What is
Aerobic Fitness?
What does being aerobically fit mean? How can you measure how fit someone actually is?
What does it mean to be aerobically fit? There are different components to aerobic fitness, Generally different people are better at a particular component of aerobic fitness, so they excel in a sport that involves that component. These components are:
Agility - The ability to stop, start, and change directions quickly. Obstacle courses, slalom.
Balance - Controlling body positions while standing still or moving. Walking on a fence, holding a handstand.
Body Composition - The ratio of muscle to fat in the body.
Cardiovascular Endurance - Engaging in physical activity for long periods of time, marathons, swimming.
Co-ordination - The organisation of the body, working together smoothly. Throwing a ball, using a skipping rope.
Flexibility - Exercising joints through it's full range of motion. Executing the splits, performing a straddle jump.
Muscular Endurance - Using muscles repetitively without fatiguing. Long distance running (leg muscles).
Muscular Strength - Produces force using muscles. Weight lifting.
Power - The ability to use muscle strength quickly. Long jump, high jump.
Reaction Time - How quickly an individual responds to a stimulus. The ruler test, dodging something.
Speed - How fast one covers a distance in a short period of time. 100 meter sprint, speed laps (swimming).
People who excel in gymnastics would have very good flexibility, but if that gymnast participated in a marathon, they may not do as well. This is not because they are not fit, it is because they are not fit for that sport, they are fit for their own sport - gymnastics.
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This gymnast, is exercising not only flexibility, but also
co-ordination, having only a small area to jump from, execute her maneuver and land then land back onto
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