Skill- Related Fitness Components

And The Importance of Sleep

6 Skill-related Components of Fitness

• Agility: The ability to rapidly and accurately change the direction of the whole body in space.

• Balance: The ability to maintain equilibrium while stationary or moving.

• Coordination: The ability to use the senses and body parts in order to perform motor tasks smoothly and accurately.

• Power: The amount of force a muscle can exert. • Reaction Time: The ability to respond quickly to

stimuli. • Speed: The amount of time it takes the body to

perform specific tasks

How does health related fitness and skill related fitness differ?

Health related fitness relates to the overall physical well-being of the students. These components are cardiovascular fitness, body composition, flexibility, and muscular strength and endurance.

Skill related fitness encompasses skills the students should acquire and improve through physical activity. They are balance, agility, coordination, speed, and power. All of these components benefit a student's ability and skill level in sports or other physical activities.

Agility

• Being agile is all about being able to change your direction and the speed at which you are travelling, quickly and efficiently. This is common in sports such as football and rugby where the player with the ball dodges a defender, or in badminton or tennis, moving around the court quickly to reach the shuttlecock/ball in time.

Balance

• Balance is the ability to maintain equilibrium whilst stationary, or moving. Balance whilst moving is often called dynamic balance. Balance is important in all kinds of sporting situations, most noteably in gymnastics and ballet but also contact sports where having good balance may prevent you being tackled to the floor! Balance is linked to agility, as in order to quickly and efficently change direction you must be balanced.

Coordination

• Coordination is the ability to use the body parts and senses together to produce smooth efficient movements. We have all seen someone who is uncoordinated, their movement looks awkward and shaky. Being co-ordinated is vital in all sports, for example hand-eye coordination in racket sports and the co-ordination to use the opposite arm and leg when sprinting.

Power

• Power is the product of strength and speed. When we perform a task as quickly and as forcefully as we can, the result is powerful. For example, a sprint start, a shot-put or javelin throw or long-jump.

Reaction Time

• Reaction time is how quickly your brain can respond to a stimulus and initiate a response. This is important in most sports. The most obvious being responding to the gun at the start of a race, but also a goalkeeper saving a penalty, or a badminton player reacting to a smash shot. The examples in sport are endless!

Speed

• Most sports and activities require some form of speed. Even long distance running often requires a burst of speed to finish the race ahead of your competitors. Speed is defined as the ability to move a body part quickly. Speed is not always about how quickly you can move your whole body from A to B. It also relates to body parts. For example, when playing golf, the speed of your arms and upper body in creating the swing are vital in driving the ball over a long distance.

Name That Skill Component

• Speed• Power• Agility• Reaction Time• Coordination• Balance

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Sleep

• Teenagers need about 8 hours of sleep per night.– True or False

• TRUE: Teenagers do need about 8 hours of sleep per night. Teenagers who get more sleep do better in school and are less likely to be depressed.

Sleep Tips Encouraging Sleep• Establish a sleep schedule.

– Encourage sleep by establishing a regular time to go to bed at night and to get up in the morning.• Engage in activities and nightly rituals that encourage sleep.

– Read, take a warm bath, listen to relaxing music. Nightly rituals, such as brushing teeth, setting the alarm clock, and organizing materials for the next day, also encourage sleepiness.

• Avoid napping too long. – Restrict naps during the day to 20 or 30 minutes. Avoid naps if you have difficulty falling asleep at

night.• Create a comfortable place to sleep.

– A medium-hard mattress that supports a person’s back, carpets and rugs that muffle sounds, a dark room, and earplugs may make it easier to fall asleep and sleep restfully.

• Avoid substances that can interrupt your sleep.– Limit liquid intake before bedtime in order to avoid needing to get up to empty the bladder. Avoid

caffeine during the evening. Alcoholic beverages and some sleeping medications suppress REM sleep and cause restlessness. Nicotine in cigarettes is a stimulant.

• Watch what you eat before you go to bed.– Do not eat large amounts of food just before going to bed. Hunger pangs can keep you awake if you

go to bed hungry.• Get out of bed if you cannot sleep.

– If you can’t fall asleep after about 30 minutes, get out of bed and go into another room. Try reading, listening to relaxing music, doing a simple task, or having a glass of milk. Milk contains tryptophan, which is an amino acid that helps promote relaxation.