8th Grade Chapter 10 Lesson 2 - Measuring Fitness PDF

Measuring Fitness MAIN IDEA​ ​Measuring your fitness level will indicate what areas of fitness you need to improve. You wouldn’t try to build a house without a blueprint, or plan. The same is true for building your physical fitness. The first step in making a physical fitness plan is to figure out...

Measuring Fitness MAIN IDEA​ ​Measuring your fitness level will indicate what areas of fitness you need to improve. You wouldn’t try to build a house without a blueprint, or plan. The same is true for building your physical fitness. The first step in making a physical fitness plan is to figure out how fit you are now. Learning your level of fitness is the first step in creating a fitness plan. It helps you to create a plan that will improve each element of fitness. You can use several tests to measure the different elements of fitness. Measuring Flexibility You can measure your flexibility with the V-sit reach, or sit-and-reach, test. Mark a line two feet long on the floor, marked in inches. Sit with your feet right behind the starting point of this line, with your heels 8 to 12 inches apart. Put one hand on top of the other, palms down. Have a partner hold your legs down while you reach your hands forward as far as you can. After three practice tries, reach forward and hold the stretch for three seconds. Have your partner note how many inches you could reach past the starting point of the line. Measuring Heart and Lung Endurance To test your heart and lung endurance, time how long it takes you to run one mile. If you get too tired while running, you can switch to walking for a while. However, try to cover the distance as fast as you can. Measuring Muscle Strength and Endurance You can test the strength and endurance of your abdominal muscles by doing curl-ups. Lie on your back with your knees bent and your arms crossed on your chest. Your feet should be about 12 inches from your buttocks. Have a partner hold your feet down while you raise your body to touch your elbows to your thighs. Then lower your body back down until your shoulder blades touch the floor. Count the number of curl-ups you can do in one minute. To measure upper body strength and endurance, do right-angle push-ups. Start out in push-up position: face down with your arms straight and your hands right under your shoulders. Your legs should be straight and slightly apart, resting on your toes. Keeping your back and knees straight, lower your body until your elbows are bent at a 90-degree angle. Your upper arms will be parallel to the floor. Then straighten your arms to raise yourself back up again. Do one complete push-up every three seconds and count how many you can do in a row. Another approach to building muscle strength is weight lifting. Also known as resistance training, weight lifting can be used to strengthen every muscle group. Just make sure that a fitness instructor or other expert supervises your workout. If resistance training is part of your workout plan, keep in mind that choosing weights that are too heavy will not help you build muscles faster. You should choose weights that tire your muscles after 10 to 12 repetitions. Checking Your Results To see how you did on the fitness tests, look at the table in the Lesson Resources panel. It shows healthy results for teens of different ages. After you start your fitness plan, you can use these same tests as guides to see how your fitness is improving. READING CHECK Identify​ Which fitness test measures heart and lung endurance? Setting and Reaching Fitness Goals MAIN IDEA​ ​Fitness test results help to determine fitness goals. Once you know how fit you are right now, you can start to figure out your fitness goals. Your scores on fitness tests might point you toward a fitness goal. For instance, if you did very well on the curl-ups and the one-mile run but not very well on the V-sit reach, you might set a goal to improve your flexibility. You can also set goals based on specific activities you would like to do. If you plan to try out for the track team, for example, then your goals might focus on building better heart-lung endurance. Choosing Activities Once you know what your goals are, you can start choosing activities to help you reach them. Different kinds of exercise are good for building up different elements of fitness. The graph in the Lesson Resources panel shows the fitness benefits of some popular lifestyle activities. Consider these other points when choosing exercises. Personal tastes.​ If you choose activities you enjoy, you are more likely to stick to your plan. If you prefer group activities, you could try a team sport. If you would rather work out alone, you might try jogging or bicycling. Another way to keep your interest level high is cross-training. Requirements.​ There’s no point in choosing swimming as an activity if you don’t have a pool you can use. Think about the requirements of different activities. Will you need special equipment? Do you need a partner or teammates? Are there special skills you need to learn first? Time and place.​ Figure out when you will have time to exercise. If you have to catch a school bus at 7:30, for instance, you may not be able to work out in the morning. Also, think about where you will exercise. If you want to start jogging, for example, you need to make sure the streets in your neighborhood are safe enough. Also, if you live someplace where it gets very cold in the winter, then you may need to run indoors on a track or treadmill. Creating a Schedule In order to reach your fitness goals, you will most likely need to choose a variety of different activities. Aerobic exercise is important for improving your heart and lung endurance. Experts say that most of your 60 minutes of daily physical activity should be aerobic activity, done in a moderate to vigorous pace. Moderate activities include hiking, bicycling, and in-line skating. Some vigorous activities are swimming, jumping rope, and team sports. It is important to include vigorous activities like these in your schedule at least three times a week. Some kinds of aerobic exercise, such as swimming, are great for your heart and lungs, but they do not do much for your muscles and bones. It is recommended you choose activities to strengthen muscles and bones at least three days a week. Many aerobic exercises, such as running or jumping rope, are also good for bone strength. To build up your muscles, however, you’ll need to do some kind of anaerobic exercise. Weight lifting, sit-ups, push-ups, and climbing exercises are some good ways to help make your muscles stronger. How can you fit all this into your schedule? Start by writing down all the physical activities that are part of your daily routine. Most teens have gym class at school on certain days. If you play a sport, include all your practices and games. Also include any outside activities that get your body moving, such as dance lessons. Once you have a written plan, you can see what you are doing now and what other activities you might need to add. Then you can find the gaps in your schedule where these new activities will go. The F.I.T.T. Formula Whenever you start a new activity, it’s best to start small. If you’ve never run before, you are probably not ready to run a 5-kilometer race. Instead, start by running short distances. Then over time, you can gradually build up your distance. To increase your activity level over time, remember the ​F.I.T.T. principle​:  Frequency​.​ When you first start a new activity, you might do it two to three times a week. As your fitness improves, you can work out more often. Intensity​.​ This refers to how hard you should work different muscle groups. Take it easy at first and build up the intensity over time. Work each muscle group until it tires and then move to another muscle group. Over time, each muscle group will not tire from the weight being used. That's when it's time to increase the intensity, or increase the exercise. If you lift weights, increase the weight used. If you run, you can go a little faster each time. Time.​ Teens need 60 minutes of activity each day. With a new activity, you will not be able to do this all at once. Start with a shorter workout and build up to a full hour. Type.​ A complete fitness plan will include a variety of activities. Try switching among activities so that you can work different muscles on different days. This will also help keep you from getting bored. READING CHECK Describe​ Cite two types of physical activity that all teens should include in a fitness plan.