HEALTH AND FITNESS

Fitness involves activity of some sort that stimulates various systems of the body and maintains a certain condition
within the body. Health, on the other hand, involves every system of the body and is only achieved through
a lifestyle that supports health.

Physical activity or exercise can improve your health and reduce the risk of developing several diseases like type 2
diabetes, cancer and cardiovascular disease. Physical activity and exercise can have immediate and long-term health
benefits. Most importantly, regular activity can improve your quality of life

 Health has been defined by the World Health Organization as a state of complete physical, mental
and social well-being, and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity. It includes aging well, longevity,
quality of life, freedom from pain etc.
 Fitness, on the other hand, is defined as a set of attributes that people have or achieve that relates to the
ability to perform physical activity. Fitness is made up pf many components, and the following factors need
to be considered when discussing fitness levels:

Endurance (Cardiovascular and Cardio-Respiratory): This is your body’s ability to use and deliver oxygen to your
body.

1. Stamina (Muscular Endurance): This is your body’s ability to store, process, and use energy.
2. Strength: This is the ability of your muscles or a muscular unit to apply force.
3. Flexibility: The ability to maximize the range of motion of a joint.
4. Power: The ability of your muscles to maximize their force in a minimum amount of time.
5. Speed: The ability to minimize the amount of time it takes you to accomplish a task or movement.
6. Coordination: The ability to combine several different movement patterns in a single distinct movement.
7. Accuracy: The ability to control a movement in a given direction or intensity.
8. Agility: The ability to minimize the time going from one movement to another.
9. Balance: The ability to control the center of gravity of your body in relation to your support base.

PHYSICAL FITNESS

It is a combination of medical fitness (body soundness) and dynamic fitness (capacity for action). A
physically fit person is free from disease and can move and perform efficiently. Neither good health not physical
proficiency alone constitutes physical fitness, which combines both qualities. Another factor is emotional factor.
This is readily apparent in athletic contests, where good performance requires self-discipline, effective teamwork, and
the ability to remain calm under stress.

Medical fitness and dynamic fitness usually go together, but it is impossible to posses one without the
other. Many people who are medically sound may also weak and unable to endure strenuous physical exertion. They
are descried as being “out of condition.” Other people with chronic health problems are physically strong
and skilled. Intensive conditioning helps them to offset the handicaps of bad health.

Physical fitness is the primary specific objective in teaching PE. Thus, it is in order that PE teacher should have the
correct concept of Physical Fitness.

Physical Fitness is the ability of an individual to perform one’s daily activities efficiently without undue
fatigue, reduce the risk of health problems and with extra “reserve” in case of emergency

IMPORTANCE OF PHYSICAL FITNESS

Through regular exercises, physical fitness helps the individual:

 In the proper growth of young bones and  Improve posture and appearance by
muscles; strengthening muscles that support thebody;
 Improve the ability to avoid and recover from  Minimize stress response
illnesses and accidents  Maintain proper body weight
 Prevent heart ailment
  Improve organic functions  Experience joy of participation in any
 Delay the aging process recreational or sports activities
 Feel good and younger as a human being, and

HEATH RELATED COMPONENTS

1. Cardio-respiratory endurance – the ability of the heart and lungs to function efficiently and effectively over a
prolonged period of time.

2. Muscular strength – the ability of muscle group to contract against a resistance. Examples would be
the bench press, leg press or bicep curl. The push up test is most often used to test muscular strength.

3. Muscular endurance – the ability to continue selected muscle group movements for a prolonged
period of time. Examples would be cycling, step machines and elliptical machines. The sit up test is
most often used to test muscular endurance.

4. Flexibility – the functional capacity of a joint to move through a normal range of motion. The muscular system is
also involved. Examples would be stretching individual muscles or the ability to perform certain functional
movements such as the lunge. The sit and reach test is most often used to test flexibility.

5. Body composition – one of the newer attributes in physical fitness components. It refers to the
relative distribution of lean and fact body tissues. It is the amount of fat mass compared to lean muscle mass, bone
and organs. This can be measured using underwater weighing, Skinfold readings, and bioelectrical
impedance. Underwater weighing is considered the “gold standard” for body fat measurement, however because of
the size and expense of the equipment needed very few places are set up to do this kind of measurement.

SKILL-RELATED FITNESS

1. Balance – it involves vision, reflexes, and skeletal 4. Speed – it is the ability to move one’s body from
muscular system which provides the maintenance of one point to another in a shorted possible time.
equilibrium.
5. Power – power is sometimes confused with
2. Coordination – it is the ability to integrate the strength. Speed of contraction, likewise, is the basic
senses with muscles so as to produce accurate, ingredient which, when combine with strength,
smooth and harmonious body movement. provides an explosive type of movement.

3. Agility – it is the capacity to change the direction of 6. Reaction time – the time required to respond or
the body quickly and effectively. initiate a movement as a result of a given stimulus

SPECIFIC COMPONENTS OF PHYSICAL FITNESS

 ORGANIC VIGOR – refers to the soundness of the heart and lungs which contributes to the ability to resists
disease.
 ENDURANCE – is the ability to sustain long continued contractions where a number of muscle groups are
used; the capacity to bear or last long in a certain task without undue fatigue.
 STRENGTH – is the capacity to sustain the application of force without yielding or breaking;
the ability of the muscles to exert efforts against resistance.
 POWER – refers to the ability of the muscles to release maximum force in the shortest period of time.
 FLEXIBILITY – is the quality of plasticity, which gives the ability to do a wide range of movement.
 AGILITY – is the ability of the individual to change direction or position in space with quickness and lightness
of movement while maintaining dynamic balance.
 BALANCE – is the ability to control organic equipment neuro-muscularly; a state of equilibrium.
 SPEED – is the ability to make successive movements of the same kind in the shortest period of time.
 COORDINATION – is the ability to integrate the body parts to produce smooth motion.
Health-related Fitness
Health-related fitness focuses on factors that promote optimum health and prevent the onset of disease and
problems associated with inactivity.

Health Related Fitness

Components Definitions Exercises
Body Composition Body composition ratio of your fat mass to fat-free  Getting your body mass
mass, is the final component of health-related index
physical fitness. Because high levels of fat mass are
associated with negative health outcomes, such as
heart disease and type 2 diabetes, attaining and
maintaining a healthy body composition is a goal of
just about all regular exercise routines.
Cardiorespiratory Cardiovascular endurance also called as  Running, swimming,
Endurance cardiorespiratory endurance or aerobic fitness refers skating, and biking build
to the ability of body to efficiently and effectively cardiorespiratory
intake oxygen and deliver it to your body’s tissues by endurance.
way of the heart, lungs, arteries, vessels, and veins.  The same goes for brisk
walking and climbing stairs.
Flexibility Flexibility refers to the ability of joints to move  Static stretching, where
through unrestricted range of motion you. Flexibility is you hold a stretch for 10 to
important at any age. It plays a role in unhindered 30 seconds at a time.
movement and can affect your balance, coordination,  Workouts that take you
and agility. Maintaining or improving a full range of through dynamic
motion through your major joints can reduce the stretching exercises, such
likelihood of injury and improve athletic performance. as Yoga and Tai Chi
 Active stretching, such as
As you get older, the importance of flexibility becomes lifting your leg up high and
even clearer. Think of individuals who are elderly: holding it there, uses the
Many may walk with a shuffle or have a hard time contraction of the
reaching their arms over their heads. opposing muscle to relax
the muscle being stretch.
Muscular Muscular endurance is the ability of a particular  Continuously pedal a bike
Endurance muscle group to exert force, continuously and over a long distance,
repetitively, over a period of time. cyclists have to develop
fatigue-resistant muscles in
their legs and glutes.
 Plank, plank exercise is
designed to develop
abdominal strength. The
longer you're able to
contract your abdominal
muscles and hold your
body in a steady position,
the greater endurance you
have through your hips,
abdominals, and shoulders
Muscular strength If muscular endurance pertains to fatigue-resistant a  Weightlifting
particular muscle group, muscular strength refers to  Bodyweight exercises
the amount of force a particular muscle group can  Resistance band exercises
produce in one, all-out effort. Muscular strength
refers to your ability to move and lift objects. It’s
measured by how much force you can exert and how
much weight you can lift for a short period of time.
Skill-related Fitness
The skill-related fitness is the ability to perform during games and sports, also called performance fitness. Skill
related components are more relevant to certain athletes. Skill related fitness has six components

Skill Related Fitness

Components Definitions Exercises
Agility Agility is the ability to move quickly and to easily  Ladder drills
change direction. Basketball players, for instance, are  Cone drills
incredibly agile. During the game, you can observe
them, jumping, sliding, twisting, and backpedaling in
quick response to the movement of the ball and other
players.
Balance Balance is the state of equilibrium. Balance refers to  Standing on one foot
the ability of the body position to remain upright. It  Standing yoga poses
deals with proprioception, or knowing where your  Using balance discs to
body is in space, and being able to adjust your perform squats, lunges,
position as your center of gravity changes during and push-ups
movement (Aman et al., 2015).
Coordination Coordination is the ability to execute smooth,  Playing catch
accurate, controlled motor responses (optimal  Jumping rope
interaction of muscle function). It is characterized by  Juggling
appropriate speed, distance, direction, timing, and  Dribbling a ball
muscular tension. There are many sports and activities  Throwing objects at
require hand-eye or foot-eye coordination, including specific targets
basketball, volleyball, badminton, baseball, archery,
ultimate Frisbee, soccer and more
Power Power combines speed and strength. Wood  Squat jumps
(2010) author of Topend Sports Website, defined  Medicine Ball Slams
power as the ability to exert a maximal force in  Explosive Push-up
as short a time as possible, as in accelerating, jumping,
and throwing implements.
Reaction Time Reaction time refers to how quickly you can respond  Fielding a ball (softball,
to an external stimulus. Reaction time hinges heavily baseball)
on your mind-body connection. Your eyes see a  Protecting the goal as
stimulus, your mind interprets the stimulus, and your other players try to score
body reacts in accordance with that interpretation. (soccer, hockey, lacrosse)
Much of this mind-body reaction relates to knowledge  Tools such as lopsided
of the activity or sport in question. A professional reaction balls
tennis player can instantly interpret and predict the  Playing table tennis or
movement of a ball. This knowledge enables them to hacky sack
react more quickly to the stimulus. On the other hand,
a beginner tennis player may see the ball coming off
the opponent's rocket, but won't be able to interpret
what they're seeing as quickly, causing their reaction
time to slow
Speed Speed refers to the distance traveled per unit of time.  Hills sprints
It is how fast an object is moving. It doesn'thave a  Interval runs
direction. Higher speed means an object is moving
faster. Lower speed means it is moving slower.