Components of fitness 💪🏼

• Strength(muscular strength)- the amount of force that a muscle or muscle group can apply against a resistance.

  It is important in sports such as weightlifting, judo or gymnastics because you need to be able to lift, push or pull things with a lot of force or be able to hold your own body weight.
• Maximal strength- most amount of force a muscle group can create in a single movement.
• Static strength- the muscles don't move but still apply a force, such as holding a handstand.
• Explosive strength- uses a muscles strength in a short, fast burst.
• Dynamic strength- using your strength to move things repeatedly.
• Muscular endurance- the ability to repeatedly use muscles over a long time, without tiring.

  It is important in sports where you are using the same muscles again and again such as racket sports where you are repeatedly swinging your arm.

  It is also important in long distance races towards the end to have strong sprint finish, such as long distance rowers, runners and cyclists.
• Flexibility- the amount of movement possible at a joint.

  Flexibility reduces the chance of injury which is essential in every sport.

  It betters performance in sports such as gymnastics to be able to complete certain skills. It aids swimmers to because it means hey can move their arms further around their shoulders making their stroke longer and smoother.
• Cardiovascular endurance(aerobic power)-the ability of the heart and lungs to supply oxygen to the working muscles.

  Good levels of cardiovascular endurance means athletes can do moderately intense exercise for long periods of time.

  CVE is useful in most sports, especially in games like squash and tennis where players need to keep up with a fast paced game. If their CVE isn't very good it could lead to points being lost and the players tiring easily.

  A high level of CVE is particularly important in endurance sports such as cycling or running.
• Coordination- the ability to use two or more parts of the body together, efficiently and accurately.

  Hand to eye coordination is very important in sports such as precision.sports such as tennis or archery.

  Limb coordination is important is sports like gymnastics and diving where you are judged on your coordination.

  More coordinated runners can run quicker than uncoordinated runners.
• Reaction time- the time taken to move in response to a stimulus.

  Good reaction time is beneficial for most sports, such as running where you need to respond quickly to the gun to get a head start.

  You also need good reaction times for passing a football or dodging a punch because otherwise you will miss the ball or you will get hit.
• Agility- the ability to change body position or direction quickly and with control.

  It is important in activities where you have to run and change direction all the time, just like in football and hockey.

  Also jumping and intercepting passes in basketball and netball require a high level of agility.
• Balance- the ability to keep the body's centre of mass over a base of support.

  It is important in everything otherwise we would fall over.

  It is important in sports that require changing direction quickly like football or basketball.

  It is also required in gymnastics and dance when changing orientation and shape.
• Speed- the rate at which someone is able to move or to cover a distance in a given amount of time.

  Speed is important is lots of sports such as sprinting or hockey, when you have to quickly swing their arm back to hit the ball.
• Power(anaerobic power)- a combination of speed and strength

  Most sports need power to either throw, hit, sprint, jump. It is important in sports such as, football, tennis, cricket and golf.
• Power= strength x speed
• Reasons for fitness testing:

  • to identify strengths and weaknesses in performance or the success of a training programme.
  • to monitor improvement
  • to show a starting level of fitness
  • to inform you of training requirements
  • to compare against the norm of your group or national averages
  • to motivate or set goals
  • to provide variety in a training programme
• Limitations of fitness testing:

  • tests aren't often sport specific/ too general
  • they do not replicate sporting movements
  • they do not replicate competitive conditions in sport
  • many tests aren't sub- maximal therefore could be deemed as inaccurate
  • they must be carried out with the correct procedures to increase validity
• Wall toss test- coordination

  equipment- stopwatch, ball, wall

  • stand 2m away from a wall
  • throw a ball underarm from your right hand against the wall and then catch it with your lefthand- then throw with your left hand and catch with your right hand
  • Repeat for 30secs and count the number of catches

  
  

  The more catches made, the better your coordination is.
• Sit and reach test- flexibility

  equipment- ruler or tape measure, box

  • sit on the floor with your legs straight out in front of you and put your feet flat against the box
  • reach forward as far as you can and then someone will measure the distance reached (in cm)

  The further you reach the more flexible your back and hamstrings are.
• Ruler drop test- reaction time

  equipment- ruler

  • get a friend to hold a ruler vertically between your thumb and first finger, the 0cm should be in line with the top of your thumb
  • your fiend drops the ruler and you have to try and catch it as soon and you can
  • read off the distance the ruler fell before you managed to catch it

  The slower your reactions the further up the ruler you would have caught it and the faster the reaction time the closer to 0cm you would have caught it.
• What does MSFT stand for in fitness testing?

  Multi stage fitness test
• What is the primary focus of the MSFT?

  Cardiovascular endurance
• What equipment is needed for the MSFT?

  • Tape measure
  • Cones
  • MSFT recording
  • Speakers
• How far apart are the two lines in the MSFT?

  20 meters apart
• What must you do when the MSFT recording starts?

  Run shuttles between the two lines
• When should your foot be on or over the line during the MSFT?

  When the next bleep sounds
• What happens as the MSFT progresses?

  The time between bleeps gets shorter
• What is the consequence of missing a bleep in the MSFT?

  You can catch up with 2 further bleeps
• What happens if you miss 3 bleeps during the MSFT?

  The test stops and that level is recorded
• How is cardiovascular endurance assessed in the MSFT?

  By the higher level and number of shuttles completed
• 30m speed test- speed

  equipment- stopwatch, tape measure, cones

  • run the 30m as fast as you can
  • record your time in seconds

  The shorter the time the quicker you are.
• One rep max test- maximal strength

  equipment- gym weight equipment

  • start with a weight you know you can lift, after a successful lift, take a break
  • increase the weight you attempt in small steps until you reach a weight that you can't lift successfully.
  • the last weight that you completed a successful lift with is your one rep max

  The heavier the weight the stronger the muscle group.
• Illinois agility test- agility

  equipment- stopwatch, cones, tape measure

  • set out the Illinois agility course
  • start lying face down at the start cone and when the whistle blows run the course as fast as you can
  • record in seconds

  The shorter the time it takes to complete the course, the more agile you are.
• Sit- up bleep test- muscular endurance

  equipment- metronome, non- slip surface

  • aim to stick to 20 sit ups a minute
  • the test finishes when you fail to complete a full sit up in time twice in a row or if you keep going for 4 minutes

  The more sit ups you complete the better your abdominal muscular endurance is.
• Vertical jump test- power

  equipment- chalk, tape measure, wall

  • apply chalk to your finger tips and stand side on to a wall
  • raise the arm closest to the wall and mark the highest point you can reach
  • still standing side on, jump and mark the wall as high up as you can
  • measure the gap between the two marks in cm

  The larger the gap the more powerful your leg muscles are.
• Handgrip dynamometer test- strength

  equipment- a dynamometer

  • grip the dynamometer as hard as you can for 5 secs
  • record your reading in kg's
  • repeat 3 times and take your best score

  The higher the score the stronger your grip and strength.
• Stork stand test- balance

  equipment- stopwatch

  • stand on your best leg with your other foot touching your knee and your hands on your hips
  • raise your heel so you're standing on your toes
  • the test ends when your heel touches the group
  • record your time in seconds
  • repeat 3 times and take your best score

  The longer your time, the better your balance.