The Z Strategy borned in Brazil. In a lab named CELAFISCS, located at a city called Sao Caetano do Sul, state of Sao Paulo. The CELAFISCS Team was managed by Doctor Victor Matsudo. The Z Strategy was presented in Barcelona's Olimpic Games(1992) and won the first prize among all countries, being the best scientific research project. It allows anyone to find out talents in people applying just simple tests.

"The Physical fitness level has became one of most important health parameter from a community. Then, adequate exercise description has became of most practical and economical way of health promotion. Since there are differences (genetical, eviromental, socioeconomical) among populations from different parts of the world, the determination of the population physical fitness level is of utmost importance. This procedure will permit a better exercise prescription taking in account local or national features. Thus, the purpose of this study was to estabilish a biological model for evaluating and prescribing exercise to students for 7 to 18 years old as well as to detect talent throughout anthropometric, metabolic, neuromotor, psychosocial and maturational variables; measured by means of simple tests, with non-sophisticated equipments, avaliable for large groups, with reliability criteria established. Data from different studies in our Lab on more than 15.000 subjects permited us to purpose:
To establish normative or criteria reference data for each population which permit to diagnose the physical fitness condition of a group. With this procedure we have established an own curve variable, community, sex and age.
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To establish a strategy wich permits to diagnose physical fitness as well as to detect talents. It is very practical to compare the subject results to the reference group by means of the z-indices which analyse the subject result toward the mean and standard deviation data from his reference group. This procedure called Z Strategy, permits to detect talents, to compare physical fitness among individuals or groups, to analyse the effects of training and profile the physical fitness of different sport modalities.
Finally, the model we have developed can be applied to any country, independently of the physical fitness method of measuring. In the case of underdeveloping countries, we suggest the tests presented in this article. Based on own data, for each population, we can prescribe physical activity on scientific and individual basics; taking in account the subject biological evolution and the variables wich determine physical performance."
(Quoted from "Biological Criteria to the Diagnosis, Prescription
and Prognosis of Physical Fitness Among Students from 7 to 18 Years-Old." by Doctor Victor Keihan Rodrigues Matsudo.)
Z STRATEGY - WHAT'S THAT? - APPLYING IT - RESEARCH - FEEDBACK

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