1. UNIT 1 Fitness Testing and Training
BTEC Level 2 First in Sport

2. Components of Fitness
A person is considered to be physically fit if they are able to carry out everyday tasks without becoming fatigued (tired).
Being ‘fit for sport’ requires a much higher level of fitness than activities such as walking the dog or gardening.

3. Aerobic Endurance
Muscular Endurance
Physical Fitness
Body Composition
Speed
Strength
Flexibility

4. Aerobic/Cardiovascular Endurance
Measures how well you are able to keep your muscles supplied with oxygen
Relies on a strong heart muscle to keep pumping the blood around the body
Requires good lungs to keep supplying blood with fresh oxygen
Marathon runners and distance cyclists need a high level of aerobic endurance

5. Muscular Endurance
Is when your muscles can keep exerting force over a period of time
Can mean the ability to contract many times, for example in a 90 minute football game
Or it can mean the ability to sustain one contraction for a long period of time, for example when pulling in a tug of war

6. Body Composition
A measure of how much your body is made up of muscle compared with how much is made up of fat
Some performers, like rowers, need a large muscle mass to give them power and strength, whereas others, like marathon runners, require a lower muscle mass so they don’t have to carry ‘extra’ as they are running.
Everyone is born with a predisposition to a particular body composition.
It is important to have the correct body composition to your sport.

7. Flexibility This is the range of movement possible at a joint.
Determined by how elastic the ligaments and tendons are at a joint, how strong the muscles are that pull against the joint and the shape of the bones that form the joint.
Most joints are designed to give either strength or flexibility.
Gymnasts have to be flexible sot hey can twist their bodies into different shapes.

8. Speed
This is how fast a muscle can contract, once or repeatedly, in a given amount of time.
In the 100m the faster your muscles contract over and over, the faster you will go.
Speed is important in team games to beat opponents.
Speed is often said to be something we are born with but it can be improved with training.

9. Strength
This is the amount of force that can be generated by a muscle when it is contracting. There are 2 main types:
Explosive strength – amount of force exerted in one quick, powerful contraction, e.g. in the javelin
Dynamic strength – amount of force exerted repeatedly by a muscle, useful in cycling. Closely linked to muscular endurance.

10. Agility
Balance
Skill Related Fitness
Coordination
Reaction Time
Power

11. Agility
The ability of a sports player to move and change direction quickly and under control
E.g. a basketball player has to change direction quickly to dodge other players when dribbling towards the goal.

12. Balance
The ability to keep the body stable, when still or moving, by keeping the centre of gravity over the base of support
E.g. Handstands and cartwheels
Balance cannot be trained but certain balances can be practised, e.g. a headstand

13. Coordination
The ability to use two or more parts of the body at the same time
Simple acts like walking require some level of coordination but other acts such as a tennis serve/shot require a much higher level
Coordination can be improved through practice

14. Power
The ability to combine strength with speed, to perform a strong contraction very quickly
Power is linked to explosive strength
Power is needed in most sports but is more obvious in some
Boxers need power to punch hard and fast
Golfers need power to hit the ball over a great distance

15. Reaction Time
The time it takes to respond to a stimulus, such as a ball coming towards you when fielding in cricket
The shorter the amount of time it takes someone to respond the quicker their reactions
Important in events like 100m sprint and swimming because the person who reacts quickly to the sound of the gun has a better start to the race

16. Recap!!!
With the person next to you name all the components of fitness both physical and skill related! Here are the first letters of each to help you….
A E
M E S F
B C A B C P
R T

17. Fitness Training Methods
Fitness training is much more technical than simply going for a jog each day. Each of the components of fitness has to be trained in a different way and different training methods will develop some components more than others.
Because all sports require a mixture of the components of fitness, they require participants to take part in a range of training methods. Overusing one particular training method is likely to lead to injury in the long term so a variation is important.

18. The Training Pyramid
This is how to calculate how hard you need to train and how long each training session should be.
Each section represents a different training zone.
The higher the zone, the harder you need to work.
The width represents the time you need to train in that zone.

19. Speed (acceleration sprint), strength and power (plyometrics)
100% of max HR
Speed Zone
Speed (acceleration sprint), strength and power (plyometrics)
Anaerobic Zone
Flexibility (ballistic), speed endurance (interval), strength and power (weight and circuit)
95% of max HR
85% of max HR
Aerobic Zone
Flexibility (static, active, passive), endurance (continuous, fartlek, interval)
60% of max HR
Resting HR

20. Maximum HR for men = 220 – age Maximum HR for women = 226 – age
So, a 15 year old males Max HR is…
220 – 15 = 205 bpm (beats per minute)
From this we can calculate the training zones...
Aerobic = 60% of 205 to 85% of 205 = 123 – 174 bpm
Therefore a 15 yr old male who wishes to undertake continuous training should work hard enough to make their heart contract between these bpms. Any slower will have little or no training effect and above will cause fatigue.

21. Flexibility Training
This is usually undertaken as part of a regular training programme.
Gymnasts and dancers use it to be able to stretch further and perform more complex actions.
Footballers use it a s a way of preventing injuries.
There are four types of flexibility training…

22. Static Stretching
There is no movement and the stretch is held for seconds.
E.g. Leaning against the wall to stretch the lower leg.

23. Active Stretching
Performer moves slowly into the stretch to apply extra force to the muscle.
E.g. taking slow, small steps and rising up on tip toes to stretch the muscles in the lower leg, or lunges.

24. Passive Stretching
The force of a stretch is applied by a partner, while the performer tries to relax.
The most common form is the hamstring stretch.

25. Ballistic Stretching Known as ‘bounce stretching’.
Performer tries to use extra force by bouncing the muscles to stretch them further.
E.g. the high kick action.

26. Circuit Training
Consists of a series of exercises arranged in order and designed to develop general fitness, physical fitness and/or skill related fitness specific to a particular sport.
One advantage is that it can be used to develop many components of fitness in a limited time and limited space.
It can also involve large numbers of participants in a small place and allow different fitness levels to work together.

27. Circuit Training
To improve a component of fitness you need to ‘overload’ to work harder than your body is used to. Overload is achieved by the following:
Reducing target times (time taken to complete a number of repetitions)
Increasing exercise resistance (difficulty)
Increasing repetitions
Increasing circuits completed

28. Circuit Training When designing a circuit:
Decide on fitness requirements of people completing circuit and choose exercise accordingly. (What do they want to develop?)
The number of participants
Current level of fitness of participants
Time, space and equipment available
Don’t exercise the same body part consecutively, alternate between exercises!!!