Health & Fitness

Fitness can be defined as ‘the ability to meet the demands of the environment’ and relates to how physically demanding life is. Therefore, a person doing an office job requires lower levels of physical fitness than an Olympic athlete. There is an increasing number of people who work in jobs which don’t require much physical activity. These jobs are described as non-physical or sedentary and mean the level of fitness required to do them is low. This can lead to more people having low levels of fitness and decreasing health levels in society. This would lead to more people having a low level of fitness in society and health levels would decrease.

Exercise can be defined as ‘a form of physical exercise done to improve health or fitness or both’. It is recommended that adults and children follow different activity routines in order to maintain good health and fitness:

Adults – five sessions of thirty minutes activity per week. The activity should be physical enough to cause the adult to breathe more deeply and to begin to sweat.

Children and young people – seven sessions of sixty minutes per week. At least two of these sessions should be of high intensity exercise such as running, jumping or cardiovascular based sports. The seven hours may be spread out over the course of a week.

In this context it becomes essential that physical exercise is built into the structure of the typical day. Good examples of this could be walking or cycling together to work or to school, taking part in games together in the back garden and participating in active experiences at the weekend such as walking in the countryside or going for a bike ride. Children learn a great deal from their parents and therefore it is important that parents present active role models and opportunities for their children.

If a person does not take part in regular physical activity, exercise or sport then they are at risk of a number of illnesses and negative effects such as:

• weight gain or obesity
• heart disease
• hypertension (high blood pressure)
• diabetes
• poor sleep
• poor self-esteem
• lethargy
• depression
• increased risk of osteoporosis
• loss of muscle tone
• stress
• atherosclerosis
• poor body image

Other lifestyle choices can affect a person’s health in either a positive or negative way.

• Eating a balanced diet means a person is less likely to become ill or put on excess body fat.
• Getting enough sleep is important for the body to rest and brain to function optimally.
• Not smoking as this causes illnesses such as bronchitis and lung cancer.
• Not taking recreational drugs such as alcohol as in the short term it can lead to disorientation and poor decision-making and in the long term can lead to disease.

Components of fitness:

Fitness can be broken down into different components or parts.

Health-related components:

Skill-related components

These sub-divisions make it easier to understand fitness and also to understand the different requirements of sporting activities and the different roles within the same activity.

For example, if we look at the game of field hockey, the top three fitness requirements of the goalkeeper and the midfielder might look like this:

It is obvious that the training for these two performers must be completely different and must focus on the specific requirements of the individual position.

Health-related components

Fitness testing is a central and essential feature of all fitness training and will be used before training begins, during the training programme and again at the end of the training programme.

The importance of fitness testing

Here are some of the most popular methods of testing each component of fitness with a short description of the protocol for each.

Strength – Hand grip dynamometer

• Grip with dominant hand
• Apply maximum force while arm is straight in front of the body
• Repeat three times while non-participant records the maximum force reading
• Usually measured in kilograms

Maximal strength – One rep max test

• Select the body part that is to be tested and use the weight lifting technique for that body part – for example quadriceps a leg extension, pectorals – bench press
• Lift a weight that is more than the training weight
• Rest for 5 – 10 minutes then select a heavier weight
• Repeat the process until a weight is selected that can only be lifted successfully for one rep
• Usually measured in kilograms

Cardiovascular endurance –

Multi-stage fitness test

• Mark out a 20 m course
• Participants must arrive at end line on the beep or wait for the beep before running back
• Participants must run until total exhaustion prevents the completion of two to three shuttles
• Measured in number of shuttle runs completed and converted to ml/kg/min

 Twelve minute Cooper run or swim

• Measure the specific distance around a pitch or track (could be distance in the swimming pool)
• Participants run or swim as far as possible in the twelve minutes
• The exact distance covered is recorded and compared to normative scores

Cardiovascular fitness – Harvard step test

• The participant steps on and off a standard gym bench once every two seconds for a period of five minutes (150 steps)
• The heart rate is measured one minute (pulse 1) , then two minutes (pulse 2) then three minutes (pulse 3) after finishing the test
• A calculation is carried out using the following equation:
  • Result = 3000 ÷ (pulse 1 + pulse 2 + pulse 3)

Flexibility – Sit and reach test

• Remove shoes and position sit and reach box against the wall
• Keep knees completely locked and reach forward with one hand on top of the other
• Stretch and hold position for two seconds while non-participant records score
• Usually measured in centimetres

Speed – 30 metre sprint test

• Mark out a 30 metre distance on an even, firm surface
• Participant takes a rolling start so that they are running at full speed as they hit the start line
• Ensure accurate timing by using two timers
• Usually measured in seconds

Muscular endurance – 60 second press-up test

• On a cushioned surface the participant performs as many full press-ups as possible in 60 seconds
• Elbows moving from the locked, straight position to 90 degrees of flexion
• Non-participant counts the completed actions and judges that all actions are full
• Measured in complete number of press-ups performed

Muscular endurance – 60 second sit-up bleep test

• On a cushioned surface the participant performs as many full sit ups as they are able to in time to set beeps over 5 minute period
• Lying on the back, elbows bent and hands by the ears, knees bent, the participant moves from a lying position to sitting up with their elbows touching their knees and then returns to the ground
• Non-participant holds the participants feet on the ground, counts the completed actions and judges that all actions are full
• Measured in complete number of sit-ups performed

Agility – Illinois agility test

• Mark out the course to the exact measurements required
• Participant starts in a face-down lying position at the start line
• Ensure accuracy of timing with two timers at the finish line
• Measured in seconds

Coordination – Alternate hand wall toss test

• Participant stands exactly two metres from a smooth-surfaced wall
• Participant throws the ball with one hand and catches with the other and repeats
• Non-participant counts number of successful catches in 30 seconds
• Measured in number of successful catches in 30 seconds

Reaction time – Ruler drop test

• Hold a 30 cm ruler above the open hand of the participant
• The 0 cm mark must be directly between the thumb and index finger
• Non-participant drops the ruler with no warning and participant catches
• The score is taken from where the top of the thumb hits the ruler after three tests provides an average
• Measured in seconds

Balance – Standing stork test

• Participant places their hand on hips and one foot on inside knee of the opposite leg
• Participant raises their heel and holds the balance for as long as possible
• The score is taken as the total time the participant held the balance successfully
• Measured in minutes and seconds

Power – Vertical jump test

• Participant stands sideways onto wall and measures height with an up-stretched arm
• Participant jumps as high as possible and marks wall at peak of the jump on three occasions
• The average distance between the standing and jumping height is taken as the score
• Measured in centimetres

With all of these tests it is essential to judge both the validity and reliability of the process. Validity refers to the test measuring what is claimed to measure. It is difficult to justify whether the handgrip dynamometer test measures whole body strength rather than just lower arm and hand strength. Likewise, the multi-stage fitness test is a more appropriate test for distance runners compared to swimmers or cyclists as the test involves running.

Reliability requires that the test should produce similar results each time the test is taken unless there has been a significant change in the fitness level of the participant. It is essential that fitness tests be completed with the scientific rigour found in experimental practices, especially with regard to the accuracy of timing and measurement.

• Some fitness tests are too specific such as the handgrip dynamometer test
• Some tests do not replicate real sporting movements or challenges and are therefore too generic
• Fitness tests do not replicate the competitive environment of sport
• Some fitness tests do not use a direct measurement but instead use a prediction
• Many maximal tests such as the 60 second press up test require a person to be fully motivated or they drop out before achieving their true score
• Fitness tests can be carried out using the wrong protocols and therefore produce invalid results

All the fitness tests provide data which can be compared to normative scores. These normative scores are indicators of how the participant has performed in comparison to the general population. Fitness tests are only relevant when the scores are compared to normative data. However, highly trained athletes may find that normative comparisons are no longer relevant to their own progress. An athlete such as Lydia Valentin will only be interested in how her fitness data compares to other athletes and specifically to her own previous fitness test performances. As a result, Lydia’s ongoing fitness can be tracked and action can be taken exactly when and where it is needed most.

Bibliography: BBC – Education

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