Fitness for Life
Designing Your Own Fitness Program
OBJECTIVES FOR THIS UNIT:
Students will:
1) understand the six guidelines for choosing activities from
the physical activity pyramid so they can include these
activities in their own physical activity program
2) understand activities for each area of the physical
activity pyramid
3) list six factors to consider when choosing a sport in
which to participate
4) learn the basics of SMART goal setting
4) design and implement their own physical activity
program
5) learn to evaluate health and fitness facilities
6) learn to recognize several techniques used to sell
"quack" items
7) describe the six steps in planning a personal fitness
program
ASSIGNMENTS RELATED TO THIS UNIT:
Read Chapters 5, 8 & 9 (if you have the textbook)
07.1.1 Your Physical Activity Preferences
07.2.1 Setting Fitness Goals
07.3.1 Unit 7 quiz
07.3.2 Activity log 10
Images from Wikimedia Commons: golf – USAF, public domain; mountain bike – Andy Armstrong, CC attribution Share-Alike; handbike –
Hugo, CC attribution Generic; kayak - 秋空から蛇が降ってきた, public domain; ballroom dance, che, CC attribution Share-Alike
Now that you have self-tested your current level
of cardiovascular fitness, muscular strength and
endurance, body composition, and flexibility, you
have a good idea of your strong and weak
areas. Hopefully, you have been thinking about
how to maintain your strong areas and improve
upon your weaknesses. This unit is designed to
help you plan your own fitness program using the
self-test results, your personal preferences for
physical activity, guidelines from the Surgeon
General, and the fitness pyramid.
Image from Wikimedia Commons, David Hiser, NARA, public domain
When you are younger, there are many opportunities to participate
in team and individual sports. As you get older, sometimes you
get busy with work or raising a family so your time to exercise can
become scarce. Your opportunities to participate on a team are
more limited, as is your ability to schedule individual sports such
as tennis and racquetball. Therefore, it is important for you to
learn not only team and individual sports, but skills for developing
your own fitness program. The most popular activities for adults
are things like weight training, walking, running, cycling, and even
gardening or working in the yard.
Image from Wikimedia Commons, Dave Green, CC Attribution Share-Alike
Physical activities, as
described in the physical
activity pyramid, consist of
lifestyle activities, aerobic
activities, active sports,
muscular strength &
endurance, and flexibility.
Rest, which should be
planned as part of your
workout program, is listed at
the top of the pyramid.
Lifestyle activity consists of those
things you can do on a daily
basis. They include things like
walking to the grocery store or to
school, parking further away and
walking, gardening, chopping wood,
and taking the stairs instead of the
elevator.
Images from Wikimedia Commons: Lawn mowing – Chris Nystrom, CC Attribution Generic; stairs – USCG, public domain; grocery cart - Ed Yourdon, CC Attribution
Aerobic activities (or activities you do “with
oxygen”) are very popular with adults
because they typically require low skill to
get started, they can be done without
competing, they are convenient, and they
don’t require other individuals to make up a
team.
Images from Wikimedia Commons: Cycling, cs:ŠJů, public domain; step aerobics - Crystal Abbott, US Army, public domain
Active sports include individual
sports like tennis or racquetball, or
team sports like basketball, soccer,
softball, or baseball. When
deciding on a sport to choose,
consider the following: Does it
provide health-related fitness
benefits? Is it something I can
continue to do for a lifetime? Am I
fit enough to participate in this
sport? (If not, how can I improve
my fitness for this sport?) Do I
have the skills to succeed in this
sport? And most of all, do I enjoy
participating in this sport?
Images from Wikimedia Commons: tennis – Charlie Cowens, CC Attribution Generic; soccer – Johnmaxmena, public domain; basketball – Pete Souza, public
domain
Muscular strength and endurance activities
are important for performing everyday tasks
without tiring.
Images from Wikimedia Commons: climbing – Chris, CC Attribution Generic; lifting child - Joshua Valcarcel, US Navy, public domain; strength training, Shamus O'Neill,
USN, public domain
Flexibility is important to prevent injury and improve performance
in sports such as gymnastics, martial arts, wrestling, diving, and
even snowboarding, dude!!
Images from Wikimedia Commons: skater - David W. Carmichael, CC Attribution Share-Alike; martial arts – Mycatvalentina, public domain; snowboarder, Tom
Blomfield, CC Attribution Share-Alike
In addition to the categories of health-related fitness discussed in
this course, you can also pursue other activities that may not fit
easily into a category. To decide which exercises you would like to
include in your personal physical activity program, check the links
provided with the lesson 07.1.
Images from Wikimedia Commons: Walter Baxter, CC Attribution Share-Alike
When deciding which physical activity you should do, consider the
following:
1) Make your program specific to YOUR needs.
2) Avoid exercises that can cause injury. This will enable you to continue to
exercise for a lifetime.
3) Develop a program that slowly progresses. This will prevent “staleness”
and “burnout” that can occur when individuals increase their intensity too
quickly or train too frequently.
3) Perform a variety of activities to prevent boredom or overuse syndrome.
(This is known as cross-training, and it is one of the safest and most effective
ways to train.)
4) Decide if you like working out alone or with a group. If you like exercising as
part of a group, find a group that does the activity you like. (A good source of
information about recreation opportunities in the Salt Lake City area is the “Recreation
Roundup” section of the Salt Lake Tribune that typically appears in Tuesday’s paper.)
5) Choose activities because you LIKE them—not because you think they are
good for you. This should motivate you to continue being active for a lifetime.
If you decide you would like to join a gym, here are some
things to consider:
1)
Is it open convenient hours?
2)
Does it provides the equipment you need?
3)
Are the sales people and personal trainers
knowledgeable & helpful?
4)
Is the workout climate comfortable for you?
5)
Are the facilities clean?
Before you join a gym, ask the manager if you can have a free week
membership so you can try it out. Also, see if you can get a
membership on a monthly basis--as opposed to signing a long-term
contract. Sometimes, a workout facility is not what it seems, so if you
can try it out, you’ll have a much better sense as to whether or not
you will like the facility and use it. Make sure to visit the gym the
hour when you will use it before signing up.
In addition to deciding about fitness facilities, you will also need
to make decisions about equipment and clothing specific to your
sport or activity.
Images from Wikimedia Commons: Fencing - Kilho Park, USN, public domain; catcher – Rick Dikeman, CC Attribution Share-Alike
When deciding on a gym to join or equipment to
purchase, it is important to be aware of
quackery. Quackery is false advertising or making
claims about the benefits of a product or service
that are untrue. Unfortunately, because many
individuals wants to improve their fitness level,
lose or gain weight, or improve performance, the
use of quackery in the health and fitness industry is
rampant.
To determine whether a product or service is "quackery," it
is important to ask yourself several questions.
1) Does the seller have the proper credentials?
2) Does the seller promise immediate, effortless, or
guaranteed results?
3) Does the seller use terms such as "miracle," "secret
remedy," or "breakthrough research?"
4) Does the seller offer the product through mail order? (Be
especially cautious if the seller offers the product through a
PO Box.)
Look like this in 30 days!
(not!)
The bottom line when assessing quackery is to realize
that there is no easy or fast way to achieve physical
fitness or top performance.
It cannot be done without hard work and sacrifices. If
you have questions about quack products or services,
please contact a qualified professional such as your
physical education teacher, your coach, or someone
with a degree in exercise science, nutrition, or health
education.
Image from Wikimedia Commons, Rijuroy, CC Attribution Share-Alike license
Once you decide to start an exercise program, it is
important to develop a "road map" for your ultimate
destination. The best way to plan what you are going
to do is to set some goals. Assignment 07.2.1 will help
you set goals and plan a program that will work for you.
You may implement these goals into your activity
log. When you set your own goals, make sure you
think about setting long and short term goals related to
physical activity (process) and fitness (product).
In addition to goal-setting, there are six basic steps that you
should follow when designing your own fitness program. These
six steps are:
1) Construct a fitness profile (i.e., do some self-testing to
determine your strong/weak areas). This step was completed
throughout the first part of the semester (Units 1 - 5)
2) List the activities you can do and would like to do. You will
complete this step after you complete assignment 07.1.1.
3) Rate the activity benefits. Go to the charts on pages 135 and
143 of your text and assess how beneficial your chosen activities
are relative to improving your weakest areas of health-related
fitness. If you have chosen activities that are not listed on the
chart, conduct some research to find out these benefits and
discuss them with your instructor.
4) Structure your program plan. You have been doing this
with your activity logs.
5) Write it down. You have been doing this with your activity
logs.
6) Evaluate your program. After you have done your program
for a few weeks, make sure you re-evaluate your goals and
strategies for reaching those goals so you can re-plan things,
if necessary. Evaluate your progress with your activity logs in
your reflective journal (located at the bottom of your activity
log sheet).
Vocabulary
(Learning these words will help you on exams, quizzes, and
assignments.)
Active Sports: team or individual sports that are used to improve
various components of health-related fitness
Aerobic Activities: activities that use large muscles and increase
your heart rate for at least 20 minutes. These activities, among the
most beneficial in the pyramid, are used to improve your ability to
use oxygen (i.e., aerobic capacity).
Flexibility Activities: activities used to build flexibility. Some
examples include static, ballistic, and PNF stretching.
Interval Training: training that requires alternate bursts of sprinting
and recovery (e.g., jogging slowly or walking). This is a very
beneficial way to train for sports and fitness.
Vocabulary (continued)
Lifestyle Physical Activities: a type of activity that is part of your
daily routine. Some examples of lifestyle physical activity include
gardening, biking to school (instead of driving), taking the stairs
instead of the elevator, and parking further away from your
destination to increase your walking.
Long-Term Goals: goals that take a long period of time (e.g.,
several weeks or months) to accomplish
Muscular Strength and Endurance Activities: activities that are
used to improve muscular strength (one repetition maximum) or
muscular endurance (multiple repetitions). Some examples of
activities that build muscular strength and endurance include
calisthenics and resistance training.
Vocabulary (continued)
Physical Activity Goals: goals related to the amount of physical activity in which
you will participate; these are typically short-term and they are related to
improving the "process" of physical activity
Physical Activity Pyramid: a pyramid, similar to the food pyramid, that provides
guidelines for types and amount of physical activity that should be performed.
Physical Fitness Goals: goals related to the level of physical fitness you will
accomplish; these are typically long-term and they are related to improving the
"product" of physical fitness
Quackery: products or services that are sold under false pretenses
Short-Term Goals: goals that can be accomplished in a short period of time
(e.g., several days or a few weeks). These are often used to help you reach
your long-term goals.
Now that you have finished reading the materials for Unit
7, please complete assignments 07.1.1 and 07.2.1 .
Once you have completed these assignments, please
send them to your instructor.
Give yourself about two weeks to complete this
unit. You may now begin reading the materials for Unit
8.