The 11 Components of Fitness
Being fit is not one thing. Meet all eleven Edexcel components of fitness, sort them into health-related and skill-related, and learn which sport needs which, including the Edexcel-specific eleventh: body composition.
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Fitness is not one thing 💪
Being 'fit' is not a single quality. Edexcel splits fitness into **eleven components**, and a marathon runner, a gymnast and a sprinter are each brilliant at a very different set of them. This module covers all **eleven**, how they split into **health-related** and **skill-related** groups, and the one that trips people up: **body composition**, which Edexcel includes but some boards leave out.
The skill-related five 🔑
These components help you perform skills. Learn the definitions, they are easy to mix up:
Name that component 🎯
A netball player dodges past a defender, changing direction sharply without losing control of the ball. Which component of fitness is this?
- Agility
- Balance
- Flexibility
- Strength
Two families of fitness ⚖️
Edexcel groups the eleven components into two families.
Match each skill component to its meaning 🧩
- Agility
- Balance
- Coordination
- Reaction time
- Changing direction quickly and under control
- Keeping the body stable, still or moving
- Using two or more body parts together smoothly
- The time taken to respond to a stimulus
Health-related or not? ❤️
Select the TWO components that are health-related, not skill-related.
- Cardiovascular fitness
- Muscular endurance
- Agility
- Reaction time
The Edexcel eleventh 🧬
Body composition is the percentage of your body made up of **fat, muscle and bone**. It matters because different sports suit different builds: a sumo wrestler, a marathon runner and a high jumper have very different body compositions. Watch out, Edexcel counts it as the **eleventh** component, but some other boards list only ten and leave it out. For Edexcel, always include it.
Complete the picture 🧱
Fitness has eleven components in two groups. The _____ components include cardiovascular fitness, strength and flexibility. The _____ components include agility, coordination and speed. The ability to change direction quickly is _____, while the time taken to respond to a stimulus is _____. The Edexcel-specific eleventh component, the percentage of fat, muscle and bone, is _____.
Which have a named test? 🧪
Only seven of the eleven components have a named Edexcel fitness test. Knowing which do not is a real exam point. You will practise the tests themselves in a separate module.
The cardiovascular test 🏃
Which is a named Edexcel test for cardiovascular fitness?
- The Cooper 12-minute run or swim
- The multi-stage fitness test, or bleep test
- The sit and reach test
- The grip dynamometer test
Spot the skill-related 🖍️
An interactive activity.
Pick the key component 🔀
An interactive activity.
Match fitness to the sport ✍️
An interactive activity.