Canadian crunch test

The objective of this test is to monitor the development of the athlete’s abdominal strength.

Required resources

To undertake this test you will require:

• Strips of tape
• Tape measure
• Metronome
• Assistant.

How to conduct the test

The test is conducted as follows:

• Set the metronome to 40 beats per minute.
• Athlete to lie on their back with arms extended to your sides.
• Place a strip of tape on the floor at the end of their fingertips.
• Place another piece of tape 3 inches away from the first strip.
• To perform a proper crunch, the athlete curls their rib cage toward their pelvis so their fingers move from one strip of tape to the next.
• Athlete to perform as many crunches as possible to a 40 BPM metronome.
• The test is completed when the athlete cannot execute another crunch in time with metronome.
• Assistant counts the number of correctly completed crunches.

Analysis

Analysis of the result is comparing it with the results of previous tests. It is expected that, with appropriate training between each test, the analysis would indicate an improvement.

Performance assessment

An excellent score for men is 60 and excellent score for women is 50 repetitions.

Target group

This test is suitable for active individuals but not for those where the test would be contraindicated.

Reliability

Reliability would depend upon how strictly the test is conducted.

Validity

There are no published tables to relate results to potential performance in competition.