Health-Related Fitness and Physical Activity
Two fitness families
Health-related components: cardiorespiratory endurance, muscular strength, muscular endurance, flexibility, and body composition. Skill-related (performance) components: agility, balance, coordination, power, reaction time, and speed. Candidates miss power constantly - it belongs to the skill-related list even though it grows out of strength. Memorize both sets as fixed lists and check any list question against them.
FITT and training principles
Prescribe exercise with Frequency, Intensity, Time, Type. Adaptation requires overload (working above the habitual load), progression (gradual increase), specificity (train the system you want improved), and reversibility (detraining when training stops), plus adequate recovery and attention to individual differences. Strength is the maximum force a muscle group can produce; muscular endurance is repeated submaximal effort. A one-rep maximum is strength; 25 consecutive push-ups is endurance.
Intensity math
Estimated maximum heart rate = 220 − age. Moderate intensity is roughly 50–70% of maximum; vigorous is roughly 70–85%. Aerobic activity is sustained and oxygen-dependent; anaerobic work is brief and intense, relying on stored phosphagen and glycolytic systems and producing lactate.
Youth physical activity guidelines
Children and adolescents need 60 minutes or more of moderate-to-vigorous activity daily, including vigorous and muscle/bone-strengthening activities on at least 3 days per week. Warm-ups should be dynamic and gradual; cool-downs support venous return and reduce blood pooling.
Traps
Classifying power as health-related; claiming stretching prevents all injuries; applying adult training volumes to children; treating BMI as a direct measure of body fat rather than a screening tool.
Worked example
A 15-year-old: maximum HR = 220 − 15 = 205 bpm. Moderate zone ≈ 103–144 bpm; vigorous ≈ 144–174 bpm. A pulse of 120 during walk-jog intervals places the student in the moderate zone.