DANC 1 Components of Fitness

What you need to know “the fitness components of strength, muscular endurance, cardiovascular endurance, flexibility, agility and how to develop these through training principles” (AQA Specification)

Strength The extent to which muscles can exert force by contracting against resistance. E.g. holding or restraining an object or person

Flexibility The range of movement that is possible in a joint

Agility The ability to perform a series of explosive movements in rapid succession in opposing directions

Cardiovascular Endurance The heart’s ability to deliver blood to working muscles and their ability to use it

Muscular Endurance The ability to keep working a single group of muscles over a long period of time

Exam Question “Explain what you understand by the term flexibility in relation to the dancer?” (2 marks)

Principles of Training S P O R T Specificity - Fit for what? Training should suit the activity that you are training for If arm strength needs to be improved, it is no good doing leg exercises Progression For exercise to be of benefit a GRADUAL increase in amount done is essential Too fast progression will cause……? Too little progression will lead to……? Overload Making the body work harder Unless the body is subject to increased demand, improvements in physical fitness will not be made There are 4 Thresholds of Training to this overload - F I T T (see below) Reversibility “if you don’t use it, you lose it” You cannot store fitness for future use. Tedium When training becomes dull, it can lead to poor performance, activities should stimulate interest.

Principles of Training cont F I T T Frequency: the number of training sessions per week/month/year or the number of repetitions during an activity. Intensity: the level of exercise which the participant is working e.g. 220-age=max heart rate. Thus 150 bpm. Type: what kind of training? Right for the type of fitness you want to build up. Time: the duration of training e.g. 1 hour. Train for longer periods of time.

How can we develop/improve these fitness components? You need to write down a 'perfect' example for each fitness component e.g. : In order to improve strength of the abdominal muscles you could perform sit ups – beginning in sets of 8 and increasing to sets of 20. Also increase the number of times the exercise is done each day. Increase the intensity by completing the exercise in a shorter time.

What factors may affect being able to improve these fitness components? Age Gender Temperature Injuries Medical conditions e.g.asthma

Task Design a circuit training session that works on these fitness components. You must ensure that there is at least one station for each component, ideally two for each.

Examples Sit Ups……. Muscular Endurance Shuttle Runs….. C.V Endurance

Exam Question “ Describe a specific exercise that you have successfully used to improve your muscular endurance?” (3 marks)

Exam Question Briefly comment on any physical or environmental factors that may affect the improvement of your cardiovascular endurance? (5 marks)