Physical Fitness: Types, Terminology & Principles

Physical Fitness

• Defined as the ability to perform physical activities and maintain health and well-being through regular exercise and proper nutrition.

Types of Activities

• Aerobic exercise is lower intensity and uses oxygen for energy, for example swimming and hiking.
• Anaerobic exercise is more intense, using bursts of activity where energy production doesn’t rely on oxygen, examples are volleyball, sprinting, and weightlifting.

Exercise Terminology

• Sets refer to a group of repetitions, for example, 1 set of 10 reps.
• Repetitions refer to a repeated movement performed to increase strength and endurance.

Principles of Overload, Progression & Specificity

• Overload involves exercising at a higher than normal level to challenge the body, without necessarily being painful or exhausting.
• Progression requires workouts to gradually increase over time for improvement to occur, for example, adding 2 minutes to jogging.
• Specificity means the exercises should match specific goals. For example, endurance training to improve beep test results, or push-ups for strength.

Benefits of Being Active

• Physical benefits include a reduced risk of heart disease, high blood pressure, heart attack, and stroke.
• Activity strengthens bones and reduces the risk of arthritis and osteoporosis.
• It increases the strength, endurance, and flexibility of muscles, ligaments, and tendons.
• Mental health benefits include reduced stress, anxiety, and depression.
• Positive impacts on self-esteem and sleep habits.
• Provides opportunities for interactions with others through recreational activities, games, and sports.

Barriers to Fitness and Solutions

• "I don’t have time" can be overcome by making exercise a priority.
• If facilities are too far away, try to find other areas.
• School/work commitments can be managed by fitting physical goals into daily routines.
• Feelings of not being able to reach goals can be addressed by resetting goals often.
• Embarrassment about current shape can be countered by focusing on health benefits rather than appearance.
• Boredom can be alleviated by trying different equipment, listening to music, and changing routines. Incorporate small, manageable changes into daily routines.
• Seek support from others and adjust goals to be realistic and achievable.
• Use variety to maintain interest.

S.M.A.R.T. Goal Setting

• Specific: Goals must be clear and well-defined.
• Measurable: It should be clear if the goal is attainable and how close you are to completion.
• Achievable: The goal should be something that can be attained.
• Results: Progress must be recordable in some form of quantity.
• Time-bound: A timeline is required to follow.
• Attainable: Ensure the goal is reachable for you.
• Realistic: The goal must be reachable within the set time frame.

Types of Goals

• Healthy living goals involve making choices to improve health and minimize disease.
• Active living goals focus on doing physical activities to improve fitness.

F.I.T.T. Principle

• Frequency: Refers to how often you exercise, with rest periods ideally not exceeding 2 days.
• Intensity: Involves exercising at your target heart rate, generally 60%-80% of your maximum heart rate.
• Time: Is the actual amount of time it takes to complete the entire program each time it is performed.
• Type: Specifies the kind of activity being performed.

Health-Related Components of Fitness

• Cardiovascular endurance: Ability to sustain whole body over long periods of time.
• Strength: Amount of force muscles can put forth.
• Muscular endurance: Ability to repeatedly contract muscles without fatiguing.
• Flexibility: Ability to use full range of motion at each joint.
• Body composition: Percentage of body weight that is fat compared to other body tissue.

Skill-Related Components of Fitness

• Agility: Ability to change positions of body quickly and control movement.
• Balance: Ability to keep an upright posture above standing of moving.
• Coordination: Ability to use your senses together with other body parts.
• Power: Ability to perform strength related activity quickly.
• Speed: Ability to cover distance in a short amount of time.
• Reaction time: Amount of time it takes to respond once you see the need to move.

Nutrition

• Nutrition refers to the process by which the body takes in and uses food, providing units of heat that measure the energy that foods supply to the body.
• Nutrients are chemical elements and compounds essential to growth and maintenance of life.
• Essential nutrients provide substances needed to grow and develop, enable energy, improve mood, and maintain mental alertness.
• Calories are the amount of energy needed to raise the temperature of 1g of water by 1 degree Celsius, measuring the amounts of energy food will produce as it is processed by the body.
• Macronutrients make up the greatest portion of nutrient intake and supply energy for work. They include carbohydrates, fats, and proteins.
• Micronutrients, are vitamins and minerals, and are needed in small amounts.
• % of Daily Value indicates the percentage of a nutrient a serving of food contributes to the recommended daily intake.
• Carbohydrates are the main source of energy for the body, and come in the form of sugar, starch, or fiber.
• Proteins are the building blocks of muscles, tendons, and ligaments, and help digest food and fight infection.
• Fats are a concentrated form of energy, important for prolonged exercise, but can lead to heart disease if unhealthy.
• Calorie: Unit of energy that measures the energy content of food.
• Hunger: Response to the body’s need for food.
• Appetite: A response shaped by experience in the environment, may create an appetite without hunger.

Importance of Nutrition

• Nutrients provide substances needed to grow and develop.
• Nutrients enable us to have energy, feel good, and stay mentally alert.
• Proper nutrition helps prevent chronic diseases.

Food Examples

• Good carbohydrate foods: Bananas, potatoes, rice.
• Bad carbohydrate foods: Noodles, cereal, chips.
• Good protein foods: Eggs, fish, chicken.
• Bad protein foods: Hotdogs, fried chicken, cold cuts.
• Good fat foods: Avocado, olive oil, nuts.
• Bad fat foods: Bacon, butter, fried food.

Fats (Best to Worst)

• Unsaturated Fat
• Omega 3
• Saturated Fat
• Trans Fat

Reading Nutrition Labels

• Learn about food nutritional value.
• Check if food contains a little (5% or less) or a lot (15% or more) of a nutrient.
• Compare two products.
• Manage special food needs.

Healthier Choice

• Choose the product with the lower % daily value of sugar, saturated fat, and sodium, and a higher % daily value of fiber and essential nutrients.
• Compare calorie/nutrient content of similar packaged foods and choose based on quality over quantity.

Differences Between Old and New Food Guides

• The new food guide focuses on quality over quantity, with less emphasis on food groups and servings.
• Highlights what, when, and how we eat, noting the importance of eating with others.
• Encourages eating more whole foods and eliminating highly processed foods.
• Promotes a movement toward a plant-based diet.