Physical Fitness for Life
Benefits of Being Physically Active
• Certain amount of physical activity
everyday keeps you healthy and lowers
risk of disease.
• Modern conveniences have reduced the
need to be physically fit.
• Exercise can be very easy and formal or
informal.
• Also doing everyday activities can keep a
person fit and healthy.
Physical Benefits
• Exercise leads to many improvements in the
body:
• Heart and Lungs get stronger allowing more
blood and oxygen to circulate.
• Blood vessels are kept strong and healthy
• Ratio of muscle mass to fat mass is maintained
• Metabolism is increased. Metabolism is the rate
at which your body converts food energy into
energy that keeps you alive.
Mental and Social Benefits
• Positive effects on feelings of depression
anxiety, and reduces stress levels.
• Release of endorphins, which are
chemicals in the body that makes a person
feel good and happy.
• Increased self-esteem
• Socialize with people with the same
interest.
Five Components of HealthRelated Fitness
• 1.Muscular Strength-amount of force that a
muscle can apply in a given contraction.
When lifting weights the muscle cells become
larger thus increasing overall strength.
• 2.Muscular Endurance-the ability of the muscles
to keep working over a period of time. Muscular
strength and endurance are closely related; as
one improves so does the other.
Five Components Cont.
• 3.Cardiorespitory Endurance-the ability of your heart,
blood vessels, lungs, and blood to deliver oxygen and
nutrients to all of your body parts.
This is considered the most important component b/c as
the endurance increases then the heart beats slower and
stronger.
Resting heart rate-the number of times the heart beats
per minute while at rest.
Recovery time-the amount of time it takes fro the heart to
return to RHR.
Anaerobic Activity-muscle cells produce energy without
oxygen.
Aerobic Activity-muscle cells use oxygen to produce
energy for movement
Five Components Cont.
• 4.Flexibility-ability of joints to move
through their full range of motion.
Having good flexibility is important b/c lack
of use can cause joints to become stiffer.
• 5.Body Composition-ratio of lean body
tissue to body-fat tissue.
Women naturally have more body fat than
men.
Physical Activity is for Everyone
• By beginning good habits early in life a person
can delay or even prevent some chronic
diseases.
• Strength training at an old age will help maintain
bone density and prevent osteoporosis.
• Exercise for people with asthma is part of the
treatment plan. Gaining fitness helps decrease
the severity of asthma symptoms.
Planning Your Fitness Program
• 1. Know of all health problems that you
might have. Consult a doctor before you
start.
• 2.Make sure you are healthy enough to
start a fitness program. Go get a physical
• 3. Choose activities that you enjoy
• 4. How much will it cost to do your fitness
program.
Designing a Fitness Program
• 1.Determine Your RHR: Take your RHR three
mornings in a row to get an average RHR
Count your pulse for 60 sec.
Average RHR for an adult is 50-80;teens are a
little higher.
• 2.Calculate Your Target Heart Rate Zone
THRZ is normally b/t 60 and 85 percent of your
maximum heart rate.
Students will do this on pg. 134.
Designing Fitness Program Cont.
• Set Goals
Set long and short term goals
Choose ones that you want to achieve b/c
this will lead to motivation
• Keep track of your progress
FITT Model
• F- Frequency, how many times a week.
3-5 times a week.
• I - Intensity, how hard. MHR 85%=20mins.
50-60% MHR=60mins
• T- Time, long. 20-60mins. Higher
intensity=Less Time
• T- Type. Type-any aerobic activity that
keeps heart rate within your THRZ.
Develop Muscles
• F-weight train 2-3 times a week
• I-weight that you can lift 8-12 reps. Each
set (which is a rest period) should be
between 1-3 mins. long.
• T-total workout should be from 30-60 mins
• T-Anaerobic activities. Muscular
endurance lift lighter weights. Muscular
strength lift heavier weights.
Exercising the Safe Way
• 1.Conditioning-lack of conditioning can put strain
on muscles and joints and can also lead to
injury.
Progressive Overload Principle-the physical
demands or overload placed on the body will
cause the body to develop in response to the
overload. Overload must progress or increase
over time.
2. Warm Up and Cool Down-Warming up
increases blood flow to muscles, stretches your
muscles and ligaments and increases heart rate.
Cool down prevents next day soreness.
Exercising the Safe Way Cont.
• Avoid Dehydration-Dehydration is when
the body has lost more water than has
been taken in.
Drinking water maintains the blood
volume, circulation and sweating.
• Avoid Overtraining
• Choose Correct Equipment and Clothing
Treating Minor Sports Injuries
• Use the RICE principle:
• R-Rest
• I-Ice. Leave ice on injury for no longer than
15-20 mins.
• C-Compression. Wrap a bandage around
the affected area
• E-Elevation. Elevate the injury above heart
level.
Dietary Supplements
• Supplements that are not regulated by the FDA.
• Makers of the product can make claims about
their product without any scientific proof.
• Claims of dietary supplements improving
performance is often based on improvements
from training.
• Creatine is produced naturally in the pancreas
and liver and is a natural muscle builder.
Creatine is also not regulated by the FDA.
• Have students look at Table 3 pg. 144
Anabolic Steroids
• Def.-synthetic version of the male hormone testosterone.
• Doctors use small doses to treat some conditions such
as muscle disease, kidney disease, and breast cancer.
• Health Problems for both males and females.
• Females-excessive growth of facial and body hair,
baldness, increased risk of cancer, and menstrual
problems
• Males-aggressive behavior, severe acne, testicular
shrinkage, stunt growth in teens
• More that 1million male and female athletes are or have
taken steroids.