www.topendsports.com) also describes 10 factors—the first eight are similar to Peak Form’s FQ Test but the last two are body composition and motor skills.
Peak Form replaced the former with recovery. “We wanted all elements to be measurable and ‘test-able,’ and we feel an athlete’s ability to recuperate quickly is important,” said Eufemio.
“Motor skills can fall under coordination, so we substituted it with mental—the proficiency to plan and strategize, the capability to maintain composure and the knack of information recall under physical duress.”
The next task was to come up with the stations or the particular fitness challenges.
Since we started out with 10 aspects, we decided also on 10 fitness challenges, each with a mean score of 10 points.
A total of 100 will mean a participant is average. One can score more—or less—than 10, depending on how they perform in each station.
(To be continued)