Course

Fitness Assessment & Prescription

Faculty
Science & Technology
Department
Sport Science
Course Code
SPSC 4161
Credits
3.00
Semester Length
15 weeks
Max Class Size
30
Method(s) Of Instruction
Lecture
Course Designation
None
Industry Designation
None
Typically Offered
To be determined

Overview

Course Description
This course provides students with the knowledge and experience necessary to develop fitness assessment programs, including the development of conditioning programs based on the results of these assessment programs. The curriculum is driven by practical experience to provide students with supervised opportunities to develop proficiency in the assessment techniques.
Course Content
  • Preliminary Health Screening
    • Preliminary health evaluation
    • Testing procedures for heart rate and blood pressure
  • Principles of Fitness Assessment
    • The essential components of a physical fitness profile
    • The purposes of fitness tests
    • Field tests versus laboratory tests
  • Assessment of Aerobic Power
    • Direct determination of VO2 max
    • Indirect determination of VO2 max via
      • Maximal tests
      • Sub-maximal tests
  • Assessment of Metabolic Capacity
    • Mean and peak anaerobic power
    • Fatigue index
    • Lactate analysis
  • Assessing Muscular Strength and Endurance
    • Standard load testing
    • Relative load testing
    • 1-repetition maximum
    • Sub-maximal testing
  • Assessing Neuromuscular Function
    • Motor unit activation
  • Assessing Body Composition
    • Anthropometry
    • Lean body mass analysis
  • Assessing Joint Range of Motion
    • Flexibility testing
  • Facility Administration
    • Calibration and maintenance of equipment
    • Group testing
    • Health and safety issues pertaining to maximal fitness testing
    • Designing fitness testing documents
  • Designing Aerobic Training Programs
    • Aerobic training methods and modes
  • Designing Resistance Training Programs
    • Resistance training types and methods
    • Exercise programs for low back care
  • Training Special Populations
    • Musculoskeletal conditions and disorders
    • Cardiopulmonary conditions and disorders
    • Neuromuscular conditions and disorders
Learning Activities
  • Lecture
  • Group Assessment Projects
  • Fitness Assessment Technology Training and Utilization
  • Practical Laboratory Sections
  • Weightroom and Gymnasium Demonstrations
Means of Assessment

Assessment will be in accordance with the Douglas College Evaluation Policy.

Instructors may use a student’s record of attendance and/or level of active participation in a course as part of the student’s graded performance. Where this occurs, expectations and grade calculations regarding class attendance and participation must be clearly defined in the Instructor Course Outline. 

The instructor will present a written course outline with specific evaluation criteria at the beginning of the semester. Evaluation will be based on the following:

Participation and Professionalism 0-10%

Fitness Assessments                 10-20%

Special Population Presentation 10-20%

Practical Assessments               30-60%

Fitness Testing Documents          0-15%

Midterm Exam                           0-20%

Practical Exam                           0-20%

Final Exam                               10-20%

Total                                          100%

Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion of the course, students will be able to:

  • conduct fitness assessments on general, athletic, rehabilitative and special populations;
  • use practical demonstrations to introduce and explain fitness assessments;
  • perform fitness assessments in individual and group testing situations;
  • create fitness programs for healthy and special populations.
Textbook Materials

Consult the Douglas College Bookstore for the latest required textbooks and materials. Example textbooks and materials may include:

Gibson, A., Wagner, D., Heyward, V. (Current Edition). Advanced Fitness Assessment and Exercise Prescription. Human Kinetics Publishers.

Requisites

Prerequisites

SPSC 3275

Corequisites

No corequisite courses.

Equivalencies

No equivalent courses.

Course Guidelines

Course Guidelines for previous years are viewable by selecting the version desired. If you took this course and do not see a listing for the starting semester / year of the course, consider the previous version as the applicable version.

(Current)

Course Transfers

These are for current course guidelines only. For a full list of archived courses please see https://www.bctransferguide.ca

Institution Transfer Details for SPSC 4161
Camosun College (CAMO) CAMO KIN 240 (3)
College of New Caledonia (CNC) CNC KINS 2XX (3)
Kwantlen Polytechnic University (KPU) No credit
Thompson Rivers University (TRU) TRU PHED 2XXX (3)
Trinity Western University (TWU) TWU HKIN 4XX (3)
University of Northern BC (UNBC) UNBC HHSC 4XX (3)
University of the Fraser Valley (UFV) UFV KPE 2XX (3)
University of Victoria (UVIC) UVIC EPHE 2XX (1.5)

Course Offerings

Winter 2025

CRN Days Instructor Status
Maximum Seats
35
Currently Enrolled
16
Remaining Seats:
19
On Waitlist
0
Building
New Westminster - North Bldg.
Room
N2221
Times:
Start Time
10:30
-
End Time
12:20
Building
New Westminster - South Bldg.
Room
S1812
Times:
Start Time
10:30
-
End Time
12:20
Building
New Westminster - North Bldg.
Room
N2223
Times:
Start Time
10:30
-
End Time
12:20
Section Notes

Registration in this course provides registrants with a 'time conflict' error. This error can be disregarded for this course as it is due to a required room booking overlap.