Physical Fitness: Components, Benefits, and Factors
Physical Fitness
Warm-up
Purpose: Enables us to decide whether the warm-up stage has been completed properly.
Totality: The exercises should involve every part of the body, even if they do not intervene specifically in the subsequent activity.
Specificity: The warm-up exercises should be chosen in keeping with the characteristics of the subsequent activity.
Progression: The intensity and difficulty of the exercises and the movements required of the joints need to be increased gradually.
Duration: Warm-up should be of the proper duration since the body needs a minimum amount of time to complete the preparation process.
Endurance
Definition: Is the physical ability that enables a person to carry out a task for a prolonged length of time, either tolerating or delaying the onset of fatigue.
Types:
- Anaerobic Endurance: Short-term, high intensity, there is a lack of oxygen, energy runs out in seconds.
- Aerobic Endurance: Long-term, moderate intensity, there is no lack of oxygen, energy runs out in hours or days.
Health Effects of Working on Endurance:
- It improves the blood circulation system: increases the size of the heart, lowers blood pressure, greater number of capillaries.
- It enhances the functioning of the respiratory system: enhances lung capacity and the use of oxygen.
- The muscles adapt to exercise: the person gets less tired when doing everyday activities that require exertion.
- It improves a person’s state of mind.
How Can We Improve Our Endurance?
- Non-stop Running: Consists of running for an extended period of time at a steady, even pace on flat and preferably soft terrain.
- Circuit Training: Is a method that involves doing gym exercises for a set amount of time and alternating between periods of work and rest.
What Factors Does Endurance Depend On?
The capacity of the circulatory systems, the number of mitochondria, type of muscle fiber, energy, age.
Strength
Definition: Is the capacity to use our muscles to overcome resistance or offset it.
Types:
- Maximum Strength: Is the capacity to resist a maximum weight in relation to the person’s potential.
- Resistance Strength: Is the capacity to move a light weight repeatedly over an extended period of time.
Health Effects of Working on Strength:
- Muscle hypertrophy: This increases the size of the muscles and improves their response to contraction.
- Our bones become more resistant to traction.
- The risk of injury is reduced by the performance of everyday activities that require strength.
- It improves body posture.
- It improves our appearance and self-esteem. We feel more comfortable with ourselves.
What Factors Does Strength Depend On?
The muscle mass, type of muscle fiber, depending on the shape and arrangement of the muscle, task training and coordination, the age and gender.
Flexibility
Definition: Is the physical capacity that enables us to perform a wide range of movements.
Components:
- Joint Mobility: The ability to move a joint.
- Muscle Elasticity: Is the ability of muscles and tendons to lengthen and return to their original shape.
Health Effects of Working on Flexibility:
- Correct and balanced body posture with no spinal column disorders.
- Every task can be performed efficiently.
- A lower risk of joint and muscle injuries caused by sudden stretching when making ample movements.
- It facilitates the blood flow to the muscles.
- Since it reduces muscle tone, a state of relaxation is achieved.
How to Improve Flexibility:
Dynamic and static exercises.
Factors Affecting Flexibility:
Age, gender, the genetic factor, temperature, own mental state, the time of day.
Motor Skills
Definition: The movements that people use in their real lives and are essential for acquiring higher levels of dexterity. Turns, jumps, throws.
Motor Abilities
Definition: Facilitate the control of movement and represent the potential required to learn motor skills.
Coordination
Definition: The ability to perform movements by synchronizing the various parts of the body efficiently, smoothly, and with minimal effort.
- General Dynamic Coordination: The whole body, or various body segments, take part in the movement.
- Segmental Coordination: The task links up a single and specific part of the body. Eye-hand coordination, eye-foot coordination, eye-head coordination.
Sense of Balance
Definition: Ability to struggle against gravity to stay in the same position.
Factors Affecting Balance:
- Projection of the center of gravity.
- The organs of balance.
- Age.
Speed
Definition: Is considered a physical ability rather than a motor ability. It has a lot in common with motor skills and their acquisition.
- Reaction Speed: Is the time it takes for the nervous system to transmit an order to move.
- Gestual Speed or Movement Speed: Refers to the minimum time we need to perform a specific movement.
- Travel Speed: When speed involves a swift movement.
Factors Affecting Speed:
Nervous system, type of stimulus, number of body segments, training, age, white muscle fibers, frequency of strides.