First grade Learning Health Related Fitness Components
Students will be able to recognize two or more of the 5 health -related fitness components and the associated exercise. The fitness components are listed below. For optimal fitness, students should workout each component 3-5 times a week for 60 minutes a day.
Fitness
is such a broad term and a complex subject which can include health and skill related fitness. Health related fitness is
often divided into several other components which form our overall health
status:
Cardiovascular
Fitness (Aerobic Fitness)
This
is also sometimes known as stamina and is the ability of your body to
continuously provide enough energy to sustain submaximal levels of exercise. To
do this the circulatory and respiratory systems must work together efficiently
to provide the working muscles with enough Oxygen to enable aerobic
metabolism.
This
type of fitness has enormous benefits to our lifestyle as it allows us to be
active throughout the day, for example walking to the shops, climbing stairs or
running to catch a bus. It also allows us to get involved in sports and leisure
pursuits.
If
we have good cardiovascular fitness then our health is also good as it helps
with:
Strength
Strength
is vitally important, not only in sports but in day-to-day life. We need to be
strong to perform certain tasks, such as lifting heavy bags or using our legs to
stand up from a chair. Strength is defined as the ability of a muscle to exert a
force to overcome a resistance.
Strength
is important for our health as it enables us to :
Flexibility
Flexibility
is the movement available at our joints, usually controlled by the length of our
muscles. This is often thought to be less important than strength, or
cardiovascular fitness. However, if we are not flexible our movement decreases
and joints become stiff. Flexibility in sports allows us to perform certain
skills more efficiently, for example a gymnast, dancer or diver must be highly
flexible, but it is also important in other sports to aid performance and
decrease the risk of injury.
In
daily activities we must be flexible to reach for something in a cupboard, or
off the floor. It also helps:
Muscular Endurance
Muscular
endurance, unlike strength, is the ability of a muscle to make repeated
contractions over a period of time. This is used in day-to-day life in
activities such as climbing stairs, digging the garden and cleaning. Muscular
endurance is also important in sports, such as football (repeated running and
kicking), tennis (repeated swinging of the arm to hit the ball) and swimming
(repeating the stroke).
Body
Composition
Body
composition is the amount of muscle, fat, bone, cartilage etc that makes up our
bodies. In terms of health, fat is the main point of interest and everything
else is termed lean body tissue. The amount of fat we carry varies from person
to person and healthy averages vary with gender and age. A healthy amount of fat
for a man is between 15&18% and for women is higher at 20-25%. It is
important to maintain a healthy percentage of body fat
because:
is such a broad term and a complex subject which can include health and skill related fitness. Health related fitness is
often divided into several other components which form our overall health
status:
Cardiovascular
Fitness (Aerobic Fitness)
This
is also sometimes known as stamina and is the ability of your body to
continuously provide enough energy to sustain submaximal levels of exercise. To
do this the circulatory and respiratory systems must work together efficiently
to provide the working muscles with enough Oxygen to enable aerobic
metabolism.
This
type of fitness has enormous benefits to our lifestyle as it allows us to be
active throughout the day, for example walking to the shops, climbing stairs or
running to catch a bus. It also allows us to get involved in sports and leisure
pursuits.
If
we have good cardiovascular fitness then our health is also good as it helps
with:
- Fat
- Faster
removal of waste products Decreased
metabolism
Improved
delivery of Oxygen
levels of stress
Strength
Strength
is vitally important, not only in sports but in day-to-day life. We need to be
strong to perform certain tasks, such as lifting heavy bags or using our legs to
stand up from a chair. Strength is defined as the ability of a muscle to exert a
force to overcome a resistance.
Strength
is important for our health as it enables us to :
- Avoid
injuries - Maintain
good posture - Remain
independent (in older age)
Flexibility
Flexibility
is the movement available at our joints, usually controlled by the length of our
muscles. This is often thought to be less important than strength, or
cardiovascular fitness. However, if we are not flexible our movement decreases
and joints become stiff. Flexibility in sports allows us to perform certain
skills more efficiently, for example a gymnast, dancer or diver must be highly
flexible, but it is also important in other sports to aid performance and
decrease the risk of injury.
In
daily activities we must be flexible to reach for something in a cupboard, or
off the floor. It also helps:
- Prevent
injuries - Improve
posture - Reduce
low back pain - Maintain
healthy joints - Improve
balance during movement
Muscular Endurance
Muscular
endurance, unlike strength, is the ability of a muscle to make repeated
contractions over a period of time. This is used in day-to-day life in
activities such as climbing stairs, digging the garden and cleaning. Muscular
endurance is also important in sports, such as football (repeated running and
kicking), tennis (repeated swinging of the arm to hit the ball) and swimming
(repeating the stroke).
Body
Composition
Body
composition is the amount of muscle, fat, bone, cartilage etc that makes up our
bodies. In terms of health, fat is the main point of interest and everything
else is termed lean body tissue. The amount of fat we carry varies from person
to person and healthy averages vary with gender and age. A healthy amount of fat
for a man is between 15&18% and for women is higher at 20-25%. It is
important to maintain a healthy percentage of body fat
because:
- Excess
body fat can contribute to developing a number of health problems such as
heart disease and diabetes - Places
strain on the joints, muscles and bones, increasing the risk of injury