By Natasha B, Year 12

On the 23rd September, the NHEHS sport scholars were given the opportunity to attended the Advanced Performance Lab to complete some sport testing. These tests included a range of aspects from strength and conditioning including speed, Polymetrics and weightlifting.

We started our day with a quick game of dodgeball as a warmup before having a briefing from one of the instructors. We talked about the relevance of strength and conditioning within our different sports such as how it can prevent injury and make your body stronger and more resistant to fatigue.

The first test we did was a 10m sprint. Many of us, myself included, found it interesting in how difficult it was to build up speed in such a short spread of distance (especially when I’m used to running longer!).  The next two tests included hopping on one leg over the 10m before trying the same thing with the alternative leg. This was to test our strength and stability in different legs. We were also tested in the impact of a standing jump and our agility. In the afternoon we also had an introduction to weightlifting where we learnt how to complete a deadlift and back squat with the correct form. I found this particularly useful as it was great to be taught how to do it with minimising injury and how to keep safe when doing it.

At the end of the day we were told our results would be sent through to us in the coming weeks and how we can use these results to benefit us with our own strength training. Overall, the day was really informative and thank you to the PE department for this great opportunity.