P.E.
and Gymnastics  Benefits of Physical Activity:
Definitions of Physical Activity, Exercise, and Fitness
 Physical Activity - The term “physical activity” describes many forms
of movement, including activities that involve the large skeletal
muscles.
 Physical Activity and Exercise – Anything that gets you moving.
Physical activity is a general term that includes sports, dance, and
activities done at work or at home, such as walking, climbing stairs,
or mowing the lawn.
 Types of Physical Activity –
o Aerobic - light to vigorous-intensity physical activity that
requires more oxygen than sedentary behavior and thus
promotes cardiovascular fitness and other health benefits
(e.g., jumping rope, biking, swimming, running; playing
soccer, basketball, or volleyball).
o Anaerobic – intense physical activity that is short in duration
and requires a breakdown of energy sources in the absence
of sufficient oxygen. Anaerobic activity (e.g., sprinting during
running, swimming, or biking)
o Lifestyle – physical activity typically performed on a routine
basis (e.g., walking, climbing stairs, mowing or raking the
yard), which is usually light to moderate in intensity.
o Physical activity play – play activity that requires substantial
energy expenditure (e.g., playing tag, jumping rope).
o Play – activity with flexible rules, usually self-selected, for the
purpose of having fun.
o Sports – physical activity that involves competition,
scorekeeping, rules, and an outcome that cannot be
predetermined. There are two categories of sports:
individual and team.
o Weight-bearing – physical activity that requires people to
move their own weight.
o Helps people achieve and maintain a healthy weight
o Reduces feelings of stress, anxiety & depression
o Builds and maintains healthy bones, muscles & joints
o Boosts energy level
o Improves quality of sleep
 Physical Activity Reduces the risk of:
o Dying from heart disease or stroke
o Developing high blood pressure, cholesterol & diabetes
o Developing obesity
o Developing osteoporosis – exercise builds strong bones &
muscles
 Health and Wellness Benefits of Physical Activity
o Regular physical activity can do much to prevent disease and
illness.
o It can help you look your best (with proper nutrition, good
posture, and good body mechanics).
o Besides looking better, people who do regular physical
activity feel better, do better on academic work, and are less
depressed than people who are less active.
o Regular physical activity results in physical fitness which is
the key to being able to do more of things you want to do
and enjoy life.
o It allows you to be fit enough to meet emergencies and day-
to-day demanding situations.
o Being physically active can build fitness, which, in turn,
provides you with many health and wellness benefits.
 Making Physical Activity Part of Your Life
o There are 1440 minutes in every day. Schedule 30 of them
for physical activity.
 Exercise - consists of activities that are planned and structured, and
that maintain or improve one or more of the components of physical
fitness.
 Physical activity suggests a wide variety of activities that promote
health and well-being.
 Exercise is often associated with fitness maintenance or
improvement only.
 Types of Exercise
o Calisthenics. Isotonic muscle - fitness exercise that overloads
muscles by forcing the muscles to work at a higher level than
usual.
o Flexibility (Stretching) - Exercise designed to stretch muscles
and tendons to increase joint flexibility or range of motion.
Specific flexibility exercises need to be done for each part of
the body.
o Isokinetic - Muscle-fitness exercise in which the amount of
force equals the amount of resistance, so that no movement
occurs.
o Isotonic - Muscle-fitness exercise in which the amount of
force exerted is constant throughout the range of motion,
including muscle shortening (concentric contractions), and
muscle lengthening (eccentric contractions).
o Muscle-fitness. Exercise designed to build muscle strength
and endurance by overloading the muscles; also called
progressive resistance exercise (PRE). Common forms of
muscle fitness exercise include isokinetic, isometric, and
isotonic.
 What is Physical Fitness? - Good health or physical condition,
especially as the result of exercise and proper nutrition.
 Fitness refers to the degree of body functioning and the ability of the
body to handle physical demands.
 Types of Fitness
o Physical fitness - A set of physical attributes related to a
person’s ability to perform physical activity successfully,
without undue strain and with a margin of safety.
o Health-related physical fitness - A physiological state of well-
being that reduces the risk of hypokinetic disease; a basis for
participation in sports; and a vigor for the tasks of daily living.
Components include cardio-respiratory endurance, muscle
strength endurance, flexibility, and body composition.
o Skill-related physical fitness - Common components of
physical fitness (e.g., agility, balance, coordination, speed,
power, reaction time) that enable participation in sports and
other physical activities; also called performance or motor
fitness.
 Health - Related Physical Fitness
o Cardiovascular fitness: the ability to exercise your entire
body for long periods of time.
o Strength: the amount of force your muscles can produce.
o Muscular endurance: the ability to use your muscles many
times without tiring.
o Flexibility: the ability to use your joints fully through a wide
range of motion.
o Body fatness – composition: is the percentage of body weight
that is made up of fat when compared to other body tissue,
such as bone and muscle.
 Skill - Related Physical Fitness - Different sports require different
parts of skill -related fitness. Many sports require several parts. Good
health does not come from being good in skill-related fitness.
o Agility - is the ability to change the position of your body
quickly and to control body’s movements. Ex: diving, soccer,
ice skating, wrestling, etc.
o Balance - is the ability to keep an upright posture while
standing still or moving. Ex: gymnastics, ice skating, rhythmic
gymnastics, ski-jumping, surfing, etc.
 o Power - is the ability to use strength and speed. Ex: put the
shot, throw the discus, high jump, play football, speed swim,
speed skate, etc.
o Reaction time - is the amount of time it takes to move once
you realize the need to act. Ex: make fast starts in track or
swimming, or to dodge a fast attack in fencing or karate.
o Speed - is the ability to perform a movement or cover a
distance in a short period of time. Ex: run fast, while people
with good arm speed can throw fast or hit a ball that is
thrown fast.
 Measuring Physical Activity Intensity – Target Heart Rate
 Personal Maximal Heart Rate (PMHR)
220 – AGE = MHR
 Training Heart Rate
 PMHR X .60 = Minimum Heart Rate
 PMHR X .80 = Maximum Heart Rate
o Target Heart Rate - Generally, to determine whether you are
exercising within the heart rate target zone, you must stop
exercising briefly to take your pulse. You can take the pulse
at the neck, the wrist, or the chest. We recommend the wrist.
You can feel the radial pulse on the artery of the wrist in line
with the thumb. Place the tips of the index and middle fingers
over the artery and press lightly. Do not use the thumb. Take
a full 60-second count of the heartbeats, or take for 30
seconds and multiply by 2. Start the count on a beat, which
is counted as "zero." If this number falls between 85 and 119
bpm in the case of the 50-year-old person, he or she is active
within the target range for moderate-intensity activity.
 Basic Principles of Exercise (Training)
o PRINCIPLE of Overload - it is the most basic law of exercise,
which states that the only way to produce fitness and health
benefits through physical activity is to require your body to
do more than it normally does. An increased demand on your
body (overload) forces to be active; so, if you do nothing
(underload), your fitness decreases and your health suffers.
 Components of Overload
o Intensity - refers to the degree of difficulty of an exercise
session. In general training intensity ranges from 60% to
90%.
o Duration - refers to how long a specific activity or an
exercise session will last.
o Frequency - refers to the number of sessions per given
amount of time.
o Progression - is closely associated with principle of overload.
The exercise program must systematically progress so that
the appropriate physiological systems continue to be
overloaded. It is important to note however, that excessive
overload could lead to exhaustion (burn - Out), injury or
impaired performance.
o Specificity - states that the specific type of exercise you do
determines the specific benefit you receive. Different kinds
and amounts of activity produce very specific and different
benefits.
o Reversibility - simply states that if an individual stop to
exercise, the body returns to its initial level of fitness.
o We are what we repeatedly do.” — Aristotle
 Steps to Fitness
o Write Your Personal Fitness Goal
o Pre-participation Checklist
o Start Moving!
 Final Tips for Being More Active
o Park the car farther away from your destination.
o Take the stairs instead of the elevator.
o Play with children or pets. Everybody wins.
o Take fitness breaks
o Perform gardening or home repair activities.
o Exercise while watching TV
o Keep a pair of comfortable walking or running shoes in your
car and office.
 Exercise Safely and Wisely
o Drink extra water
o Always warm-up & cool-down before and after your workout
o Wear comfortable clothing
o Pay attention to any discomfort you may feel during exercise
o Follow your doctor’s recommendations concerning
medications you may be taking

 LOCOMOTOR AND NON-LOCOMOTOR

o Locomotor movement - is when you actually move from one
place to another. Are those that move the body in space in
any direction with the feet as the moving base
 8 LOCOMOTOR MOVEMENTS
 Skip
 Slide
Walk
Run
Hop
Gallop
Leap
Jump