Physical Fitness (sometimes called Health Related Fitness) is something we all possess in varying amounts. It is best remembered if you think of 4 S’s + BODY COMPOSITION. Let’s take a closer look at what these S’s stand for …… The Five Parts of Physical Fitness

trength – the force our muscles produce when they contract against a resistance. These players are using Static Strength in the scrum. Static strength means that the muscles are working but there is no noticeable movement at a joint. Sit against a wall or hold a chair with straight arms for 20 seconds to experience this! Michael Jordan is using Explosive Strength in this picture to jump up high to dunk the ball ! Explosive Strength occurs only once, very quickly and with a great deal of power. Can you name any other actions or skills in a game that require high levels of Explosive Strength ?

trength - continued Rowers use a different form of Strength in their Sport. They need high levels of Dynamic Strength. Dynamic Strength occurs when the athlete has to make repeated fast, powerful muscular contractions over a period of time.

Pushing off from the blocks Just before the start …Sprinting Action towards the finish line Look at the three pictures of sprinters below and say which type of strength each one is using and why. Extension task: Identify a skill in a games activity that relies heavily on i) Static strength ii) Explosive Strength iii) Dynamic Strength and explain why. Which one of these three types do you think is used the least in most sporting situations and why?

peed – the ability of the limbs to move as quickly as possible. Write one sentence explaining why high levels of speed are an advantage when playing the Sports above. Extension: Can you think of a simple practice to improve Speed either in the pictures above or in a sport of your own choice? Football Tennis VolleyballLong Jump

tamina – the ability to sustain physical activity for a long period of time without becoming too fatigued (tired). Another word for Stamina is Endurance. Stamina can come in two forms depending on whether we are mainly working our heart and lungs or individual muscles. This Marathon runner is using many large muscle groups and so her heart and lungs have to draw in and pump a lot of Oxygen to her muscles. When your heart and lungs have to work together for long periods of time to keep you exercising it is called CARDIO-VASCULAR ENDURANCE. Cardio means heart and vascular means blood vessels. We can only work at around 60% of our maximum speed for extended periods otherwise our body cannot take in enough Oxygen.

Musculartamina is when we use small muscle groups for a long period without rest. This often involves doing lots of ‘reps’ with fairly light weights. Below are some examples of exercises that would develop Muscular Stamina. Can you identify the muscles being worked in Pictures A-D ? A B C D Extension: Can you and a partner think of a few more exercises to develop Muscular Stamina and draw out a simple Circuit Training session with 6 – 8 stations ? How long will your Rest periods be between exercises? HINT: Working the same muscle twice in a row may cause injury or collapse.

uppleness or Flexibility is being able to use the full range of movement at a joint. Having good Flexibility allows us to generate more power for things like throwing and jumping because we can take our arm / leg back further. Extension: Can you name other skills that would benefit from high levels of Suppleness and say why. (A skill is an action performed in a game or activity) What problems would the people above have when performing these skills if they had poor flexibility levels? Some clues are given under each picture …. Looks are important ! Need good body position over the hurdle Reach and power needed !

Body Composition refers to the amount of fat, muscle bone and other tissue that make up the body.

TIME TO REVIEW WHAT WE’VE LEARNT PHYSICAL FITNESS IS REMEMBERED AS 4 S’s + BODY COMPOSITION PEEDTRENGTH TAMINAUPPLENESS