Aerobics and Fitness Training
Exam focus
Aerobics and Fitness Training tests the FITT principle, target heart rate, warm-up and cool-down, and the difference between aerobic and anaerobic work. Expect session plans and intensity calculations.
Core content
- FITT: Frequency, Intensity, Time, Type. For school-aged learners, accumulate at least 60 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous activity daily, including aerobic and strengthening work.
- Aerobic work uses oxygen over a sustained period, such as jogging, cycling, and dance aerobics; anaerobic work is short and high-intensity, such as sprints and jumps.
- Target heart rate: estimate maximum heart rate as 220 − age; moderate intensity is about 50–70%, vigorous about 70–85%.
- Warm-up: 5–10 minutes of dynamic movement; cool-down: 5–10 minutes of gradual reduction and static stretching.
Worked example
A 15-year-old wants a moderate-intensity aerobic session. Estimated maximum heart rate = 220 − 15 = 205 beats/min. Moderate range = 50–70% = 103–144 beats/min approximately. The reasoning is to subtract age first, then multiply by the intensity range; the learner should check pulse or a monitor during the session and slow down if breathless.
Traps
- Using 220 − age as a precise individual prescription; it is an estimate.
- Starting a session with long static stretches instead of a dynamic warm-up.
- Calling a 100 m sprint aerobic.
- Omitting the cool-down or using it as the main fitness stimulus.