Trunk Lift Proper Form Front & Side View

How will students work to improve/maintain

For starters, students will work to maintain their trunk flexibility through the strength and flexibility exercises we perform at the start of class. There will be some days that are average stretching time reaches 15-20 minutes. Specifically, we will work on the camel or extension exercise where students will lift themselves off the ground using both their hands and their elbows. The days we do extended stretches, we will do 4 sets of 10 exercises where the students come up and hold the position for a second and then lower themselves. We will also incorporate the partial curl aiming to reach 3 sets of 10 repetitions. In this position, students tuck their chins to their chest and with their hands stretched out in front of them, curl their upper body forward until the shoulders clear the floor holding this position for three seconds. These like the side plank are some of the exercises we will work on to improve/maintain trunk flexibility.
While at home, students can also work on the extension or the camel, the partial curl and the side plank. However, I will give the students a laminated sheet that will include a number of stretches that students can (realistically) work on 3-5 days a week. Students will be given instructions on how to perform the quadruped arm/leg raise, along with the cat and camel raises for the lower and upper back muscles. We will also go over the routines in class. Students will also be asked to perform the pelvic tilt and the mid-back stretch while at home. There are numerous other exercises students will be given, including the lumbar rotation and knee-to-chest stretch.

Final Class Performance

As an entire class, the group improved its trunk lift height and both males and females improved their trunk lift heights. During the first trunk lift test, the girls best average height was during the second trial when they averaged 11.66 inches.
Meanwhile during the second trunk lift test the girls averaged a height of 11.83 inches. Four females equaled their maximum score of 12 inches, while one of the females went up .5 inches to 11.5 and only one of the females fell .5 inches to 11.5 equal their average score of 11.83
Furthermore the males averaged 11.83 during their first trial of the first test of the trunk lift and during the 1st trunk lift of trial 2 the males averaged a height of 11.95 and during the second trial of trunk lift two the boys averaged 11.85. Seven males equaled their height of 12 inches, while 2 males reached a new high of 12 inches (up 1 inch from trial one) and one male reached a new high of 11.5 inches (up .5 inches from trial 1).
The range was 2 inches during the first trunk test between trial 1 and 2. The range was 0.5 inches during the second trunk test between trial 1 and trial 2.
The standard deviation was .946 during the first trial of the first test of the trunk lift and .5 for the second trial of the first test of the trunk lift.
The standard deviation for the 2nd test for trial one was .342 and .301 for trial two.

Trunk Lift

Trunk Lift Round 2 in Dance Studio

Come On Out and Please Join Us Monday 7/26 in Room 131 Dance/Fitness (Room) of the Physical Education Building at 8:45. Hope to See You There!!

Class Performance as a Whole Test I

Both the girls and boys performed extremely well! Everyone (boys and girls) fell into the healthy range! I think this was due to our excellent class preparation leading up to the test, and the percentage of student-athletes we have in the class is high (thus many of the students have good flexibility in their trunk area).
Of the five girls that were tested, four of them had the same score (2 11's and 2 12's). And, the girl that didn't have the same score on both tests improved her score from test 1 (11 inches) to test 2 (12 inches). The average score for the girls on test 1 was 11.16 and the average score for the girls on test 2 improved to 11.66. One of the reasons the average improved from the first to the second test is because the girls became more familiar with how to raise their upper bodies and keep their heads in the neutral position.
On the boys side, of the ten boys that were tested six of them reached 12 inches on both test 1 and test 2. Two of the boys did fall 1 inch from 12 inches to 11 inches between test 1 and test 2, while one of the boys improved from 11 inches to 12 inches and another boy jumped from 9 inches to 12 inches between test 1 and test 2. The drop in scores by the two boys could have been due to fatigue. This the overall boys' average. The 8 boys averaged 11.83 inches on test 1 and 11.875 inches on test 2.

Reliability

The test is a reliable test because of the consistency from test 1 to test 2. The set up for both of the tests and the conditions are exactly the same. With both tests we have the students lie face down on the mats with their hands underneath their thighs. The students are told to keep their heads in a neutral (in line with their spine) position. The students accomplish this task by focusing their eyes (looking down) on the poker chips we supply for them to look at while they are performing the trunk lift. The student's partner then measures each of the two trunk lifts with a ruler in front of the student's chin.

Test Validity

Naspe recommends the trunk lift as a test to measure lower back strength. Also, the Cooper Institute validated the trunk test for for ages 5 to 17+ for trunk extensor and flexibility. The test measures what it is suppose to measure which is the trunk extensor strength and flexibility and its relationship to low back health, especially proper vertebral alignment. Musculoskeletal fitness of the abdominal muscles, hamstrings, and back extensors work together to maintain posture and low back health. And, as we know maintaining low back health is crucial to students as they work to stay healthy for a lifetime. (In adults, lower back pain is a common complaint, so working on the trunk lift can help youngsters develop healthy lower backs for a lifetime).

Possible Class Preparation

As mentioned in the preparation for assessment and how to improve in and out of class sections of the blog, we will be doing a number of stretches and yoga exercises for 15-20 minutes (on some days) prior to our activity of the day. We will do extension exercises, such as the cobra, along with the cat and camel. We will also do the quadrupled arm/leg raise and repeat sets of the mid-back stretch, the pelvic tilt and the lumbar rotation.

Next Trunk Lift Assessment 7/26

Students will once again be tested in room 131 Dance/Fitness Room of the Physical Education Building. The test objective is to lift the upper body off the floor using the muscles of the back and hold the position to allow for measurement. If both girls and boys fall in the 9-12 inches range, they're in the healthy zone. If both boys and girls fail to raise their upper body 9 inches, then they fall into the needs improvement range.

Room 131 Physical Fitness/Dance Room

We will be meeting in room 131 (Fitness/Dance Room) of the Physical Education Building. Come on out for the Trunk Lift. We'll See you there!!

Photo

TRUNK EXTENSOR FOR

STRENGTH AND FLEXIBILITY

How to Improve In and Out of Class

Some of the stretches students can work on at home (with their parents) is the extension exercise. This is where students gradually go from a laying down position, to propping themselves up on their elbows, to finally propping themselves up on their hands (with their head and eyes facing forward). You want to make sure you keep your hips down on the floor and hold the position a couple of seconds before gently lowering yourself down. You can do this stretch 8-10 times.
There are a number of other stretches students have been given on their hand out, such as the quadruped arm/leg raise, pelvic tilt, lumbar rotation, cat and camel, and the mid-back stretch. There are also a number of abdominal exercises that can be worked on at home as well, including various crunches (described with proper form on the handout), toe touches, leg lifts and oblique movements.

Preparation for Assessment

In preparation for the test we have practiced the actual test. We use mats for students to lie on and use poker chips for students to focus their eyes on to keep their heads in the neutral position. We also let the students pick their partners which helps keep the privacy factor during the test.
Also in preparing for our Trunk Lift, we our doing plenty of stretching and yoga exercises. We spend the first 15 minutes of our physical education class doing either stretching or yoga exercises. Since the Trunk Lift involves the core muscles, we are also working on our abdominal muscles. Thus, we rotate our warm-up exercises each day with either stretching or stomach strengthening exercises. The students have all been given a handout for both lower back and stomach exercises, and the various stretches and abdominal movements are also posted throughout the gymnasium.

Evaluation Criteria

Both boys and girls will be aiming for a maximum height of 12 inches off the ground (mats). Any measurement of 9 inches or above means a boy is fit. The closer the boy gets to to lifting 12 inches off the ground (mats) the more healthy his range of motion is in his back muscles. For girls as well, any measurement of 9 inches or above means the girl is fit. The closer the girl gets to 12 inches off the ground (mats) the more healthy her range of motion is in her back muscles.

Fitness Assessment and Brief Overview

The object of the Trunk Lift is to lift the upper body off the floor (mats) using muscles of the back and hold the position to allow for measurement. The student being tested lies on the mat in a facedown position. Toes are pointed and hands are placed under the thighs. Place a coin or other marker on the floor (mat) in line with the student's eyes. During the movement, the student's focus should not move from the coin or marker. The student lifts the upper body off the floor, in a very slow and controlled manner, to a maximum height of 12 inches.

Fitness Component and Its Importance

The Trunk Lift is a test of the trunk extensor strength and flexibility and is included in the
Fitnessgram due to its relationship to low back health, especially proper vertebral alignment. Musculoskeletal fitness of the abdominal muscles, hamstrings and back extensors work together to maintain posture and help maintain low back health.