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Page-by-Page Notes: Health-related Fitness Components (Chapter 9.2)

Coursework requirement

  • TO TAKE NOTES ON THE INFORMATION IN THE FOLLOWING SLIDE SHOW.

  • ANSWER QUESTIONS TO DEMONSTRATE YOUR UNDERSTANDING

Health-related fitness components

  • Aerobic power

  • Muscular strength

  • Muscular endurance

  • Flexibility

  • Functional Movement Assessment (FMA)

  • Physiological, psychological and sociocultural considerations

  • Informed consent

  • Assessment reliability, validity and accuracy

  • Design and implement personalised physical activity plan

  • Strengths

  • Evaluate physical activity plan

  • Weaknesses

  • Future considerations

Aerobic Power

  • Formerly known as "aerobic capacity"

What is aerobic power?

  • The maximum rate of energy production from the aerobic energy system (that is – the energy produced in the presence of oxygen)

  • This occurs when the cardiovascular and respiratory systems work together to bring oxygen into the body (O2 uptake) and then deliver O2 to the working muscles.

How is aerobic power measured?

  • Measured by: VO2_{max}

  • Fitness tests for VO2_{max}:-

    • Yo-Yo Intermittent Recovery Test

    • Multi-Stage Fitness Test (aka “Beep Test”)

    • 12 min Cooper Run

    • 1.6km Run

Aerobic Power is used for:

  • Active transport

  • Endurance activities

  • Most team sports

  • Some forms of active play (eg Chasey/tiggy)

Factors affecting aerobic power

  • Age: VO2_{max} peaks in a person's mid-20s and then decreases as age increases.

  • Sex: This is due to the decreased elasticity of the lungs (decreased oxygen uptake), decreased haemoglobin (decreased oxygen transport) and decreased muscle mass and therefore mitochondria (decreased oxygen utilisation). Males generally have a higher aerobic power (VO2_{max}) than females. This is because males tend to have larger lungs (increased oxygen uptake), higher haemoglobin levels (increased oxygen transport) and more muscle mass, and therefore mitochondria (increased oxygen use) compared to women.

  • Muscle fibre type: A greater percentage of slow-twitch fibres will increase aerobic power (VO2_{max}). Slow-twitch fibres work aerobically. Therefore, the more slow-twitch fibres a person has, the greater their ability to work aerobically.

Muscular Strength

  • "Do you even lift, bro?"

What is muscular strength?

  • The peak force that a muscle can develop

How is muscular strength measured?

  • Fitness tests for muscular strength:-

    • 1RM bench

    • 1RM squat

    • Grip test

Muscular strength is used for:

  • Lifting heavy school bags

  • Playing on playground – hanging off the monkey bars (arms)

  • Climbing stairs (legs)

  • Gardening/landscaping (core, back & arms)

Factors affecting Muscular Strength (pt 1)

  • Factor: Speed of muscle contraction-

    • Effect: The more slowly a muscle contracts, the more force it can create. Compare an isometric contraction with a powerful, isotonic contraction. A 1RM weight lift is performed much more slowly than 12 RM movements, because it requires more strength.

  • Factor: Length of muscle fibre-

    • Effect: If the muscle is slightly stretched, it is in the best position to create its maximum force. Example: long jumpers lower their centre of gravity just before take-off to stretch the quadriceps before contraction.

  • Factor: Age of the performer-

    • Effect: Strength peaks in performers aged 20-30 years, then decreases as the body's ability to process protein diminishes. Regular exercise can slow this process.

  • Factor: Warm up-

    • Effect: Warmed-up muscles have a greater ability to create strength than muscles that are not warmed up.

  • Joint angle: There is a best joint angle for creating maximum strength.

Factors affecting Muscular Strength (pt 2)

  • Fibre type-

    • Fast-twitch fibres are capable of greater strength output than slow-twitch fibres.

  • Cross-sectional area-

    • The larger the muscle, the greater the strength potential. This relates to muscle mass, not total body area; e.g., the diameter of the biceps may include fat as well as muscle.

  • Sex of the performer-

    • Males generally have greater muscle mass, so greater absolute strength. Relative to cross-sectional area, there is no difference in the strength available to males and females.

  • Joint angle-

    • For each joint movement, there is an optimal angle for strength production.

Muscular Endurance

What is muscular endurance?

  • The ability of a muscle, or group of muscles, to sustain repeated or sustained contractions against resistance for an extended period.

How is muscular endurance measured?

  • Fitness tests for muscular endurance:-

    • 60 sec sit ups

    • 60 sec push ups

Muscular endurance is used for:

  • The arms, legs and abdominals for a tennis player in a long rally

  • Abdominals in a static hold – plank

  • Arms while maintaining the hold on a wheelbarrow (gardening)

  • Walking uphill (legs)

Factors affecting Muscular Endurance

  • Factor: Sex-

    • Effect: Males generally have greater muscular endurance than females.

  • Factor: Muscle fibre type-

    • Effect: Lactate tolerance; Slow-twitch fibres increase endurance; Slow-twitch fibres work aerobically and resist fatigue more; The greater lactate tolerance, the greater the anaerobic capacity; The more metabolic by-products that can be tolerated, the more high-intensity efforts/longer high-intensity efforts can be made.

  • Lactate tolerance: The greater the lactate tolerance, the greater the anaerobic capacity.

  • The more metabolic by-products that can be tolerated, the more high-intensity efforts/longer high-intensity efforts can be made.

Flexibility

What is Flexibility?

  • The range of movement (ROM) around a joint.

  • It is the interaction between the body’s skeletal and muscular systems to allow full, unimpeded joint movement for muscle actions

How is Flexibility measured?

  • Fitness tests for flexibility:-

    • Trunk flexion test (sit & reach)

    • Wrist and shoulder elevation test

Flexibility is used for:

  • Bending to pick up a dropped item

  • Turning to look over your shoulder in a head-check whilst driving

  • Putting on shoes and socks

Factors affecting Flexibility (pt 1)

  • Factor: Somatotype-

    • Endomorphs (extra adipose tissue) have limited flexibility; Mesomorphs may have limited flexibility due to trained movement range or extra muscle tissue; Ectomorphs generally have good flexibility due to lower body tissue.

  • Factor: Skin resistance-

    • Skin has lower elasticity than ligaments/tendons, restricting higher ROM.

  • Factor: Sex-

    • Hormonal differences mean females are generally more flexible than males.

  • Factor: Type of joint-

    • Some joints are designed for strength, some for mobility, some for both. Example: shoulder has high mobility but is prone to dislocation; hip has high stability but less mobility than the shoulder.

Factors affecting Flexibility (pt 2)

  • Resting length of ligaments and joint capsule

  • Age: Increasing age decreases flexibility.

  • Warm up: Warm-up increases the temperature of muscles and joint structures, increasing flexibility.

  • Length of muscles at rest: If muscles are shortened at rest (e.g., sedentary lifestyle or not moving through full ROM in training), flexibility is limited.

  • Bone: Depending on joint and bone structure, different effects on actual joint flexibility.