Components of physical fitness

1. Components of Physical
Fitness
Health Related , Skill Related & Cosmetic Fitness; Need & Importance
of Measurement and Evaluation of Physical Fitness

2. The Significance of
Assessing
Cardiorespiratory Fitness

4. The Significance of Assessing Cardiorespiratory Fitness
• From a health perspective, CR fitness is probably the single most
important fitness component.
• Major diseases associated with low levels of CR fitness are
hypertension, hyperlipidemia, stroke, coronary artery disease and
other CR diseases.
• It is important to assess this fitness component because doing so
gives us an excellent understanding of the interrelationship among
all the major physiological systems , especially during the dynamic
action of major muscle activity.

5. Benefits from Improved CR Function
• 1. Decreased Resting Heart Rate
• 2. Lower Heat Rate at a given workload
• 3.Decrease in recovery time.
• 4.Increase in the number and size of mitochondria
• 5.Increase in oxygen carrying capacity
• 6. Decrease in blood serum lipids
• 7.Decrease in hypertension
• 8.An increase in cardiac output

6. Benefits from Improved CR Function
• 9. A higher maximal oxygen uptake
• 10. Increased oxygen extraction by the tissues
• 11.Increased capillarisation
• 12.Increased myoglobin content
• 13. Increased glycogen sparing capacity that helps in delaying the
onset of fatigue.

7. Significance of Assessing Body Composition
• Obesity is a serious problem because it is associated with a
number of diseases that have added to the annual mortality rate in
the world.
• It is a risk factor for coronary artery disease and has been linked to
:
• Kidney malfunction;
• Diabetes ;
• Liver disorder;
• Hyperlipidaemia;

8. Significance of Assessing Body Composition
• Osteoarthritis;
• Gallstones;
• Musculo-skeletal problems;
• Hypertension.
• Increasing evidence is surfacing that obesity is associated with
cancer of the colon and certain organs .
• As per research , in the US , if it was fortunate to eliminate all
cancers , the average life span would increase only by two years,
but if obesity ceased to be a major problem ,the average life span
could increase by as much as seven years.

9. Significance of Assessing Body Composition
• At the other end of the weight control spectrum , developed
countries are also experiencing a rapid rise in eating disorder
associated with underweight. Anorexia nervosa and bulimia
nervosa are the two most prevalent problems.
• Evidence suggests that these disorders cause gastro intestinal
tract problems, immune system abnormalities , muscle tissue loss ,
heart damage , decrease in the size of the internal organs and
harm to the reproductive and nervous system.
• There are alarming increases in death for those who experience
severe weight loss.

10. Significance of Assessing Body Composition
• It seems apparent then, because so many disorders are
associated with obesity and overweight ( or underweight) , that
measurement of body composition is critical to health related
physical fitness.
• Overall appearance , self concept, self esteem are very likely to be
associated with problems of weight control.
• Looking good and feeling good are often two important reasons
that a person begins a physical activity or fitness program.

11. Significance of Assessing Body Composition
• Obesity is harmful if the extra fat is located on the upper body,
especially the abdomen, rather than on the lower body .

12. Significance of Assessing Muscle Fitness
• Muscle fitness combines the two components of strength and
endurance.
• There is a direct relationship between oxygen consumption and the
quantity of lean body mass.
• The importance of muscle fitness is demonstrated by some
common problems.When less than adequate health fitness
standards for muscle fitness are evident , the following often
results:
• 1. People experience low back pain problems associated with poor
muscle fitness.

13. Significance of Assessing Muscle Fitness
2. Inadequate stamina , poor posture and inefficient muscle action
occur
3. People acquire musculoskeletal problems that may progress to
acute , then chronic pain.

14. Significance of Assessing Muscle Fitness
• Flexibility is a very transient fitness component with regard to
health related physical fitness.
• It is often the least emphasised areas of fitness , although in recent
years the importance of post –exercise stretching has received
wide acceptance.
• Flexibility decreases rapidly when stretching is not a regular part of
the exercise regimen.Inordinate tightness is uncomfortable and
debilitating.
• A decline in flexibility can cause poor posture and subsequent
aches and pains that lead to limited and painful joint movement.

15. Significance of Assessing Muscle Fitness
• Improving and maintaining good ROM in the joints enhances QoL .
• Good flexibility promotes healthy muscles and joints.
• Improving elasticity of muscles and connective tissue around joints
enhances freedom of movement and the individual’s ability to
participate in all type of activities.
• Because of decreased flexibility , older adults lose mobility and are
unable to perform simple daily tasks such as bending forward or
turning.

16. Purposes of Fitness Testing
• As per the ASCM resource manual there are five important
purposes of fitness testing:
• Diagnosis: Tests results identify weakness and strength of the
individual. With appropriate counselling , individuals can improve
their status where needed.
• Achievement of Individual Goals: Periodic tests can be used to
determine the degree of achievement individuals have reached in
concert with their goals and objectives.
• Educational Purposes: Tests results can be used to stimulate
greater interest in health related topics and motivate the individual
to seek out new information.

17. Purposes of Fitness Testing
• Motivation: People generally are concerned about their strengths
and weakness ; many are curious to know how they compare to
others and become motivated to improve their status.
• Program Evaluation: Test results can be used to determine
whether the fitness program is achieving its desired goals.

18. Purposes of Fitness Testing
• The purpose of measuring fitness is to determine status. Time and
efforts are spent assessing a person’s fitness in order to determine
that person’s position along the continuum of fitness or health.
• Testing is an important part of the screening process as it
gives one an accurate picture of fitness, an indication of
appropriate starting intensities, a baseline for goal setting and
assistance in group fitness recommendations.

19. How can fitness testing help you?
• Whether you are a coach or participant at club or international
level, in whatever sport, fitness testing can almost certainly help
your performance. The potential uses and benefits of fitness
testing are as follows:
• ● Evaluation of a performer’s strengths and weaknesses, relative
to the demands of their sport.
• ● Aiding the prescription of suitable training loads.
• ● Monitoring the effectiveness of training.
• ● Providing short-term fitness goals.

20. What makes a good fitness test?
• To provide useful information, fitness tests must fulfil certain
criteria, which if not achieved could produce misleading information
with undesirable consequences. Therefore fitness tests must be:
• ● Sport specific/applicable
• Valid
• Reliable
• Accurate
• ● Sufficiently sensitive to detect changes in fitness

21. What fitness tests cannot do ?
• Fitness tests will not automatically create better performers and
should not be used purely for selection purposes.
• They are a tool, which if used correctly, can provide valuable
information that the coach can utilise when designing information
that the coach can utilise when designing training programmes and
in combination with other factors important in good performance
(e.g. technical skill, tactical awareness, mental attitude, etc) can be
used to improve a team’s performance.

23. Definition of Health Related Fitness
• The state of physical and physiological characteristics that define
the risk levels for the premature development of diseases or
morbid conditions presenting a relationship with a sedentary mode
of life (Bouchard & Shephard, 1994).

24. Principles of Fitness Development
• The Principle of Overload : The principle of overload suggests that
in order to see an improvement in fitness (i.e., response), the dose
of physical activity must exceed that to which the individual is
already accustomed. The dose of physical activity is controlled by
the manipulation of frequency, intensity, time, and type of exercise,
otherwise known as the FITT principle. This principle suggests that
there is a dose-response relationship between physical activity and
physical fitness. Furthermore, in order for a response to occur, a
specific dose threshold must be surpassed.

25. Principles of Fitness Development
• The Principle of Individuality :The principle of individuality suggests
that the individual response (i.e., adaptation) to physical activity is
highly heterogeneous . No two individuals will respond in exactly
the same way to a similar dose of physical activity. Regardless of
the physical activity programming being used, some individuals will
demonstrate improvement (i.e., responders), while others will not
(i.e., non-responders). Therefore, the dose-response relationship is
highly individualistic (Bouchard & Rankinen, 2001). It is now
recognized that certain individualistic (Bouchard & Rankinen,
2001). It is now recognized that certain physical activity), whereas
others are intensity-responders. The principle of individuality is
strongly influenced by heredity.

26. Principles of Fitness Development
• The Principle of Diminishing Return :The principle of diminishing
return suggests that the rate of fitness improvement diminishes
over time as fitness approaches its ultimate genetic potential .
Thus, the response to physical activity is not only associated with
heredity, but is also highly influenced by an individual’s current
level of fitness. The fitter individuals are, the less likely they are to
improve further.

27. Principles of Fitness Development
• The Principle of Specificity :The principle of specificity suggests
that improvements in physical fitness are specific to the demands
or characteristics (e.g., FITT, speed, angle, acceleration, muscle
fibre recruited) imposed by the physical activity. This principle is
also known as the SAID principle (specific adaptation to imposed
demands).

28. Principles of Fitness Development
• The Principle of Reversibility :The principle of reversibility suggests
that any improvement in physical fitness due to physical activity is
entirely reversible. In other words, “use it or lose it.” This principle
suggests that regularity and consistency of physical activity are
important determinants of both fitness maintenance and continued
improvement.

29. Summary of Principles
• In summary, the principles of fitness development tend to support
the process oriented approach rather than the outcome-oriented
approach to fitness development for the following reasons:
• • Fitness scores in children/adolescents are highly influenced by
heredity and physical maturity, and to a lesser degree by behaviour
(i.e., physical activity). Therefore, an outcome-oriented approach
(i.e., focusing on fitness score as the determinant of success)
could be extremely frustrating for a portion of the student
population and could lead to a negative fitness experience for
these individuals.

30. Summary of Principles
• • The dose-response relationship between physical activity and
physical fitness is poorly defined for children/adolescents.
Therefore, it is unreasonable to focus solely on fitness scores
when the most appropriate exercise prescription (i.e., FITT
principle) to reach greater fitness levels is poorly defined for this
age group.
• • The response to physical activity is highly heterogeneous. That is,
not everyone in the classroom will adapt at the same rate or in the
same way to a particular activity. Therefore, a focus on outcome
would favour those students who happen to be natural
“responders.”

31. Summary of Principles
• • The response to physical activity is highly dependent on an
individual’s prior state of fitness. Consequently, students with the
highest fitness level have the state of fitness. Consequently,
students with the highest fitness level have the least chance for
improvement. These students would, therefore, be unduly
penalized if the instructor took an outcome-oriented approach.
• Promoting the “more is better” or outcome-oriented approach may
ultimately result in poor health if the individual takes physical
fitness/activity to the extreme.