Health, Fitness and Training
The difference between health and fitness, the components of fitness and how they are tested, and the principles and methods of training that turn effort into real improvement.
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Health, fitness and training
Being healthy and being fit are not the same thing. Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being, not just being free of illness. Fitness is the ability to meet the demands of your sport and of daily life. To improve fitness on purpose you train, and training only works if it follows clear principles rather than guesswork. This module covers the difference between health and fitness, the components of fitness and how they are tested, and the principles and methods of training that turn effort into real improvement.
Fitness and training words
Learn these before you plan any training. They name what fitness is made of and how you improve it safely.
Match the component to its meaning
- cardiovascular endurance
- muscular strength
- flexibility
- speed
- agility
- the heart and lungs supplying oxygen for a long time
- the largest force a muscle can produce at once
- the range of movement possible at a joint
- how quickly the body can move over a distance
- changing direction quickly and under control
Health against fitness
People often use these words as if they mean the same thing, but they do not. You can have one without the other.
Which component is it?
A gymnast needs a wide range of movement at the hips and shoulders to hold difficult positions. Which component of fitness is this?
- Flexibility
- Cardiovascular endurance
- Muscular strength
- Reaction time
Train on purpose, not by guesswork
Good training is planned, not random. First decide which component of fitness the sport needs most. Then apply overload, pushing the body past its comfortable level so it is forced to adapt. Add progression, stepping the training up as you improve, and keep every session specific to the sport. Skip these and you either stop improving or get injured. Name the component, apply overload and progression, and keep it specific: that is training that works.
Pick the training principles
Select every item below that is a genuine principle of training.
- Specificity
- Progression
- Overload
- Guessing what to do each time
- Never resting at all
Order planning a training programme
Put the steps of planning a training programme in a sensible order.
- Decide the goal and the component of fitness to improve
- Test the current level of fitness
- Choose a suitable training method
- Apply overload so the body must adapt
- Progress the training gradually over the weeks
- Retest to check the fitness has improved
Complete the training facts
Complete physical, mental and social well-being is _____. The ability to meet the demands of a sport is _____. Pushing the body past what it is used to, so it is forced to adapt, is _____. Making training steadily harder over time as fitness rises is _____.
One runner, one plan
Suppose a runner wants to race five kilometres faster. A good plan starts by naming the main component: cardiovascular endurance. A fitness test records the current time. The runner chooses continuous running as the method, then applies overload by running a little further or faster than the week before. Week by week the training progresses, always specific to distance running rather than, say, weightlifting. After several weeks a retest shows a faster time. The improvement did not come from training hard at random; it came from choosing the right component and applying the principles in order.
Spot the good training
Tap the TWO statements that describe good training.
- Working a bit beyond the usual level so the body adapts
- Training that matches the demands of the chosen sport
- Doing a different random workout with no plan each time
- Never resting, to squeeze in as much as possible
Work out the maximum heart rate
A common estimate of the maximum heart rate is 220 minus the age in years. For a performer aged 15, what is the estimated maximum heart rate, in beats per minute?
Coach the training
An athlete asks for training advice. Choose the best answer each time.
- A footballer wants to keep running hard for the whole match. Which component should they train most?
- After two weeks the training feels easy. Which principle should they apply?
- A sprinter trains only by slow long-distance running. What is wrong?
Build a training rule
Choose the word for each gap to complete one rule of good training.
Explain how to train well
A friend goes to the gym often but never seems to improve. Explain the difference between health and fitness, and how to train so that fitness actually improves.
- Explain the difference between health and fitness
- Name two components of fitness
- Explain what overload means and why it matters
- Explain what progression means
- Explain why training must be specific to the sport