In 1956, European children performed better on fitness tests than did U.S. children; as a result, youth fitness testing was established by President Eisenhower (Park 1988). At the same time, the Soviet Union was rapidly developing its space program, so the concern about physical fitness doubled as the United States started to train as¬tronauts. Presidents Kennedy and Johnson con¬tinued to support the fitness movement, which eventually became the President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sport. Your parents may re¬member taking the President's Youth Fitness Test; some of you may have taken a more recent ver¬sion called the Presidential Test. Early youth fitness tests did not require or even suggest how to train children to do, well on the test. Often the test was given in the fall and spring and forgotten in between. Depending on the year, only the top 5 to 15 percent of the students could earn an award. This meant that many children who took the test had a failing experience. Further, the test included items that had nothing to do with fitness (e.g., throwing a softball).
Several other fitness tests have emerged to com¬pete with the Presidential Test; among them were FITNESSGRAM and American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance (AAPHERD) Health Related Fitness Test. The Physical Best Program was developed by AAHPERD during the 1980s. This program has several levels of awards and suggested activities to train for fit¬ness during the year. Recently, FITNESSGRAM has included a computer program to track physical activity. (FITNESSGRAM and AC"I'IVITYGRAM are available from Human Kinetics Publishers and the Cooper Institute of Aerobics Research.) The changes in fitness testing reflect a change in fit¬ness philosophy during the 1990s. That is, physi¬cally active lifestyles are for everyone and provide the most benefit to health, whereas physical fit¬ness is for some people and provides additional benefits with small additional risks.
The American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM 1995) describes three components of physical fit¬ness: cardiovascular endurance, body composi¬tion, and musculoskeletal health (which includes flexibility, muscle strength, and endurance). The most documented benefit from fitness is that from cardiovascular fitness because it reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease. Body composition ¬specifically, maintaining a healthy body weight and healthy percentage of body fat-also contributes to reduced risk of cardiovascular disease, adult onset diabetes, and cancer. Flexibility, muscle strength, and endurance reduce lower back pain and increase posture, functional capacity, and the ability to conduct daily activities.
The cardiovascular fitness, flexibility, muscle strength, and endurance components of fitness translate directly into fitness tests and training activities (table 6.1). Body composition does not have specific activities but is positively influenced by the activities training the other components.
Three terms are used to describe fitness train¬ing, which can be remembered using the acronym FIT :
- Frequency-the number of training sessions per week
- Intensity-the percent of maximum for the training
- Time-the amount training in minutes or rep¬etitions, also called duration
To meet the minimum for aerobic training (car¬diovascular fitness), you must exercise (swim, jog, cycle) three days per week, for 20 minutes at your training heart rate. This is calculated by subtract¬ing your age from 220 and multiplying the result by .7. The most familiar training activities for muscle strength and endurance are sit ups or crunches, push-ups, chin-ups, and pull-ups, Weight training also contributes to muscle strength and endurance. Muscle strength and endurance train¬ing also require a frequency of three days per week. Muscle strength is the maximum amount of force a muscle can produce at one time. To train strength, the intensity is usually high (close to the maximum) and the time (repetitions) is low. Muscle endurance activities are low intensity (50 to 70 percent of maximum) and high time (three sets of 10 repetitions or more). Some activities are considered muscle endurance for one person and muscle strength for another. For example, a per¬son who can do 10 chin-ups is training muscle endurance, whereas the student who cannot quite do one chin-up is working on muscle strength. Flexibility, defined as the range of motion in a joint, is increased by low-intensity stretching with many repetitions, done three or more days per week. As you can see, one issue complicating physical fitness in elementary schools is that many programs do not allow enough time for physical education (e.g., days per week and time per day) to train fitness in children. Clearly, to do so, pro¬grams would need three days per week for approxi¬mately an hour each day to meet minimum fitness criteria.
One of the challenges facing teachers and schools is to help children develop the compe¬tence (e.g., skill and knowledge) and initiative to be responsible for their own fitness, beginning in childhood. The challenge results from two factors. First, time is needed to train for fitness. Typically, physical education-whether taught by a class¬room teacher or by a specialist-is not offered daily. Although daily physical education might be ideal, it is not common. Even with daily physical education, the time demand of physical fitness training reduces the time available for skill acqui¬sition. Second, the optimal situation is for children to assume responsibility for their own fitness. Adults must decide to train and to continue to train for fitness, and children can begin to learn this habit, with the goal of lifelong fitness becoming a self-responsibility. Some individuals will choose to be active rather than fit. Skill is a predictor of physically active lifestyles, though, so allocating physical education time to skill development is important. How do teachers decide how much time to allocate? This will be partially a personal choice; however, all children need to understand how to train for fitness and need to have a variety of exercises designed for them that will meet fit¬ness goals. Further, all children need skill to par¬ticipate in a variety of physical activities that can contribute to a physically active lifestyle. The re¬lationship among activity level, health risk, and fitness compared with physically active is dem¬onstrated in the physical activity continuum in fig¬ure 6.1.
Being physically active is a goal for everyone, whereas physical fitness is a goal for some. To provide safe and effective programs, teachers need to understand some of the differences in the ways in which children and adults experience ex¬ercise. Just as children grow, mature. and have skills that evolve with time and practice, their bodies change in other ways that cannot be di¬rectly observed.
Several other fitness tests have emerged to com¬pete with the Presidential Test; among them were FITNESSGRAM and American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance (AAPHERD) Health Related Fitness Test. The Physical Best Program was developed by AAHPERD during the 1980s. This program has several levels of awards and suggested activities to train for fit¬ness during the year. Recently, FITNESSGRAM has included a computer program to track physical activity. (FITNESSGRAM and AC"I'IVITYGRAM are available from Human Kinetics Publishers and the Cooper Institute of Aerobics Research.) The changes in fitness testing reflect a change in fit¬ness philosophy during the 1990s. That is, physi¬cally active lifestyles are for everyone and provide the most benefit to health, whereas physical fit¬ness is for some people and provides additional benefits with small additional risks.
The American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM 1995) describes three components of physical fit¬ness: cardiovascular endurance, body composi¬tion, and musculoskeletal health (which includes flexibility, muscle strength, and endurance). The most documented benefit from fitness is that from cardiovascular fitness because it reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease. Body composition ¬specifically, maintaining a healthy body weight and healthy percentage of body fat-also contributes to reduced risk of cardiovascular disease, adult onset diabetes, and cancer. Flexibility, muscle strength, and endurance reduce lower back pain and increase posture, functional capacity, and the ability to conduct daily activities.
The cardiovascular fitness, flexibility, muscle strength, and endurance components of fitness translate directly into fitness tests and training activities (table 6.1). Body composition does not have specific activities but is positively influenced by the activities training the other components.
Three terms are used to describe fitness train¬ing, which can be remembered using the acronym FIT :
- Frequency-the number of training sessions per week
- Intensity-the percent of maximum for the training
- Time-the amount training in minutes or rep¬etitions, also called duration
To meet the minimum for aerobic training (car¬diovascular fitness), you must exercise (swim, jog, cycle) three days per week, for 20 minutes at your training heart rate. This is calculated by subtract¬ing your age from 220 and multiplying the result by .7. The most familiar training activities for muscle strength and endurance are sit ups or crunches, push-ups, chin-ups, and pull-ups, Weight training also contributes to muscle strength and endurance. Muscle strength and endurance train¬ing also require a frequency of three days per week. Muscle strength is the maximum amount of force a muscle can produce at one time. To train strength, the intensity is usually high (close to the maximum) and the time (repetitions) is low. Muscle endurance activities are low intensity (50 to 70 percent of maximum) and high time (three sets of 10 repetitions or more). Some activities are considered muscle endurance for one person and muscle strength for another. For example, a per¬son who can do 10 chin-ups is training muscle endurance, whereas the student who cannot quite do one chin-up is working on muscle strength. Flexibility, defined as the range of motion in a joint, is increased by low-intensity stretching with many repetitions, done three or more days per week. As you can see, one issue complicating physical fitness in elementary schools is that many programs do not allow enough time for physical education (e.g., days per week and time per day) to train fitness in children. Clearly, to do so, pro¬grams would need three days per week for approxi¬mately an hour each day to meet minimum fitness criteria.
One of the challenges facing teachers and schools is to help children develop the compe¬tence (e.g., skill and knowledge) and initiative to be responsible for their own fitness, beginning in childhood. The challenge results from two factors. First, time is needed to train for fitness. Typically, physical education-whether taught by a class¬room teacher or by a specialist-is not offered daily. Although daily physical education might be ideal, it is not common. Even with daily physical education, the time demand of physical fitness training reduces the time available for skill acqui¬sition. Second, the optimal situation is for children to assume responsibility for their own fitness. Adults must decide to train and to continue to train for fitness, and children can begin to learn this habit, with the goal of lifelong fitness becoming a self-responsibility. Some individuals will choose to be active rather than fit. Skill is a predictor of physically active lifestyles, though, so allocating physical education time to skill development is important. How do teachers decide how much time to allocate? This will be partially a personal choice; however, all children need to understand how to train for fitness and need to have a variety of exercises designed for them that will meet fit¬ness goals. Further, all children need skill to par¬ticipate in a variety of physical activities that can contribute to a physically active lifestyle. The re¬lationship among activity level, health risk, and fitness compared with physically active is dem¬onstrated in the physical activity continuum in fig¬ure 6.1.
Being physically active is a goal for everyone, whereas physical fitness is a goal for some. To provide safe and effective programs, teachers need to understand some of the differences in the ways in which children and adults experience ex¬ercise. Just as children grow, mature. and have skills that evolve with time and practice, their bodies change in other ways that cannot be di¬rectly observed.
0 comments:
Post a Comment