Fitness and You

1. Does your friend have a hard time doing push-ups? Do you have trouble running a mile? Fitness and You Every person’s level of physical fitness is different.

2. In this lesson, you will learn to: • Describe the five areas of health-related fitness • Improve each of the five areas of health-related fitness Lesson Objectives

3. Five Areas of Health-Related Fitness • To have total fitness, you need to take into account the five areas of health-related fitness. • Cardiorespiratory endurance • Muscular strength • Muscular endurance • Flexibility • Body composition Elements of Fitness

4. Improving Fitness Through Exercise When you know your strengths and weaknesses, you can take steps to improve your physical fitness through exercise. Elements of Fitness

5. Measuring Cardiorespiratory Endurance Cardiovascular health depends on maintaining good cardiorespiratory endurance. The three-minute step test can be used to measure your cardiorespiratory endurance. Elements of Fitness

6. Cardiorespiratory Endurance—Step Test The step test enables you to determine the rate at which your heart beats following a period of physical activity. Elements of Fitness

7. Measuring Muscular Strength and Endurance • You need muscular strength for activities that involve lifting, pushing, or jumping, and muscular endurance to perform such activities repeatedly. • People with good muscular strength and endurance often have better posture and fewer back problems. Elements of Fitness

8. Elements of Fitness Abdominal Muscle Strength and Endurance—Curl-Ups Curl-ups are often used to measure abdominal strength.

9. Upper Body Strength and Endurance—Arm Hang The arm hang is one test that is used to measure upper body strength and endurance. Elements of Fitness

10. Measuring Flexibility • Being flexible can: • Increase your athletic performance. • Help you feel more comfortable, and reduce the risk of muscle strains and other injuries. Elements of Fitness

11. Body Flexibility—Sit-and-Reach You can use the back saver sit-and-reach test, developed by the Cooper Institute of Aerobics Research in Dallas, Texas, to assess the flexibility of your lower back and the backs of your thighs. Elements of Fitness

12. Measuring Body Composition • The “pinch test” is a common method of determining body composition. • A skinfold caliper is used to measure the thickness of fat on three to seven different parts of the body. • The average of the measurements is then calculated to estimate the total proportion of body fat. Elements of Fitness

13. Categories of Physical Activities • You can choose from many different physical activities and • exercises to improve your fitness level, but most fall into one • of two categories: • Aerobic exercise • Examples: Running, cycling, swimming, and dancing • Anaerobic exercise • Examples: Running a 100-meter dash and lifting weights Improving Your Fitness

14. Improving Cardiorespiratory Endurance • When you do aerobic exercises, your heart rate increases and • your heart sends more oxygen to your muscles to use as • energy. • Don’t force yourself to continue an aerobic activity if you become exhausted. • Before beginning a fitness program, consult a health care professional. Improving Your Fitness

15. Improving Muscular Strength and Endurance • Anaerobic exercises such as resistance training help tone muscles, improve muscular strength, and increase muscular endurance. Improving Your Fitness

16. Improving Flexibility When you have good flexibility, you can easily bend, turn, and stretch your body. Improving Your Fitness

17. Improving and Maintaining Bone Strength • The health behaviors you engage in relating to physical activity • and nutrition can affect the health of your skeletal system now and later in life. • Calcium found in dairy products and certain green vegetables is essential for building strong bones. • Resistance training and weight-bearing activities can also help increase bone mass and strengthen your skeletal system. Improving Your Fitness