Fitness Basics

Benefits of Physical Activity

Three Categories of Fitness

• Physical fitness is a way of measuring how well your body can respond or adapt to physical effort; that is, your ability to perform moderate to vigorous levels of physical activity without becoming overly tired.

• Skill-related fitness is what allows athletes to be good at their sports.

• Health-related fitness is the ability to carry out everyday activities without excessive fatigue and with enough energy left over for emergencies.

Physical Fitness

• Different from health and wellness• Includes three aspects:

– Health-related components– Skill-related components– Physiological components

Health-Related Components

• Cardiorespiratory fitness• Muscular strength• Muscular endurance• Flexibility• Body composition

Skill-Related Components

• Agility• Balance• Coordination• Speed• Power• Reaction time

Physiological Components

• Metabolic fitness• Morphologic fitness• Bone integrity

Five Componentsof Health-Related Fitness

• Cardiorespiratory fitness• Muscular strength• Muscular endurance• Flexibility• Body composition

FITT Principle

• Frequency: How often you do physical activity in a week

• Intensity: How hard you work while you’re performing the activity

• Time: How long you do the activity• Type: What type of activity you do

Warming Up

• First, do a general warm-up of 5 to 10 minutes of light movement, such as jogging or riding a bicycle, to prepare for exercise.

• Then do a specific warm-up using movements similar to those you’ll do in your more strenuous exercise session (e.g., if you will perform a biceps curl, do an initial set of biceps curls with little to no weight).

Cooling Down

• A cool-down after working out is important so that blood doesn’t pool in your extremities, which could temporarily disrupt blood flow and deprive the heart and brain of oxygen.

• Devote 5 to 10 minutes to stretching, walking, or continuing your workout activity at a slower pace to cool down the body.

Basic Principles of Fitness

• Overload: A greater load than normally experienced will coax a training effect from the body. Muscle adapts quickly and must continually be overloaded for progress to continue.

• Progression: The training overload must increase as you become more fit to elicit continuing improvements.

• Specificity: The type of training undertaken must relate to the desired results.

• Reversibility: The adaptations achieved through physical activity are reversible.

Cardiorespiratory Fitness

Cardiorespiratory fitness refers to the ability of the heart and lungs to efficiently deliver oxygen and nutrients to the muscles and cells by way of the bloodstream. – Cardio refers to the cardiac (heart) system.– Respiratory refers to the respiratory (lungs) system.

Cardiorespiratory Fitness Guidelines

• Frequency: Do aerobic exercise 3 to 5 days a week.

• Intensity: Work within the range of 60% to 80% of heart rate reserve (HRR).

• Time: Exercise for at least 30 minutes a day—up to 60 minutes is even better—on 3 to 5 days, if not all days, of the week.

• Type: Incorporate both aerobic and anaerobic activity.

Determining Intensity by Heart Rate

• Heart rate (HR): The higher your intensity, the higher your HR will be. HR is a valid method for determining intensity.

• Target heart rate (THR): The range of HRs at which exercise yields cardiorespiratory benefits. THR zone is 60% to 80% HRmax.

• Maximum heart rate (HRmax): HRmax is the upper level of HR that you should be working at. Find it by subtracting your age from 220.

(continued)

Determining Intensity by Heart Rate (continued)

• Heart rate reserve (HRR): HRR is a fairly accurate way to determine intensity that takes fitness level into account by using HRrest.

• Resting heart rate (HRrest): HRrest is your HR while resting. The less physically fit you are, the higher your HRrest.

• Karvonen method: Calculates HR zones for HR monitor training and is considered more accurate than most methods because it takes HRrest into consideration.

Determining Intensity by Borg RPE

The Borg Rating of Perceived Exertion (RPE) scale is a method that allows exercisers to subjectively rate how they’re feeling during activity, taking into account personal fitness level, general fatigue levels, and environmental factors.

Muscular Strength and Endurance

• Muscular strength is the capacity of the muscle to exert force against a resistance.

• Muscular endurance is the capacity of the muscle to exert a force repeatedly against a resistance.

• Together they allow people to perform activities of daily living with less physiologic stress, protect them from injuries, and help them maintain functional independence throughout life.

• Resistance training is a form of exercise that uses free weights, bands, machines, or body weight to put resistance on the muscle through a full range of motion.

Types of Muscular Contractions

• Isometric contractions: Muscle applies force without moving.

• Concentric contractions: Force is produced while the muscle shortens.

• Eccentric contractions: Force is produced while the muscle lengthens.

Guidelines for Muscular Strengthand Endurance Training

• Frequency: Exercise each muscle group on 2 or 3 nonconsecutive days per week.

• Intensity: Most strength training professionals recommend a workout of 2 to 4 sets of 8 to 12 repetitions each.

• Time: Each repetition should take about 6 seconds total—3 seconds for the concentric phase and 3 seconds for the eccentric phase.

• Type: Perform a minimum of 8 to 10 separate exercises to train all major muscle groups of the body.

Training Goals

• Goal 1: Increase muscular strength and power.

• Goal 2: Increase muscle mass by enlarging muscle fibers (hypertrophy).

• Goal 3: Increase muscular endurance (toning).

Building a Strength Training Program

• Repetitions and weight have an inverse relationship.

• For toning and muscle endurance and general muscular strength gains, use lighter weights but do more repetitions.

• For strength gains and to build muscle, use heavier weight but do fewer repetitions and more sets.

• To gain muscular endurance, use shorter rests between sets.

• For strength gains, use longer rests between sets.

Flexibility

• Flexibility is the ability to move a joint through its full range of motion.

• Flexibility is important for making everyday movements easier, especially with age.

• Pay attention to flexibility when doing strength training.

Guidelines for Improving Flexibility

• Frequency: Stretch a minimum of 2 or 3 days per week, either at the end of your exercise session or after a warm-up.

• Intensity: Stretch to the end of the range of motion, just until you feel discomfort or tightness but not to the point of pain. Do 2 to 4 repetitions for each stretch.

• Time: Hold each stretch for 15 to 30 seconds.

• Type: Do static, not ballistic, stretches.

Types of Stretches

• Passive stretching is when a partner or stretching machine provides the force for the stretch.

• Active stretching is when you facilitate the force for the stretch. – Static– Ballistic– Dynamic

• Proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation (PNF) involves contracting, relaxing, and stretching opposing muscle groups.

Body Composition

• Healthy body composition consists of a ratio of high fat-free mass to acceptably low fat mass.

• A healthy body composition is influenced by gender, height, and weight.

• High fat levels lead to an increased risk for hypertension, type 2 diabetes, stroke, heart disease, and high cholesterol.

• Following a sensible diet and participating in a safe and effective exercise program is the best and safest way to improve body composition.

Special Considerations for Fitness

• Temperature extremes• Age-related issues• Physical limitations

Heat and Cold

• Heat – Causes impaired regulation of internal core

temperature, loss of body fluids, and loss of electrolytes.

– In extreme heat, the circulation system is maintaining blood pressure, and as a result it can’t regulate temperature as well.

• Cold– Hypothermia – Frostbite

Resistance Trainingfor Children and Adolescents

• Supervision is important. • Children should begin with light loads and

then gradually increase them by 5% to 10% as strength improves.

• A workout should consist of 1 to 3 sets of 6 to 15 reps on 2 or 3 nonconsecutive days per week.

Exercise for People With Disabilities

• Physical activity and exercise are especially beneficial for people with disabilities.

• The best exercise or activity program for a person with disabilities depends on the person’s individual circumstances.

Exercise for Pregnant Women

• How active a woman was before she became pregnant has implications for how active she can be during her pregnancy.

• If her doctor approves, a pregnant woman should exercise comfortably, not intensely, at least 3 days a week and follow general safety precautions for physical activity.

Exercise for Older Adults

• Individual needs and physical condition influence the kind of physical activity appropriate for a person.

• Adult guidelines for cardiorespiratory fitness and general fitness programming hold true for the elderly.

• Older people who do resistance training should do about 10 to 15 repetitions per set.

Being Active in College

• What to believe– Health information from certified medical professionals– Government- or public-sponsored Web sites

• What to do– Enjoyable activities– Sound body, sound mind

• Where to exercise– Recreation center– Intramurals– At home

Exercise Clothing

• Good athletic shoes• Comfortable clothes• Three-layer system

– Bottom layer should be the thinnest.– Second layer is for insulation. – Outermost layer should be made of a waterproof

and windproof material.

Three-Layer System

bottom layer

second layer

third layer

Safety Equipment

• Reflectors or lights worn on shoes or clothing

• Phone holders • Helmet or protective padding • Water bottle• Sunscreen • Sunglasses or goggles

Recommendationsfor Health Improvements