TRUE BENEFITS OF SPORT & FITNESS

Physical Education

Health and fitness www.health.com

There are plenty of reasons why getting off the couch and into your games kit is a good thing. Our bodies are like cars; they need to move to function well!

Physically, sport helps you lose weight, enjoy a more toned body and show stamina on the sports field. Regular exercise also boosts self-confidence and mental concentration. Even if you’re no Johnny Wilkinson, being fit is a big plus; enhancing co-ordination, agility and cardiovascular fitness. You’ll probably even pick up some new mates whilst you’re at it.

Benefits of sport

Regular exercise improves health and fitness. Health is defined as a state of complete mental, physical and social well-being; not merely the absence of illness or infirmity. Fitness is the ability to meet the demands of the environment.

Mental benefits include:

• improved confidence
• relief of stress/tension and stress related illness 

Physical benefits include:

• losing weight
• improved posture
• improved body shape

Social benefits include:

• meeting people
• making friends

Competing improves self esteem

Sport is a good way of relieving stress

Being a member of a sports club and regularly participating in sport will develop personal qualities from:

• Co-operation – working with others.
• Competition – testing yourself against others.
• Physical challenge – testing yourself against the environment or your best performances.
• Aesthetic appreciation – recognizing quality of movement in a performance.

Health related fitness factors

Everyone needs to have a level of fitness for everyday activities.

Health related exercise improves the health related fitness factors which are also useful to sportspeople. These are:

• Cardiovascular fitness is the ability to exercise the whole body for long periods of time and is sometimes called stamina.
• Muscular strength is the amount of force a muscle can exert against a resistance. It helps sportspeople to hit, tackle and throw.
• Muscular endurance is the ability to use voluntary muscles many times without becoming tired. It helps sportspeople to sprint or repeat quick actions for longer.
• Flexibility is the range of movement possible at a joint. It helps performers to stretch and reach further.
• Body composition is the percentage of body weight which is fat, muscle or bone. It helps sportspeople depending on the type of sport they play, eg heavy rugby players are more effective in the scrum than lightweight players, but light long distance runners will always beat heavyweights.
• NB If you are studying AQA, you should also list speed as a health related fitness factor.
• Speed is the differential rate at which an individual is able to perform a movement or cover a distance in a period of time or how quickly an individual can move. This helps all games players to move into position or get away from opponents quickly.

Skill related fitness factors

Sportspeople exercise to improve fitness and performance.

Skill related fitness factors are essential for success in sport.

These are:

• Agility - the ability to change the position of the body quickly and with control. This helps team players dodge their opponents.
• Balance - the ability to retain the centre of mass above the base of support when stationary (static balance) or moving (dynamic balance). This helps gymnasts maintain their position and prevents games players from falling over at speed.
• Co-ordination - the ability to use two or more body parts together. This helps all athletes to move smoothly and quickly especially when also having to control a ball.
• Power - the ability to use strength at speed. This helps athletes to jump high, throw far or sprint quickly. Power = Strength x Speed.
• Reaction time - the time between the presentation of a stimulus and the onset of a movement. This helps swimmers to make a fast start.
• NB If you are studying Edexcel, you should list speed as a skill related fitness factor.
• Speed is the differential rate at which an individual is able to perform a movement or cover a distance in a period of time or how quickly an individual can move. This helps all games players to move into position or get away from opponents quickly.

Dancers need good static and stationary balance

Rugby players use agility to dodge opponents