PE 1 - 10/2722

Basic Principles of
Physical Fitness
LESSON 1

Physical Activity on a Continuum

✽ Physical Activity
○ Any body movement carried out by the skeletal muscles and
requiring energy

✱ Exercise:
✰ planned, structured, repetitive movement of the body designed
to improve or maintain physical fitness

✱ Physical fitness:

○ a set of physical attributes that allows the body to respond or

adapt to the demands and stress of physical effort

✮ How Much Physical Activity Is Enough?

★ Moderate-intensity versus high-intensity exercise

★ Continuous versus intermittent exercise

★ Low-intensity exercise improves health but may not be very

beneficial for improving physical fitness
Health-Related Components of Physical Fitness

○ Cardiorespiratory endurance
★ the ability of the body to perform prolonged, large-muscle,
dynamic exercise at moderate-to-high levels of intensity

○ Muscular strength
★ the amount of force a muscle can produce with a single
maximum effort

○ Muscular Endurance
★ the ability of a muscle or group of muscles to remain contracted
or to contract repeatedly

○ Flexibility
★ the range of motion in a joint or group of joints

○ Body composition
★ the proportion of fat and fat-free mass (muscle, bone, and
water) in the body

Skills-Related Components of Fitness

✰ Speed
✶ is the ability to move all parts of the body quickly.

✰ Power
○ Is the ability to exert force in the shortest period of time

✰ Agility
○ a rapid whole-body movement with change of velocity or
direction in response to a stimulus

✰ Balance
○ refers to the athlete's ability to stay in control of their body's
position.

✰ Coordination
○ the ability to execute smooth, accurate, controlled motor
responses

✰ Reaction time
○ how fast an athlete is able to respond to a stimulus
Progressive Overload—Adapting to Amount of Training

★ Placing increasing amounts of stress on the body causes

adaptations that improve fitness; progression is critical

★ FITT principle for overload:

Frequency—How often
Intensity—How hard
Time—How long (duration
Type—Mode of activity

Guidelines for Training

➢ Train the way you want your body to change
➢ Train regularly
➢ Start slowly, and get in shape gradually; do not overtrain
➢ Warm up before exercise
➢ Cool down after exercise
➢ Exercise safely
➢ Listen to your body, and get adequate rest
➢ Cycle the volume and intensity of your workouts
➢ Try training with a partner
➢ Vary your activities
➢ Train your mind
➢ Fuel your activity appropriately
➢ Have fun
➢ Track your progress
➢ Keep your exercise program in perspective
 Fitness Tips
LESSON 2

Benefits of Physical Activity

★ Helps people achieve and maintain a healthy weight

★ Reduces feelings of stress, anxiety & depression

★ Builds and maintains healthy bones, muscles & joints

★ Boosts energy level

★ Improves quality of sleep

Physical Activity Reduces the risk of

★ Dying from heart disease or stroke

★ Developing high blood pressure, cholesterol & diabetes

★ Developing obesity

★ Developing osteoporosis – exercise builds strong bones &

muscles

Components of Fitness?

✰ Aerobic Fitness
○ The body’s ability to take in and use oxygen to produce energy.
Aerobic activities make you breathe hard & they increase your
heart rate.
➢ Some of these activities include:

- Jogging

- Walking

- Cross-country skiing

- Bicycling

✰ Muscular Fitness
○ The strength and endurance of your muscles.

● Benefits:

• Improve performance

• Injury prevention

• Improves body composition

• Improves self image

➢ Some activities include:

○ - Weight Lifting

○ - Push-Ups

✰ Flexibility
○ The ability to bend joints and stretch muscles through a full
range of motion.

➢ Some activities include:

- Stretching (Sit & Reach)

- Warm-up & Cool-down

✰ Body Composition
○ The amount of fat tissue relative to other tissue in your body.

○ Your body composition is based not on how much you weigh, but
rather on how much of your weight is fat as opposed to muscle.
✰ Measuring Physical Activity Intensity – Target Heart Rate

● Maximum Heart Rate (MHR)

220 – AGE = MHR

● Target Heart Rate

MHR X .60 = Minimum Heart Rate

MHR X .80 = Maximum Heart Rate

Final tips For Being More Active

• Park the car farther away from your destination.

• Take the stairs instead of the elevator.
• Play with children or pets. Everybody wins.
• Take fitness breaks
• Perform gardening or home repair activities.
• Exercise while watching TV
• Keep a pair of comfortable walking or running shoes
in your car and office.

Exercise Safely and Wise

• Drink extra water

• Always warm-up & cool-down before
and after your workout
• Wear comfortable clothing
• Pay attention to any discomfort you may
feel during exercise
• Follow your doctor’s recommendations concerning
medications you may be taking
 Health-Related Fitness vs. Skills- Related Fitness

✰ Body Composition
○ is the relative percentage of body fat to lean body tissue.

✰ Cardiovascular fitness
○ is the ability of your body to work continuously for extended
periods of time.

○ Cardiovascular fitness is sometimes called cardiorespiratory

endurance.

✰ Muscular Strength
○ refers to the maximum amount of force a muscle or muscle
group can exert against an opposing force.

○ It contributes to more efficient movement and reduces your

energy cost.

○ Energy cost The amount of energy needed to perform different

physical activities or exercises.

✰ Muscular Endurance
○ refers to the ability of the same muscle or muscle group to
contract for an extended period of time without undue fatigue.

○ The higher your level of muscular endurance, the lower your

energy cost.

✰ Flexibility
○ The ability to move a body part through a full range of motion.

○ A moderate to high level of flexibility is central to efficient

physical movement.

➢ Benefits:

● Helps reduce your risk for muscle and bone injuries.

● Improves performance fitness.

 ● Reduces some types of muscle soreness following physical
activity or exercise.

● Improves functional health and fitness.

Skill- Related Fitness

✰ Agility
○ is the component of skill-related fitness that accounts for an
athlete’s “quick feet.”

○ The ability to change and control the direction and position of the
body while maintaining a constant, rapid motion.

✰ Balance
○ helps you maintain control while coordinating your movements.

○ The ability to control or stabilize the body while standing or

moving.

✰ Coordination
○ Requires using a combination of different muscle groups at once.

○ The ability to use the senses to determine and direct the

movement of your limbs and head.

✰ Speed
○ is largely determined by heredity, speed can be increased.

○ The ability to move your body, or parts of it swiftly.

✰ Power
○ is a function of both speed and muscular strength.

○ The ability to move the body parts swiftly while simultaneously

applying the maximum force of your muscles.

✰ Reaction Time
○ The quicker your response, the better your

○ The ability to react or respond quickly to what you hear, see, or

feel.