In many studies related to physical fitness and health, researchers have focused on exercise, as well as on the more broadly defined concept of physical activity. Physical activity is defined by the World Health Organization as any bodily movement produced by skeletal muscles that requires energy expenditure, while exercise is a form of physical activity that is planned, structured, repetitive, and performed with the goal of improving health
or fitness. So, although all exercise is physical activity, not all physical activity is exercise. Although physical activity and exercise are defined concepts, the ultimate focus of the health related components of physical fitness is to provide a framework for components that are necessary for good health. They are cardiorespiratory (CR) endurance (also called aerobic endurance), flexibility, muscular strength, muscular endurance, and body composition. Cardiorespiratory Endurance Table \(\PageIndex{1}\) Aerobic physical activity should preferably be spread throughout the week. Research studies consistently show that activity performed on at least 3 days a week produces health benefits. Spreading physical activity across at least 3 days a week may help
to reduce the risk of injury and avoid excessive fatigue. Both moderate- and vigorous-intensity aerobic activity should be performed in episodes of at least 10 minutes. Episodes of this duration are known to improve cardiovascular fitness and some risk factors for heart disease and type 2 diabetes. IntensityThe Guidelines for adults focus on two levels of intensity: moderate-intensity activity and vigorous–intensity activity. To meet the Guidelines, adults can do either moderate-intensity or vigorous-intensity aerobic activities, or a combination of both. It takes less time to get the same benefit from vigorous-intensity activities as from moderate-intensity activities. A general rule of thumb is that 2 minutes of moderate-intensity activity counts the same as 1 minute of vigorous-intensity activity. For example, 30 minutes of moderate-intensity activity a week is roughly the same as 15 minutes of vigorous-intensity activity. A person doing moderate-intensity aerobic activity can talk, but not sing, during the activity. A person doing vigorous intensity activity cannot say more than a few words without pausing for a breath. Muscular Strength and Endurance
Activities for Muscular Strength and Endurance These kind of activities, which includes resistance training and lifting weights, causes the body's muscles to work or hold against an applied force or weight. These activities often involve relatively heavy objects, such as weights, which are lifted multiple times to train various muscle groups. Muscle-strengthening activity can also be done by using elastic bands or body weight for resistance (climbing a tree or doing push-ups, for example). Activities for Muscular Strength and Endurance also has three components:
Muscle-strengthening activities provide additional benefits not found with aerobic activity. The benefits of muscle-strengthening activity include increased bone strength and muscular fitness. Muscle-strengthening activities can also help maintain muscle mass during a program of weight loss. Muscle-strengthening activities make muscles do more work than they are accustomed to doing. That is, they overload the muscles. Resistance training, including weight training, is a familiar example of muscle-strengthening activity. Other examples include working with resistance bands, doing calisthenics that use body weight for resistance (such as push-ups, pull-ups, and sit-ups), carrying heavy loads, and heavy gardening (such as digging or hoeing). Muscle-strengthening activities count if they involve a moderate to high level of intensity or effort and work the major muscle groups of the body: the legs, hips, back, chest, abdomen, shoulders, and arms. Muscle strengthening activities for all the major muscle groups should be done at least 2 days a week. No specific amount of time is recommended for muscle strengthening, but muscle strengthening exercises should be performed to the point at which it would be difficult to do another repetition without help. When resistance training is used to enhance muscle strength, one set of 8 to 12 repetitions of each exercise is effective, although two or three sets may be more effective. Development of muscle strength and endurance is progressive over time. Increases in the amount of weight or the days a week of exercising will result in stronger muscles. FlexibilityFlexibility is the ability of moving a joint through the range of motion. Flexibility is an important part of physical fitness. Some types of physical activity, such as dancing, require more flexibility than others. Stretching exercises are effective in increasing flexibility, and thereby can allow people to more easily do activities that require greater flexibility. For this reason, flexibility activities are an appropriate part of a physical activity program, even though they have no known health benefits and it is unclear whether they reduce risk of injury. Time spent doing flexibility activities by themselves does not count toward meeting the aerobic or muscle-strengthening Guidelines. Although there are not specific national guidelines for flexibility, adults should do flexibility exercises at least two or three days each week to improve range of motion. This can be done by holding a stretch for 10-30 seconds to the point of tightness or slight discomfort. Repeat each stretch two to four times, accumulating 60 seconds per stretch. Body compositionThe percentage of the body composed of lean tissue (muscle, bone, fluids, etc.) and fat tissue. Changes in body composition usually occur as a result of improvements in the other components of health related physical fitness, as well as changes in eating habits. This is discussed in more detail in the Weight Management and Healthy Eating Chapter. There are also other components of fitness related to sports performance rather than just health. They are called skill-related components of fitness or motor fitness and include power, speed, agility, balance, and coordination. For the purpose of this class we will focus mainly on the health-related components of fitness. What health related fitness refers to the ability of the muscle or group of muscles to sustain repeated?Muscular Endurance: the ability to efficiently use muscles over a longer period of time. The ability of a muscle to repeatedly contract or sustain continuous contraction involving less than maximum force. Muscular endurance can be tested by performing the one minute sit-up test or push-up test.
What health related fitness refers to the ability?Skill-related fitness refers to your ability to perform physical tasks efficiently as it relates to a particular sport, and health-related fitness relates to your day-to-day activities. There are five sections of health-related fitness: Cardiovascular endurance. Muscular strength.
What endurance is the ability of the muscle or muscle group to exert one maximal force against a resistance?Muscular endurance is the ability of a muscle or group of muscles to repeatedly exert force against resistance for an extended period of time. Performing multiple repetitions of an exercise is a form of muscular endurance.
What is the term for the ability of the muscles to keep working over a long period of time?Muscular endurance is the ability of muscle or muscle group to continue work over a long period of time. The one minute sit-up test measures muscular endurance of the abdominal. Muscular strength is the maximum amount of force a muscle or muscle group. can exert. The pull-up test measures upper-body strength.
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