Answer:
Knowing the Basics of Physical Fitness
Physical fitness is more easily understood by examining its components, or parts. As
students have learned in earlier grades, there are two categories of physical fitness
components: health-related fitness components and skill-related fitness components:
Health-related fitness components consist of
cardiorespiratory endurance
muscular strength
muscular endurance
flexibility
body composition
Skill-related fitness components include
agility
balance
coordination
speed
power
reaction time
This lesson focuses on the health-related fitness components.
Health-Related Fitness Components
Health-related fitness components not only help
the body to perform more efficiently, but also help
prevent disease and improve overall health and
well-being. Manitoba’s combined physical
education/health education curriculum
emphasizes the health-related components of
fitness—that is, the physical and physiological
components of fitness that have a direct impact on
health status.
The five health-related physical fitness components are cardiorespiratory endurance,
muscular strength, muscular endurance, flexibility, and body composition:
Cardiorespiratory endurance (CRE) is the ability of the cardiovascular system (heart,
blood, blood vessels) and respiratory system (lungs, air passages) to deliver oxygen and
other nutrients to the working muscles and to remove wastes. Tests that involve
running (e.g., 20 m shuttle run test), cycling, and swimming can be used to measure this
fitness component. Aerobic power (maximal oxygen consumption) and aerobic capacity are
terms used to describe CRE fitness.
Activities vary in intensity level:
Light activities are physical activities that
involve large muscle groups. While
engaging in light activities, people begin to
notice their breathing, but they can still talk
fairly easily.
Moderate activities are physical activities
that cause breathing and heart rate to
increase. People engaging in moderate
activities can hear themselves breathe, but
they can still talk.
Vigorous activities are physical activities that cause breathing and heart rate to
increase to a higher level, making it difficult to talk.
Note that an individual may be working at the moderate to vigorous intensity level
while engaging in muscular strength activities and muscular endurance activities if
performed in a circuit format. Muscular strength is the ability of a muscle, or a group of muscles, to exert force for
a brief period of time. Strength of different muscles can be measured by having a
person perform weightlifting exercises and determining the maximum amount of
weight the person can lift. A person’s strength can be expressed as absolute strength
(the actual weight lifted) or as relative strength (the weight lifted, divided by the
person’s body weight).
Muscular endurance is the ability of a muscle, or a group of muscles, to sustain
repeated contractions or to continue applying force against a fixed object. Push-ups
and curl-ups are often used to test muscular endurance. The person’s endurance is
expressed as the number of repetitions completed without stopping for a set period
of time (often one minute).
Flexibility is the ability to move joints through their full range of motion. The stand-reach test is a good measure of flexibility of the lower back and the backs of the
upper legs (hamstrings). A person’s flexibility is usually expressed in how far a joint
can be moved or the degrees through which a joint can be moved.
Body composition refers to the makeup of the
body in terms of lean mass (muscle, bone,
vital tissue, and organs) and fat mass. Good
body composition has strong bones, adequate
skeletal muscle size, a strong heart, and a low
amount of fat mass. Regular physical activity
and exercise will help decrease body fat and
increase or maintain muscle mass, increase
bone mass, and improve heart function.
Although body composition entails muscle,
bone, and fat, it is often expressed only as
percentage of body fat.
Many types of tools can be used to assess body composition, including skinfold
calipers, bioelectrical impedance analyzers (found in many weigh scales), body
mass index (BMI), underwater weighing, and dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (the
latest in tools)
Explanation:
That's all
