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Lesson 2
Physical Activity and Exercise
This lesson deals with the definitions of physical activity and exercise, as well as barriers
to physical activity participation, types of physical activity and exercise, and factors to consider in
planning an exercise program and how to design exercise program.
Objectives:
At the end of the lesson, the students are expected to:
1. Define and understand physical activity and exercise
2. Organize and plan physical activities and exercise for future physical activities and
exercise involvement.
3. Perform physical activities and exercises for future plans and involvement in physical
activities

Lesson Proper
Physical Activity. Are any activities done by the muscle and resulting to muscular
contraction and used of energy. Doing household chores (e.g., cleaning the bath room, washing
clothes, fetching water, and etc.), office works, transport-related activities, recreational activities,
and sports activities are examples of physical activities, and thus these can be considered as
unplanned activities. On the other hand, scheduled physical activities like going to gym every day
for increasing muscular strength to stay healthy and strong is considered planned physical
activities.

Other definitions of Physical Activity:

Physical activity is a movement that is carried out by the skeletal muscles that
requires energy. In other words, any movement one does is actually physical activity
(Gummelt, 2015)

Physical activity is defined as any bodily movement produced by skeletal

muscles that results in energy expenditure. Physical activity in daily life can be
categorized into occupational, sports, conditioning, household, or other activities
(Caspersen et al., 1985).

Physical activity simple means movement of the body that uses energy.
Walking, gardening, briskly pushing a baby stroller, climbing the stairs, playing soccer,
or dancing are all good examples of being active (ChooseMyPlate, U.S. Department of
Agriculture, n.d).

Types of Physical Activity

1. Aerobic Activities – aerobic activities are also called “cardio” exercises. Normally these
activities increase our heart and breathing rate. This cause us to sweat profusely and
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harder. This allows our heart to pumps blood forcefully, resulting to oxygen circulation
throughout our body. Examples are activities like jumping rope, cycling, swimming,
running, playing football, basketball, or volleyball.

2. Muscle-strengthening activity – this helps to develop major muscle groups and

increases muscular fitness to do more work and become stronger. Such muscle groups
are legs, hips, back, chest, abdomen, shoulders, and arms. Examples of muscle-
strengthening activities are pushups, pull ups, sit ups, and squats.

3. Bone-strengthening activity – are activities that helps to strengthen and increase bone
density throughout skeletal system and reduces the risk of osteoporosis. It is also
important to remember that bone-strengthening activities does not only focuses on bone
health, it is also focusing on coordination, balance, and improving muscle strength
because bone serves as muscle support to avoid the risk of falling.

Exercise. Contrary to unplanned physical activities, exercise is a planned physical activity

designed to improve physical fitness. Physical Fitness is the ability of our body to do task every
day without easily getting tired and has ample reserved energy to do more work. Moreover, this
is the ability of our body to fight-off diseases.

Other definitions of Exercise:

Exercise is planned, structured, repetitive and intentional movement intended to

improve or maintain physical fitness. exercise is a sub-category of physical activity
(Gummelt, 2015).

Exercise is planned, structured, repetitive for the purpose of conditioning the

body, exercise consist of cardiovascular conditioning, strength and resistance training,
and flexibility (Encyclopedia of Children’s Health, 2020).

Parts of an Exercise Program

In designing an exercise routine, the following three exercise components should not be
neglected:

1. Warm-up. Is the primary factor to consider when starting an exercise routine, this allows
the body to get warm and increases blood circulation in the working muscles to avoid
muscle cramps during workout activities. Also, this prepares our heart to pump naturally
and allows our joints to avoid stiffness during workout. Jogging is an example of warming-
up the body, it increases the level of body’s temperature gradually to protect the body from
injuries and muscle soreness. To start a warm-up activity, begin with light aerobic activities
at least 5-10 minutes. Never neglect that activities should be based on the individual’s
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level or skills, especially if you are a beginner, always choose the exercise suitable for
your level.
2. Exercise load. This targets the whole body, using lots of different muscles to strengthen,
shape, and tone your body. They may combine several types of exercise, such as
flexibility, strength, and resistance training (Cronkleton, 2019).

Benefits of Exercise Load:

1. It helps build long-term lifestyle changer
2. It improves sporting performance
3. It builds healthy bone
4. It can help prevent injury
5. It improves overall posture
6. It raises metabolism
7. It helps improve balance
8. It prevents obesity

3. Cooldown. Also known as limbering down or warming-down, this is done after a more
intense physical activity or after conditioning exercise, cooldown exercise allows the heart
to return into its normal rate or resting rate and normal blood flow. Moreover, this helps
prevent muscle cramps and dizziness. To start a cooldown exercise, begin with slow walk
or slow jogging, a good cooldown exercise lust around 5-10 minutes.

Types of Exercise to derive health benefits

1. Aerobic Exercise. Primarily, this type of exercise focused on improving large muscle
groups of our body, the thighs, shoulders, buttocks, chest, and etc. Swimming,
running, biking, and dancing are example activities to improve these body parts.
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2. Resistance Exercise. Also called strength training or weight training, is the use of
resistance to muscular contraction to build the strength, aerobic endurance and size
of skeletal muscles. Examples of resistance training: free weights, medicine balls or
sand bags, weight machines, resistance bands, suspension equipment, your own
body weight.

Health benefits of Resistance Training

1. Tone the muscles and improves the muscles
2. Maintain flexibility and balance
3. Weight management and increased muscle-fat ratio
4. Greater stamina
5. Prevention or control of chronic conditions such as diabetes, heart disease, arthritis, back
pain, depression, and obesity
6. Improve posture
7. Decreased risk of injury
8. improve since of well-being
9. increased self-esteem and etc.
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3. Stretching Exercise. Stretching keeps the muscles flexible, strong, and healthy, and
we need that flexibility to maintain a range of motion in the joints. Without it, the muscle
shortens and become tight. Then, when you call on the muscles for activity, they are
weak and unable to extend all the way. That puts you at risk for joint pain, strains, and
muscle damage (Harvard Health Publishing, 2013).

Barriers to an Active Lifestyles

1. No time for exercise
2. Always tired
3. Don’t know how
4. Don’t have enough money
5. Don’t have enough support
6. Not motivated
7. Lack of willpower
8. Easily get discouraged
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The F.I.T.T. Principle of Physical Activity and Exercise

In designing an exercise program always consider these following guidelines sustain your
desired results effectively.
Frequency – “How often” considering the amount of exercise sessions per week.
Frequency is important especially when doing cardio exercises or planning to lose weight.
Example, for the first few weeks, start cardio exercise for at least 3 days a week with not more
than 2 days’ rest between sessions. Then, subsequently increase the frequency of exercise for 5
days a week.

Intensity – “How intense” refers to the level of difficulty of an exercise session. Intensity
also states that an exercise should be done from moderate intensity then afterwards to high
intensity level to obtain the results. In general, our maximum heart rate should be 60% to 80 %.
To determine the target heart rate, first, get the maximum heart rate and the recommended heart
rate range.

Time – “How long” refers to the specific number of hours/minutes an aerobic exercise
should be spent. At first, we can at least perform or spend 20 minutes of our time then gradually
increase it to 60 minutes per session.

Type – “What type of exercise or Physical activity” refers to the types of activities. There
are some activities that we can do to improve our heart rate. Such activities are like playing contact
sports, running, swimming, and jogging. And to avoid boredom it is also important to try another
activity. See table 1 for sample.

Frequency Intensity Time Type

Thrice a week Moderate 15 minutes Stretching exercise
Thrice a week Moderate 15 minutes Resistance exercise

5 times a week Vigorous 30 minutes Aerobic exercise

Table 1. Example of FITT principles of Physical Activity and Exercise

Principles of Exercise Training

The Principle of Overload states that the body must work harder than what it is used to
in order for it to adopt. It implies that exercise is a controlled form of stress that will stimulate the
body to become stronger. For example, in order for a muscle (including the heart muscle) to get
stronger, it must be overloaded or worked beyond the usual load. At first, the body will resist the
new workload but it will eventually adapt over time. It is important to perform on a regular basis to
gain its benefits. A word of caution though: exercise should not be performed until exhaustion or
until pain sets in to be considered effective.

The Principle of Progression states that the body should experience a gradual increase
in workload. If the principle of overload asks “How hard?” then the principle of progression asks
“How soon?” The body will get injured if it is experiences workload that is too hard and too soon.
The body should be given an ample time to recovered and get used to the new workload. The
rate at which the body adapts varies from one individual to another. A reasonable time frame is
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to increase the load after two weeks. However, it is recommended that you don not increase the
workload by more than 10% from the previous weeks.

The Principle of Specificity states that the body will adapt specifically to the workload it
experienced. It implies that improvement in fitness level will be limited to the activities that one is
performing. The application of this principle is not only on the movement or activity performed but
which to the intensity at which it is performed. A person who trains a marathon should not be
expected to be able to lift heavy barbells. This principle highlights the importance of performing a
variety of activities to improve overall fitness.

The Principle of Individuality states that the no two person are the same and their rate
of adaptation to the same workload differs. All individuals have different performance goals,
fitness attributes, lifestyle, and nutritional preference; they respond to exercise and its physical
and social environments in their own unique way. It is therefore essential that the exercise
program cater to these individual needs and preferences.

The adaptation that take place as a result of training are all reversible. While the exercise
program requires rest for the body to recover, too much rest will be counterproductive. The
Principle of Reversibility is another way of stating the principle of disuse. If your energy systems
are not utilized, they deteriorate to a level that matches your level of activity. It indicates that
disuse or inactivity results in loss of benefits achieved in overloading.

In order to maintain a desired level of fitness, you need to continue to provide an exercise
overload. Unfortunately, you cannot “bank” fitness, neither can you ‘store’ it. The principles states
that if an individual stop to exercise the body gradually returns to its initial level of fitness.

Activity 2: Physical Activity Questionnaire

The following questions will help you analyze your physical activity preference and habits.
It will help you make decisions concerning your health and fitness level. This is NOT A TEST.
Answer the questions as honestly as possible and use the scoring guide to help you assess your
physical activity.
1. In the past semester, how active were you during your PE class?
a. I did not join PE class
b. I just stood/walked around during class
c. I ran and played a bit
d. I ran and played most of the time
2. In the past week, how many days were you active for at least 60 minutes?
a. 0 c. 3 to 4 days
b. 1 to 2 days d. 5 or more days
3. In the past week, how ma t days did you spend watching TV or paying video games
for more than 2 hours?
a. 5 or more days c. 3 to 4 days
b. 1 to 2 days d. 0
4. In the past week, I spent most of my leisure time_______________.
a. Reading books, watching TV, playing video games, surfing the net, and sleeping
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b. Walking the street, helping with household chores, cleaning my room, and running
errands
c. Performing moderate intensity sports, games, and dance
d. Performing high intensity sports, games, and dance
5. In the past week, how many hours (i.e., average) in a day did you spend playing video
games or surfing the net?
a. More than 4 hours c. 3 to 4 hours
b. 1 to 2 hours d. Less than an hour
6. In the past week, how many hours (i.e., total) of your weekend did you spend in
moderate to high intensity exercise?
a. More than 4 hours c. 3 o 4 hours
b. 1 to 2 hours d. Less than an hour
7. In the past semester, how many minutes (i.e., total) of your PE class you actually
spend playing, dancing, or moving?
a. Less than 15 minutes c. 15 to 30 minutes
b. 30 to 45 minutes d. More than 45 minutes
8. In the past week, how would you classify your participation in various physical
activities?
a. Inactive c. Lightly active
b. Moderately active d. Very active

Scoring Guidelines:
1. Equate the following points for each response to the questions above:
a = 1 point c = 3 points
b = 2 points d = 4 points
2. Sum up all the points from each question.
3. Rate your score:
“Excellent” if your score is 24 and above.
“Good” if your score is 15-23.
“Needs improvement” if your score is 14 or lower
4. Based on your score and your rating, write three things that can improve on and why
you chose these three.

___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________

Activity 3. I’m in!

Direction: In this present pandemic, to prevent the local transmission of COVID-19, we were
governed to stay at home. To prevent mental, emotional, and physical stress, and avoid boredom.
Design your own 6-week planned physical activities or exercise routine, don’t forget to apply the
parts of exercise program and most importantly follow the F.I.T.T principles of physical activity
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and exercise. Always take time to recover before proceeding to the next phase. Take a video of
yourself while doing your own exercise routine to track your progress. Good Luck and Stay Safe!
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References:
Callo-Fernando, L., & Dajime, P.F. (2016). Physical Education and Health. Sampaloc, Manila,
Rex Bookstore

Department of Education. (2016). Physical Education and Health, (1st Ed.), DepEd Central
Office

What is Physical Activity. (n.d.), U.S. Department of Agriculture, ChooseMyPlate. Retrieved

from https://www.choosemyplate.gov

Definition of Exercise. (2020). Retrieved from https://www.dictionary.com

Gummelt, Dominique. (June 03, 2015). Physical Activity and Exercise: What’s the difference,
the American Council of Exercise. Retrieved from https://www.acefitness.org

Warming-up. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.en.mwikipedia.com

Cronkleton, Emily. et. al. (December 17, 2019). How to Do Body Conditioning Exercises.
Healthline Media a Red Ventures Company. Retrieved from https://www.healthline.com