Book excerpt: This new text from the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) contains information necessary to develop skills for assessing an individual’s health-related physical fitness. It provides the reader with a practical "how-to-do-it" approach for performing these assessment skills effectively, and an understanding of the theory behind and the importance of each skill or assessment. Reported errors associated with each test are also given, and a step-by-step instruction of the skills is provided in order for the reader to gain proficiency through practice. Illustrations and tables supplement the text and enhance learning.