Health and fitness
What is health and fitness?
Health - A state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.
Physical fitness - comprises two related concepts: general fitness (a state of health and well-being) and specific fitness (a task-oriented definition based on the ability to perform specific aspects of sports or occupations).
Following a training programme
Regular exercise is very important for a healthy lifestyle. Simple brisk walking is a very effective way to exercise. Before someone begins a fitness training programme, it is important to have a health check. This can be with a GP or fitness trainer. They check factors such as:
• General health check, e.g. blood pressure
• Whether they take any medicines
• Whether they smoke
• If they drink alcohol, how much
• The amount of exercise they normally do
• Family medical history
• Previous treatments for injury or illness
What is ‘normal’ blood pressure?
Factors such as your blood pressure and heart rate vary during the day. They art lowest when you are at rest, and higher when you are moving quickly. Two people both sitting at rest will have different heart rates and blood pressure. So there is not a single ‘normal’ value for heart rate or blood pressure. Doctors use a range to describe the value for blood pressure which most people are within.
Making progress
If you are following a fitness programme your trainer will check your progress regularly. If your fitness improves faster than they had expected, they may increase the intensity of your exercise programme. If you get an injury, they will suggest that you cut out exercises which use the injured joint or muscle until you have recovered.
Getting fit
Your muscles and joints need to be worked to keep them healthy. This applies to your skeletal-muscular system and your heart muscle. People are different and one way of keeping fit does not suit everyone. Some people prefer to play team sports, others go for a brisk walk every day, and some people like to visit a gym. If you join a gym your fitness is assessed before you begin training. It is useful if the gym keeps a record of your data so that anyone on the team can monitor your progress, and change your training plan if this is needed.
Track & Field Fitness Testing
The physical demands vary greatly among the track and field disciplines, therefore the appropriate tests for each discipline and for specific athletes will vary greatly. For example, endurance athletes will be interested in their VO2max, while field athletes will want to know about their power and strength.
Most popular fitness tests are:
1. Bleep Shuttle Run Test
2. Sit and Reach
3. Handgrip Strength
4. Vertical Jump
5. Illinois Agility
6. Push-ups Test
7. Sit-ups Test
8. Bruce Test
9. Sprint Test
BMI
BMI is an indicator of total body fat, which is related to the risk of disease and death. The score is valid for both men and women but it does have some limits. The body mass index (BMI) is used as a guide to help decide whether someone is underweight, normal, overweight or obese. It’s calculated from their height and weight:
BMI = (body mass[kg])/(height[m])2
Body mass index Weight Description
Below 18.5 Underweight
18.5 – 24.9 Normal
25 – 29.9 Overweight
30 – 40 Moderately obese
Above 40 Severely obese
BMI isn’t always reliable. Athletes have lots of muscle, which weighs more than fat, so they can come out with a high BMI even though they’re not overweight. An alternative to BMI is measuring % body fat.
