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Prepare to Perform
Your first session is testing day.
The numbers you set become your baseline. In week 12, you'll repeat the same tests and we'll compare the two.
That comparison is only fair if you arrive the same way both times. Every score carries a little day-to-day wobble. Preparing the same way keeps that wobble small, so the difference shows how your performance has changed, not how your week went.
Four things to get right.
Training rest. No hard training in the day or two before. Arrive fresh.
Sleep. Get a normal night's sleep. Short sleep takes the edge off performance, so testing day isn't the night to cut it short.
Nutrition. Eat as you normally would. Testing day isn't the time to try something new. If you have caffeine, keep it as usual, and do the same before the retest.
Hydration. Arrive well hydrated, drinking as you normally would.
This is general guidance. If anything about your health has changed since you completed your pre-exercise questionnaire, tell us before you test.
Measure to Improve
Profiling comes first because it shows us where you're strong and where you have room to develop. That decides what you train in weeks 2-11.
Testing day covers eight areas:
- Body measurements
- Range of motion
- Movement control
- Power
- Strength
- Speed over 10 m
- Agility over 5 m
- Cardiovascular fitness
Strength at the hip, knee and ankle is tested on Metrics equipment. Power is tested on VALD ForceDecks and a jump mat. Speed and agility are captured with Swift Timing Gates.
Then you get your own report. It sets out what each test found, what it means for the way you train, and the two or three things worth your attention for the next twelve weeks.
We don't test to fill a spreadsheet.
We test so every session that follows has a reason behind it.
Key Takeaways
- Testing day sets your baseline for the next twelve weeks.
- Arrive the same way for testing and the week 12 retest.
- Rest from hard training, sleep normally, eat and drink as usual.
- Your report shows what each test found and what to train.
Performance Action
Before your first session, write down how you'll spend the day or two leading into it: when your last hard session will be, when you'll go to bed, and what you usually eat and drink before you train, caffeine included.
Keep that note. You'll follow it again before your week 12 retest.
Next Week
We'll move on to training, and why not all repetitions are equal.
Founding 12 Partner: Metrics
Metrics is a sports technology company developing new ways to measure and improve the body's physical potential. Tom King founded it, as he founded KPI.
Its first product is the Metrics Bench. It isolates and loads three joint actions - hip extension, knee extension and ankle plantar flexion - and shows how fast you produce force. It can precisely and accurately measure high force outputs better than its competitors.
