ECC WSI Class Fitness And Conditioning Instructor Notes

Components of Physical Fitness:

1. Cardiorespiratory Fitness / Endurance - defined as the capacity of the cardiovascular and respiratory systems to deliver oxygen to the working muscles for sustained periods of energy production.
2. Muscular Strength - defined as the maximum force that can be exerted by a muscle or muscle group against a resistance.
3. Muscular Endurance - defined as the capacity of a muscle to exert force repeatedly, or to hold a fixed or static contraction over time.  This is normally measured by the number of contractions in a given length of time.
4. Flexibility - defined as the ability of limbs to move at the joints through a normal range of motion.
5. Body Composition - defined as the body's relative percentageof fat as compared to lean tissue.

Some Definitions:

• Overload – A greater-than-normal stress or demand placed upon a physiological system or organ typically resulting in an increase in strength or function.
• Progressive overload – A gradual and systematic increase in the stress or demand placed upon a physiological system or organ to avoid the risk of chronic fatigue or injury.
• Adaptation – The ability of a system or organ to adjust to additional stress or overload over time by increasing in strength or function.
• Specificity – A principle which states that you only train that part of the system or body which is overloaded.  Physiological adaptation is specific to the system or part of the body which is overloaded.
• Variability / Cross training – The varying of intensity, duration, or mode (cross training) of exercise sessions to obtain better muscle balance and overall fitness.
• Reversibility – This principle states that the body will gradually revert to pretraining status when you do not exercise.
• Muscle hypertrophy – term used to describe an increase in the size, girth, or function of muscle tissue.
• Muscle atrophy – term used to describe the loss or wasting of muscle tissue or function through lack of use or disease.

• Balance – the maintenance of equilibrium while stationary (static balace) r while moving (dynamic balance)
• Coordination – the integration of many separate motor skills or movements into one efficient movement pattern.
• Speed – the rate at which a movement or activity can be performed.
• Power – the function of strength and speed.  The ability to transfer energy into force at a quick rate.
• Agility – the ability to rapidly and fluently change body positioning during movement
• Reaction Time – the amount of time elapsed between stimulation and acting upon the stimulus.

• Mode of Activity – describes the type of exercise being done.  Activities which utilize the large muscle groups, can be maintained continuously, and are rhythmical and aerobic in nature are recommended.
• Frequency of Training – how often you should exercise or train.  It is recommended that a person train at least two days per week.  Training less than 2 days per week does not generally show a meaningful change in functional capacity.  Moderate to somewhat vigorous exercise, 3-5 times per week is generally prescribed for healthy adults.  The value in training more than 5 times a week is small in regard to improvement in maximal oxygen consumption.  It is generally believed that the increased risk of chronic fatigue and injury is not worth the small gains achieved in functional capacity with excessive daily training.
• Intensity of Training – deals with how hard you should exercise.  In research and medical settings an intensity level of 50-85% of maximum oxygen uptake (VO2max) is considered sufficient to elicit a cardiorespiratory response.  It takes specialized equipment to determine VO2max so there are other ways commonly used to determine exercise intensity that do not require the equipment.
• Karvonen’s Formula –  utilizes heart rates to predict an exercise intensity.  We’ll do this later in the semester and use a separate worksheet.
• Perceived Exertion – a subjective analysis of how hard one is exercising.  Chart runs from 6 to 20 with 6 being very, very light and 20 being very, very hard exercise.  One the scale a 13 is somewhat hard and a15 is hard.
• Talk Test – If you are exercising too hard to talk, then you are exercising above a safe aerobic level.
• Duration of Training – refers to how long you exercise.  A duration of 20-60 minutes of continuous training is recommended.
• Resistance Training – ACSM recommends strength training of a moderate intensity, sufficient for developing and maintaining fat-free weight and a favorable body composition.  One set of 8-12 repetitions to near fatigue of 8-10 exercises for the major muscle groups of the body is recommended at least two times per week.

Types of Aerobic Conditioning Commonly Used in Fitness Programs

• Continuous training – after warming up, you want to exercise within your target zone with little variation in exercise heart rate
• Interval training – after warming up, you exercise within your target zone with periods of greater intensity followed by periods of less intensity.
• Circuit training – after warming up, you do a series of exercises rotating from one station to the next nonstop, maintaining an exercise heart rate within the target zone.  Some stations may be cardiovascular in nature and some are muscular strength and/or endurance in nature, but done at a level that elicits the training heart rate needed to be aerobically beneficial.

• Increased functional capacity of cardiorespiratory system – respiratory system becomes more efficient by increasing the volume of air inhaled and exhaled with each breath.  Intercostal muscles become more fit, and the ability of the lungs to hold air increases.  Heart muscle becomes stronger with use and the heart’s ability to eject more blood with each beat increases.  This, in turn, supplies more blood and oxygen to the body.  Regular exercise can also strengthen the walls of the blood vessels and promotes the development of capillary beds and better blood supply to the body.  The body’s ability to extract oxygen from blood increases as well.
• Improved physical appearance
• Improved general health
• Maintenance of desired weight
• Increased muscular strength and endurance
• Reduces risk of osteoporosis by increasing bone density and strength of tendons and ligaments.
• Increased in flexibility is possible if stretching is included in the program.
• Stronger muscles that retain flexibility can protect joints and enable the body to move and function with ease.
• Efficiency of the endocrine system (regulating hormones), nervous system and lymph system (protects the body from disease) improves with regular exercise.
• Motor pathways are developed and enhanced, allowing the nervous system to better regulate the quality of movement and other nervous functions.
• Metabolic functions improve favorably altering blood lipid levels and metabolism, making it easier to lose fat and improve body composition.
• Many organs, such as the liver, intestines, and kidneys benefit from regular exercise which increases blood flow, fluid transfer, and oxygenation in the body.
• The body’s functional capacity drops 5-10% per decade between the ages of 20 and 70.  Muscle tissue and flexibility are also lost in the aging process.  Regular exercise can slow down this process.
• Exercise can reduce depression and anxiety, stress and tension, while increasing sleep habits, self-esteem, and self-confidence.
• Corporate fitness programs show that regular exercisers are more productive, have fewer absences, fewer accidents, lower health care costs, fewer hospital days, and days of rehabilitation.
• People who are fit can more readily handle the physical, emotional, social, and psychological rigors of their jobs, personal life, and home life.

An estimated 250,000 deaths per year in the US can be attributed to lack of regular physical activity.  It is important to recognize that lower intensity, regular activity yields substantial health benefits.  The ACSM, US Centers for Disease Control, and President’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports formulated the following recommendations:

1. Scientific research clearly demonstrates that regular, moderate-intensity physical activity provides substantial health benefits.
2. Physical activity appears to provide some protection against several chronic diseases such as coronary heart disease, adult onset of diabetes, hypertension, certain cancers, osteoporosis, and depression.
3. It is recommended that “every American adult should accumulate 30 minutes ormore of moderate-intensity physical activity over the course of most days of the week.”
4. “Because most Americans fail to meet this recommended level of moderate-intensity physical activity, almost all should strive to increase their participation in moderate or vigorous physical activity.”