Get Moving
Which of the following is NOT physical activity: walking to school, dancing, playing basketball or sleeping?
Sleeping
A student plays tennis against another student in a competition. Which classification best describes the activity?
Individual activity.
Which component describes the ability to produce force: muscular strength or muscular endurance?
Muscular strength.
Which component allows you to move a joint through its available range of movement?
Flexibility
Which component of fitness describes the relative amounts of fat, muscle, bone and other tissues in the body?
Body composition
Is physical activity always exercise? Explain your answer.
No. Physical activity includes any bodily movement that uses energy, whereas exercise is usually planned and structured physical activity designed to improve or maintain fitness.
A student goes for a 5 km run because they enjoy running and want to relax. Which TWO classifications could describe this activity?
Individual and recreational.
Which would require greater muscular endurance: lifting your heaviest possible weight once or completing 40 bodyweight squats? Explain.
40 bodyweight squats, because the muscles need to continue working repeatedly over time.
Why would a marathon runner need cardiovascular endurance?
To allow their heart, lungs and muscles to support prolonged exercise.
A student completes a sit-and-reach test. What component of fitness are they measuring?
Flexibility
A student says, "Walking to school doesn't count as physical activity because it isn't a sport." Is this statement correct? Explain your answer.
No. Physical activity is any body movement that uses energy. Walking to school is physical activity even though it isn't organised sport.
A football player completes a 30-minute running session by themselves because their coach wants them to improve their fitness. Which TWO classifications apply?
Individual and training.
A student can lift a very heavy weight once but struggles to perform 10 repetitions with a lighter weight. Which component are they likely stronger in?
Muscular strength.
A gymnast and a marathon runner are both highly fit, but they may have different fitness strengths. Explain why.
Different activities require different components of fitness. A gymnast needs high flexibility and muscular strength/endurance, while a marathon runner requires high cardiovascular endurance.
A student completes as many push-ups as possible in one minute. What component are they primarily testing? Explain your answer.
Muscular endurance, because the muscles must repeatedly work over a period of time.
Two students disagree. Student A says, "You only get health benefits from physical activity if you exercise for a long time." Student B says, "Every bit of physical activity contributes." Who has the more accurate understanding? Explain.
Student B. Physical activity can occur through many everyday activities and contributes to overall health; it doesn't have to be one long exercise session.
A group of friends meet at the park every Saturday to play basketball for fun. They aren't following a coach's program or preparing for a competition. Identify TWO classifications that apply and explain your choices.
Explain why a rower would need both muscular strength AND muscular endurance.
Muscular strength helps produce force with each stroke, while muscular endurance allows the muscles to continue producing movement repeatedly throughout the race.
Which would be a better test of cardiovascular endurance: a sit-and-reach test or a beep test? Explain your choice.
Beep test, because it requires sustained cardiovascular exercise. The sit-and-reach measures flexibility.
A student wants to improve their cardiovascular endurance. Which would be more appropriate: regular long-distance running or practising a single heavy lift? Explain.
Regular running, because it requires the cardiovascular system to work continuously and can develop cardiovascular endurance.
A student doesn't play any organised sport but walks to school, rides their bike, helps in the garden and regularly goes swimming. Their friend says, "You're not physically active because you don't play sport." Explain why their friend is incorrect.
Physical activity includes many forms of body movement, not just organised sport. Walking, cycling, gardening and swimming all involve physical movement and energy expenditure.
A student says: "Every team sport is automatically a training activity." Do you agree or disagree? Use an example to justify your answer.
Disagree. A team sport can be recreational if people participate mainly for enjoyment. For example, friends playing soccer at the park for fun is a group/team and recreational activity, but isn't necessarily training.
Two students are arguing about which is more important: muscular strength or muscular endurance. Explain why there isn't one correct answer.
Different activities require different combinations of fitness components. A powerlifter may rely heavily on muscular strength, while a long-distance swimmer may rely more heavily on muscular endurance.
A student performs very well on a sit-and-reach test but struggles to complete the beep test. What does this tell us about their fitness?
It suggests they have good flexibility but lower cardiovascular endurance. Being strong in one component of fitness does not automatically mean you are strong in every component.
A coach wants to test an athlete's cardiovascular endurance, muscular endurance and flexibility. Choose ONE suitable fitness test for each component.
Cardiovascular endurance: Beep test/1.6 km run/12-minute run
Muscular endurance: Push-up test/sit-up test
Flexibility: Sit-and-reach test