FITNESS FOR LIFE
PHYSICAL FITNESS Study Guide Unit #6
The Parts of Physical Fitness
Physical fitness is made up of eleven parts; five parts are health related and six parts are skill related.
Health-related fitness helps you stay healthy; while skill-related fitness helps you perform well in sports and activities that
require certain skills.
Health-Related Physical Fitness
1. Cardiovascular Fitness: The ability to exercise your entire body for long periods of time. Cardiovascular fitness
requires a strong heart, healthy lungs, and clear blood vessels to supply the cells in your body with the oxygen
they need.
2. Strength: The amount of force your muscles can produce.
3. Muscular Endurance: The ability to use your muscles many times without tiring.
4. Flexibility: The ability to use your joints fully through a wide range of motion.
5. Body Composition: The percentage of body weight that is made up of fat when compared to other body tissue,
such as bone and muscle.
Skill-Related Physical Fitness
1. Agility: The ability to change the position of your body quickly and to control your body’s movements. (wrestling,
diving, soccer, ice skating)
2. Balance: The ability to keep an upright posture while standing still or moving. (gymnastics, ice skating)
3. Coordination: The ability to use your senses together with your body parts, or to use two or more body pars
together. (hitting and kicking games, baseball, soccer, golf)
4. Power: The ability to use strength quickly. It involves both strength and speed. (shot put, discus, high jump,
football, swimming)
5. Reaction Time: The amount of time it takes to move once you realize the need to act. People with good reaction
time are able to make fast starts. (swimming, track, fencing, karate) Good reaction time is necessary for your
own safety while driving or walking!
6. Speed: The ability to perform a movement or cover a distance in a short period of time. People with leg speed
can run fast, while people with good arm speed can throw fast or hit a ball that is thrown fast.
How Much Physical Activity?
The Basic Principles of Exercise
1. The Principle of Overload: The most basic law of exercise states that the only way to produce fitness and health
benefits through physical activity is to require your body to do more than it normally does. An increased demand
on your body (overload) forces it to adapt.
2. The Principle of Progression: The amount and intensity of your exercise should be increased gradually. After a
while your body adapts to an increase in physical activity (load) and your activity becomes too easy.
3. The Principle of Specificity: The specific type of exercise you do determines the specific benefit you receive.
The FITT Formula
You can use the FITT formula to help you apply the basic principles of exercise.
F – Frequency: Refers to how often you do physical activity. (4-5 days per week to maintain or improve)
I – Intensity: Refers to how hard you perform physical activity. (60-80% of Maximum Heart Rate)
T – Time: Refers to how long you do physical activity. (20 min.)
T – Type: Refers to the kind of activity you do to build a specific part of fitness or to gain a specific benefit.
How Much Fitness?
Health and wellness standards require you to have enough fitness to:
•
•
•
•
reduce risk of health problems
achieve wellness benefits
work effectively and meet emergencies
be able to enjoy your free time
Factors That Contribute To Fitness
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Maturation: Becoming physically mature or fully grown and developed.
Age: The older you are, the more mature you are likely to be.
Heredity: Physical characteristics we inherit from our parents that influence how we do on different tests of
physical fitness.
Nutrition: How well you fuel the body.
Physical Activity: Do you have a program that you follow?
Other Lifestyles: What does your day’s activity consist of?
Exercise Stages
#1 The Warm-Up
The warm-up is a series of activities that prepares your body for more vigorous physical activity and helps prevent injury.
A heart warm-up consists of several minutes of walking, slow jogging, or a similar activity that prepares your heart for
more vigorous activity. A muscle warm-up consists of exercises that gently contract your muscles to warm them. The
muscle stretch consists of exercises that slowly stretch the muscles to loosen and relax them.
#2 The Workout
The workout is the part of your physical activity program during which you do activities to improve your fitness.
#3 The Cool Down
A cool down usually consists of a heart cool-down and a muscle cool down. A heart cool down consists of movement
done at a slower pace than the workout. Hard exercise causes an increased flow of blood to your muscles. If you stop
suddenly, the blood "pools" in the muscles so the heart has less blood to pump to the brain. As a result, you may feel
dizzy or faint. The muscle cool down and stretch consists of gradually cooling down the muscles by continuing to
move. Since the muscles are warm, this is the best time to do stretches to increase flexibility.
Hypokinetic Diseases and Conditions
A hypokinetic condition is one associated with, or caused by, a lack of physical activity or regular exercise.
Cardiovascular Diseases
1.
Atherosclerosis: A disease in which certain substances including fats build up on the inside walls of the arteries.
2.
Heart Attack: Occurs when the blood supply into or within the heart is severely reduced or cut off. As a result an
area of the heart muscle will die.
3.
Stroke: Occurs when oxygen in the blood supply to the brain is severely reduced or cut off. A blood clot or
atherosclerosis can block any artery that supplies blood to the brain.
4.
Hypertension: This force of blood against your artery walls is called blood pressure. Hypertension, or High Blood
Pressure, is a disease in which blood pressure is consistently higher than normal.
Benefits of Cardiovascular Fitness to Health and Wellness
Health
*
*
reduced risk of heart diseases
years added to life
Wellness
*
*
*
*
*
lower body fatness as result of calories burned
ability to work without fatigue
ability to enjo7y active leisure
improved quality of life
raised self-confidence and self-esteem
Benefits of Physical Activity on the Cardiovascular System
Heart
*
*
*
*
*
muscle gets stronger
pumps more blood with each beat
beats slower
gets more rest
works more efficiently
Lungs
*
*
*
breathe slower and deeper during activity
work more efficiently
deliver more oxygen to the blood
Arteries
*
*
*
*
*
less risk of atherosclerosis
lower blood pressure
less risk of a blood clot leading to heart attack
development of extra blood vessels
bigger arteries and more blood flow
Blood
*
*
*
less bad cholesterol (LDL) and other fats
more good cholesterol (HDL)
less of substances that cause clots
Veins
*
healthy valves
Cells
*
*
*
use oxygen efficiently
get rid of more wastes
use blood sugars and insulin more effectively to produce energy