Friday 20 February 2015

Do Well On The Pacer Test

You can improve your Pacer score by doing cardiovascular training beforehand.


The Pacer Test is a cardiovascular fitness test generally administered in schools for elementary-age children. The "PACER" acronym stands for Progressive Aerobic Cardiovascular Endurance Run and the test is similar to the beep test, which is also known as a 20-meter shuttle run. The test is designed to teach children or athletes to stay on pace and stay in shape. In both tests, students run back and forth between a set of cones set 20 meters apart from each other. They run to a pace-setting beep and must reach the cones before the next beep sounds. As the test progresses, the beeps get closer together and students must keep a faster pace to make it to the next set of cones.


Instructions


1. Engage in cardiovascular training before the test. Examples of training that might improve cardiovascular endurance are cycling or swimming. One way to increase speed is to practice speed play or "fartlek" in Swedish. These are informal speed games a runner can play where he sets a goal for himself --- for instance a distant telephone pole or mailbox --- and sprints as quickly as he can to that landmark. This method is advocated by running expert Jeff Galloway as one way to increase speed.


2. Rest for the 24 hour period before the test. Don't do any hard training. Make sure you get a good night's sleep. Drink plenty of water during that 24-hour period and eat a light meal a few hours before the test.


3. Practice your turning technique to maximize your effort and minimize the amount of time it takes you at either end of your run. This will give you time to meet the pace on the other end. Time your run so that just one foot crosses the line before you turn. Dip your hip slightly and turn sharply, rather taking a wide arc, which causes you to cover more distance. Push off strong with your back foot as you head in the other direction.


4. Keep a consistent pace between the cones without slowing down. This is another technique to improve your test results. Get up to speed quickly and then maintain that pace, rather than taking too much time to reach top speed only to have to slow down again at the other end of the run.

Tags: before test, between cones, cardiovascular training, improve your, increase speed, Pacer Test