Health and Fitness

• Health definition:

  'Complete physical, mental, and social wellbeing and not only the absence of illness or infirmity'
• Fitness definition:

  'The ability to meet the demands of the environment.'
• Components of Health:

  Physical:

  • Good posture
  • Improves heart function
  • Muscular strength and flexibility
  • Absence of conditions such as osteoporosis and osteoarthritis.

  Mental:

  • Feelings of satisfaction and happiness from serotonin.
  • Good levels of self-esteem.
  • Absence of depression.
  • Aesthetic appreciation of the beauty of performance.
  • Reduce stress/tension.
  • Able to control emotions.

  Social:

  • Cooperation with other people in team or groups.
  • A sense of belonging.
  • Making new friends throughout life.
• Exercise definition:

  'A form of physical exercise done to improve health or fitness or both.'
• Activity routines:

  • Adults: Five sessions of 30 minutes activity per week. Should be physical enough to cause the adult to breathe more deeply and begin to sweat.
  • Children/Young people: Seven sessions of 60 minutes per week. At least two of these sessions should be of high intensity such as running, jumping, or cardiovascular based sports.
• Consequences of a sedentary lifestyle:

  • Weight gain or obesity
  • Heart disease
  • Hypertension
  • Diabetes
  • Poor sleep
  • Poor self-esteem
  • Lethargy
• Health related components of fitness:

  • Muscular endurance
  • Muscular strength
  • Cardiovascular endurance
  • Flexibility
  • Body composition
• Skill related components of fitness:

  • Speed
  • Agility
  • Coordination
  • Reaction time
  • Balance
  • Power
• Definitions of (health) components of fitness:

  • Cardiovascular endurance - The ability of the heart, lungs, and blood to transport oxygen.
  • Flexibility - The range of motion at a joint.
  • Muscular endurance - The ability to use voluntary muscles repeatedly without tiring.
  • Muscular strength - The amount of force a muscle can exert against a resistance.
• Definitions of (skill) components of fitness:

  • Agility - The ability to change the position of the body quickly and control the movement.
  • Balance - The ability to maintain the body's centre of mass above the base of support.
  • Coordination - The ability to use two or more body parts together.
  • Power - The ability to perform strength performances quickly.
  • Reaction time - The time taken to respond to a stimulus.
  • Speed - The ability to put body parts into motion quickly.
• Importance of fitness testing:

  Prior training:

  • To assess the baseline fitness of the athlete and to help set relevant goals.

  During the training programme:

  • To monitor the ongoing impact of the training.

  At the end of the training programme:

  • To judge success and to plan for the next stages of training.
• Validity and reliability of fitness tests:

  It is important to judge the validity and reliability of the tests. Validity refers to the tests measuring what it is claiming to measure. Reliability requires that the test should produce similar results every time the test is taken unless there has been a significant change in the fitness level of the participant.
• Limitations of fitness training:

  • Some fitness tests are too specific.
  • Some tests do not replicate real sporting movements or challenges and are too generic.
  • Fitness tests do not replicate the competitive environment of the sport.
  • Some fitness tests don't use a direct measurement but instead use a prediction.
  • Many maximal tests require a person to be fully motivated or they drop out before achieving their true score.
  • Fitness tests can be carried out using the wrong protocols and therefore produce invalid results.