LESSON 3.2 S.JETT, NBCT MONTEVALLO MIDDLE FITNESS FOR LIFE – CORBIN & LINDSEY PHYSICAL ACTIVITY: How Much Fitness?

How much Fitness? Fitness Rating Categories – Sometimes people judge their fitness levels by comparing themselves to others. This type of comparison creates several problems – First, it suggest only an elite few can be fit, and secondly that only high test scores are adequate indicators of fitness levels. Most experts agree that you should judge your fitness by using standards.

Health and Wellness Standards Health and wellness standards require you to have enough fitness to – 1. Reduce the risk of health problems. 2. Achieve wellness benefits. 3. Work effectively and meet emergencies. 4. Be able to enjoy your free time. During this program, you are going to be learning different ways to determine your fitness levels.

Assessment Categories Low ratings will result in increased risk for many health problems. If you are in this category, you may not look, feel or even play your best. Marginal ratings show progress but lots of work still needs to be done to reach the standards. Good ratings indicate that you have the ability to lead a full and healthy life. Once you reach the good level, you have to work hard to maintain it. High performance ratings are not necessary for good health, although very admirable and necessary for some PA.

Factors to Consider PA is the most important thing that you can do to improve and maintain your health-related fitness. You can control your PA by selecting things you want to do and doing them when you want with whom you want. There are other important factors that contribute to health-related fitness such as; maturation, age, heredity, nutrition, stress management and other lifestyles.

Maturation, Age and Heredity Maturation refers to becoming physically mature or fully developed. Some people mature earlier than others. Early developers usually do better on physical assessments. Age is important because older teens usually perform better, but after the teenage years, age becomes a negative factor as one gets older. Heredity plays an important role in physical characteristics that we get from our parents that make it easier or harder, depending. A person born with a lot of red-fast twitch fiber will be faster.

Anyone can Succeed Since many factors contribute to physical fitness, it is possible for people who do relatively little to achieve higher scores on assessments. This is negative is they conclude that they are fit without having to do much PA or even try hard on tests. This may be true for them when they are young, but will not be true for a lifetime. Sooner or later, inactivity catches up with people. Regular PA and healthy lifestyles are necessary if fitness, health, and wellness are to occur for a lifetime.

Yes, Anyone Just as some people have an advantage, others have disadvantages. Even when these people are very active, they still can not score well and this may discourage them from continuing to be PA. Studies show that people that were good in sports in school, but are not active later in life die earlier and are less healthy than those who do regular PA throughout their lives., even if they were not good performers when they were young. Anyone can do PA. No matter who you are, PA is important to good health and wellness.

Review 1. What are the 4 fitness ratings? 2. Identify factors that contribute to fitness. 3. Explain why everyone should be physically active.