Core Concepts of Physical Fitness, Training, and Nutrition

The Six Components of Skill-Related Fitness

• Agility: The ability to change the position of the body quickly and to control the movement of the whole body.
• Balance: The ability to retain the center of mass of the body above the base of support.
• Coordination: The ability to use two or more body parts together smoothly and efficiently.
• Power: The ability to undertake strength performances quickly, combining strength and speed.
• Reaction Time: The time between the presentation of a stimulus and the onset of movement.
• Speed: The rate at which an individual is able to perform a movement or cover a distance in a given period of time.

Key Principles of Effective Training

• Individual Needs/Differences: Matching training to the requirements of an individual.
• Specificity: Matching training to the requirements of a specific activity.
• Progressive Overload: To gradually increase the amount of overload so that fitness gains occur, but without the potential for injury.
• Rest: The period of time allotted to recovery.
• Recovery: The time required for the repair of damage to the body caused by training or competition.
• FITT Principle: An acronym for Frequency, Intensity, Time, and Type, used to increase the amount of work the body does in order to achieve overload.
• Reversibility: Any adaptation that takes place as a consequence of training will be reversed when you stop training.

Setting SMART Fitness Goals

• Specific: Knowing exactly what the goal is.
• Measurable: It will be easy to know when a goal has been achieved.
• Achievable: The goal is something you can realistically accomplish.
• Realistic: The goal is relevant and can be accomplished in the real world.
• Time-bound: A specific timeframe or deadline is set to accomplish the goal.

Understanding Macronutrients for Energy and Repair

• Carbohydrates: Important because they provide us with energy. They break into:
  • Complex Carbohydrates: Found in natural foods such as starch.
  • Simple Carbohydrates: Referred to as sugars.
• Fats: Provide us with energy, together with glycogen, and help our muscles to work.
• Protein: Important to help build muscles and to repair damaged tissue.

Essential Micronutrients for Health

• Calcium: Vital to health, especially during growth in childhood and adolescence. It is important in the formation of bones and teeth and helps to make the bones stronger.
• Iron: Essential to the blood because of its links with hemoglobin and its effect on the oxygen-carrying capacity of the blood and the formation of red blood cells.