Health and Fitness do not always go together.

If health is defined as the absence of disease and fitness

is defined as the ability to do a given task effectively and safely, then it is possible for someone who lifts
weights and has strong muscles to have clogged arteries. This could be due to bad genes, a poor diet, and
smoking or high stress levels. (Juan,1996).

Physical fitness is an important part of life. It is an indicator which shows whether you have the ability to
perform and enjoy day to day physical activities with ease. It is defined as the state of general well-being,
physically sound and healthy, along with mental stability. Previously fitness was commonly defined as the
capacity of the person to meet the physical demands of daily life and carry out the day’s activities without
undue fatigue. However, because of increased leisure time, changes in lifestyles rendered this definition
insufficient. These days, physical fitness is considered a measure of the body’s ability to function efficiently and
effectively in work and leisure activities, to be healthy, to resist hypo-kinetic diseases, and to meet emergency
situations.

It is generally achieved through:

● physical activity and exercise,

● correct nutrition,
● enough rest (good quality sleep),
● Stress management and relaxation.
● Definition of Physical Fitness:

Components of physical fitness are essential for complete fitness of the body and mind. All these fitness
components have a specific purpose and part in being physically fit and healthy. Physical fitness and wellness
are far more attainable than com monly perceived. It helps individuals to look, feel and do their best.

Obtaining and maintaining physical fitness is a result of physical activity, exercise, proper diet and
nutrition along with proper rest for physical recovery.

If you really want to measure the overall fitness of a person you have to
take into consideration the five components of physical fitness. For an
average person, workout should be based on the major 5 health related
fitness components. Other skill related components of physical fitness like
speed, agility, balance, coordination, reaction time and power are considered
for judging the physical fitness of an athlete.

Following are the two categories to differentiate these components of physical fitness:

1. Health related fitness components

2. Skill related fitness components

Health Related Physical fitness is defined as activity aimed to improve the overall health and well-being.
The goal of health- related fitness is prevention of disease or rehabilitation from disease as well as the
development of a high level of functional capacity for daily tasks. It is divided into 5 parts.

1. Body Composition. In other words, the ratio of fat to muscle. Minimum of fat and maximum of lean
mass is a sign of a healthy and fit body.
 To know your fitness level, you need to understand your body composition. The reason is body
composition directly relates to the overall fitness level. Body composition is the component which considers
the individual body type, according to the height, weight, frame size and the ratio of the fat mass to lean
muscle mass.

Facts about body composition in relation to sports performance

● Excess body fat does not contribute to force production especially in sports requiring speed. It
decreases acceleration.
● Increased fat weight is detrimental in sports activities where body is moved against gravity.
● Oxygen requirement is increased with any increment in body weight.
● Over fat athletes are disadvantaged in endurance exercises since they have low heat tolerance. Fat
insulates heat in the body resulting to greater increases in body temperature. The quality and quantity
of skill performance deteriorates as premature fatigue sets in.

2. Cardiovascular Fitness or Endurance. The ability of the respiratory system (lungs) and circulatory
system (heart and blood vessels) to effectively deliver oxygen to the heart and working muscle tissue
so that prolonged physical work can be maintained

EXERCISE: Cardiovascular exercises or aerobics -walking, running, biking, rowing, treadmills.

ASSESSMENT: A Max VO2 test in the laboratory is the best measure of cardiovascular fitness. Field tests
like the mile run, the 1-mile run, the mile walk, various bicycle, step, and treadmill tests are usually done.

BENEFITS:

● Decreased resting heart rate

● Decreased recovery time for a bout of exercise
● Increased blood volume and red blood cells to transport oxygen throughout the body
● Stronger heart muscle allowing it to eject more blood with each heartbeat. If this occurs, the heart can
rest longer between beats.
● Decreased rate of respiration
● Increased aerobic capacity which allows the body cells to utilize oxygen for better work efficiency.
● Prevents and/or reduces the risk of developing coronary heart diseases.
3. Flexibility. It can be defined as the component which checks the ability of the joints in the body to
move to their full range of motion.

EXERCISE: Flexibility exercises- stretching, yoga, Tai Chi

BENEFITS:

● Increased range of muscle joint movement

● Reduced muscle stiffness and increased body relaxation
● Improved blood circulation in specific body segment
● Reduced incidence of injury during a major sport event
● Reduced risk of cardiovascular problems in exercise
4. Muscular Endurance. It is defined as the ability of the body to perform repeated exercises without
getting tired. If a person can perform a greater number of repetitions of a particular strength training
exercise, then it can be said that he/she has good muscular endurance.
EXERCISE: Strength training exercises such as running, jogging, cross-training on an elliptical machine, etc.

ASSESSMENT: Each major muscle group of the body is tested to check the endurance. Muscular endurance
can be measured isometrically (static contractions) or isotonically (dynamic contractions).

5. Muscle strength. It can be defined as the capability of the muscles to lift weight. By doing weight
training exercises every alternate day increases the muscle mass of the body.

EXERCISE: Weight training exercises - push ups, pull ups, biceps curls, pectora l fly, leg extensions, back
extension, etc.

Skill Related Fitness Components

1. Agility. It is a skill-related component of physical fitness. Agility relates to the ability of a person to
rapidly change the position or directions of the entire body in space with speed and accuracy.

ASSESSMENT: Agility is typically measured using a shuttle zigzag run. Tests of agility are common as
screening tests among sports teams.

2. Balance. It is the ability of a person to control human body or to maintain equilibrium while stationary
or moving (static and dynamic conditions). E.g. handstand, skating, skiing, catching a fly in baseball,
etc.

ASSESSMENT: Balance is typically measured using a balance beam or tests that require holding a stationary
posture after changing body positions. Balance is generally considered to be of two types- static and dynamic.

3. Reaction Time. A skill-related component of physical fitness that relates to the time elapsed between
stimulation and the beginning of the reaction to it. Total response time includes stimulus to beginning
of movement (reaction time) to end of movement (movement time). Like speed, reaction time is also
greatly influenced by heredity.

ASSESSMENT: There are many different types of reaction time and total assessment of reaction time would
require many different tests. Sophisticated timing devices are used to measure total response time in the lab.

4. Coordination. This relates to the ability of the person to use the senses, such as sight and hearing,
together with body parts in performing motor tasks smoothly and accurately.

ASSESSMENT: It is typically assessed using measures of hand-eye or foot-eye coordination such as juggling,
dribbling a ball or hitting an object. There are different types of coordination which require different tests for
assessment.

5. Power. It is a skill-related component of physical fitness that relates to the ability to the rate at which
one can perform work.
Power is a combination of strength and speed. It has also been defined as the ability to exert muscle
force quickly. For this reason, some consider it to be a combination of skill and health-related physical
fitness. It is the ability of muscle to release maximum force in the shortest period of time.

Power = Force X Speed

Speed and force must be combined for effective performance in activities like baseball throw, jumps for
height, football kick, boxing punch etc.
ASSESSMENT: Examples of power include putting the shot and vertical jumping. There are, however, many
different types of power and total assessment would require many different tests.

6. Speed. It is the ability of a person to execute motor movements with high speed in the shortest period
of time. It is equal to the distance covered per unit of time.

Speed is an integral part of every sport and can be expressed as - maximum speed, elastic strength
(power) and speed endurance. Speed is influenced by the athlete's mobility, special strength, strength
endurance and technique. There are many different types of speed such as running speed, swimming
speed, speed of hand or foot movement, etc.

The element of speed is involved in most of the athletic skills such as in sprint running, some skills of
soccer, basketball, etc.

ASSESSMENT: Among athletes a 50-meter dash is often used to measure speed. There are a wide variety of
laboratory measures of speed that are highly specific to different body parts and different human movement
activities.

Recommended levels of physical activity for adults aged 18 - 64 years from the World

Health Organization (WHO)

A physical fitness test is a test designed to measure physical strength, agility, and endurance. They
are commonly employed in educational institutions as part of the physical education curriculum, in medicine as
part of diagnostic testing, and as eligibility requirements in fields that focus on physical ability such as
military or police. It is comprised of a series of exercises that help evaluate your overall health and physical
status. For general health and fitness purposes, the tests are considered the starting point for designing an
appropriate exercise program.

Many fitness assessments test one or more of the components of fitness. The different components of
fitness are cardiorespiratory endurance (also sometimes called aerobic fitness), muscular strength, muscular
endurance (muscular strength and endurance are sometimes combined into muscular fitness), flexibility, and
body composition.

Some fitness assessments may also test balance, stability, mobility, or other sports or performance skills
such as power or agility.

Guidelines for Preparing for Testing

For any fitness assessment, it is recommended that you ensure that your body is primed physically to
perform to your potential. Maximum performance is more likely if these nutritional and physical guidelines
are followed. If all participants follow the same procedures and are in the same physical state, then
comparisons are more valid, and if the same procedures are followed for each testing session, then the results
will be more reliable.

Physical Preparation

● Avoid heavy strenuous exercise for the 24 hours prior to testing. Do not exercise at all on the day of
testing to ensure you are well rested.
● Wear appropriate clothing for the conditions (e.g. shorts/track pants and t-shirt/singlet/sports top)
and non-slip athletic footwear with laces securely fastened.
● Remove restrictive jewelry, watches, bracelets or hanging earrings that may get caught in equipment.
● Do not participate in the testing if you are suffering any injury or illness that is likely to worsen as a
result of participation or you are unwell/not in good general health.
● Be sure to warm-up prior to the commencement of testing. Cool down appropriately. Do not sit or lie
down immediately following maximal exercise. Following completion of testing continue moderate-to
light aerobic activity (jog or walk) for 5 minutes followed by some light stretching of both the upper
and lower body.

Pre-Test Warm Up

Prior to any fitness assessment, it is important to have the body prepared by following a warm-up
procedure. The procedure should be standardized so that if the test is repeated, the same warm up can be
repeated to help maintain consistency.

The actual warm up conducted will depend on the test being performed. Certain tests, such as some
variations of the sit and reach test, specifically require you not to do a warm up beforehand, while other
testing regimens have tests in a particular order so that the earlier tests provide a warm up for the later tests.

Calculate Your Average Resting Heart Rate

⮚ Find your pulse with your fingers, not your thumb, while lying in bed before you get up in the
morning.
⮚ Count your pulse for 15 seconds and multiply by four, or 30 seconds and multiply by two. Example: If
you count 32 beats in 30 seconds, your resting heart rate is 64 BPM (32 x 2).
⮚ Record your heart rate for five days.
⮚ Add the five days' resting heart rates together and divide by five to find your average resting heart
rate.

How to calculate your Body Mass Index (BMI)

1. Take your height in meters and square the number. You will
need to multiply your height in meters by itself first. For
example, if you are 1.75 meters tall, then you would multiply 1.75
by 1 .75 and get a result of approximately 3.06.

2. Divide your weight in kilograms by meters squared. Next, you

will need to divide your weight in kilograms by your height in
meters squared. For example, if your weight is 75 kilograms and
your height in meters squared is 3.06, then you would divide 75 by 3.06 for an answer of 24.5 as your BMI.
The Physical Fitness Test will comprise of four
tests:

✔ Push Ups for muscular strength and endurance

✔ Curl Ups for muscular strength and endurance
✔ Sit and Reach for flexibility
✔ 3-Minute Step Test for cardiovascular endurance

Test Procedures

1.Push ups (1 minute)

a. Lie face down on the floor with your elbows bent and your palms next to your
b. Keeping your back straight, push up with your arms until your arms are extended.
c. Lower your body until your elbow is approximately on 45 degrees
d. Do as many push ups as you can for one minute.
e. Record your score

2.Curl Ups (1 minute)

a. Lie on the floor with knees bent at a 90-degree angle and feet flat on the floor. A partner holds your
feet firmly to the floor. Another option is to place your feet on the wall, so your knees and hips are bent
at a 90-degree angle. Cross your arms across your chest. This is the down position.
b. To move into the up position, raise your head and shoulders off the floor. Don't lift your buttocks off
the floor.
c. Return to the down position.
d. Each time you move to the up position is counted as one curl up.
e. Do as many curl ups as you can for one minute without resting in between. Once you stop, you need to
record your number of executed curl ups.

3. Sit and Reach

a. On a long sitting position with your back including the head resting on the wall.
b. Spread your legs measuring 30 cm apart from the ankles.
c. Put your hands together on the floor, in a relax position, the fingertips on the floor will be marked as
“0”.
d. Place a yardstick/ tape measure on the floor. Secure it by placing a piece of tape across the yardstick at
the ‘0” mark.
e. Slowly reach forward as far as you can, exhaling as you reach and holding the position for at least 1
second.
f. Note the distance you reached in centimeters..
g. Repeat the test.
h. Record the longer distance reached.

4. 3-Minute Step Test

 The Step Test is designed to measure a person’s aerobic fitness. Participants step up and down, on and
off an aerobics type step for THREE minutes to increase heart rate and to evaluate the heart’s recovery rate
during the minute immediately following the step test exercise. Equipment required: 12 inch (30 cm) box/step
and stopwatch.

a. Stand facing the step.

b. When ready to begin, start the clock or stopwatch and march up and down on the step
c. Start the timer when you begin stepping UP, UP, DOWN, DOWN rhythm during each 4-step cycle to
complete one step. Repeat at a rate of 24 steps per minute for three consecutive minutes
d. It doesn't matter which foot leads or if you alternate feet, but both feet must touch the top of the step
on the up motion and the floor on the down motion.
e. When 3 minutes are up, stop immediately.
f. Then rest in a chair for exactly one minute before taking your pulse.
g. Record the result

Post exercise Heart Rate Norms for 3-minute Step Test (18 – 25 Years Old)