Fitness

FITNESS 
The components of  fitness are: Strength, Speed,Stamina and Suppleness.

In Spanish, we call them “Capacidades Físicas Básicas".

1. Stamina or Endurance:

Stamina is when we work for a long period of time, no matter the intensity.

For example: cycling( Tour of France),running(marathon),swimming 1500m.

  
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Aerobic activity: Your heart and lungs give your muscles plenty of oxigen, and you can do exercise for long periods of time at a medium intensity. (marathon, cycling..)

Anaerobic activity: Your muscles don´t have enough oxygen. These exercises are shorter but have a very high intensity (400m, a handball attack).  

2.Benefits of regular stamina training:

-Your heart grows larger and thicker

-You have more capillary.
-Your breathing capacity increases.

-Its is easier to maintain your ideal weight

Aerobic Exercise is very good for your health. It develops your heart, your lungs and your circulatory system.

2. Strength:

Strength is the ability to use muscles against a resistance.

With it, you can move or lift weights, and you can move your body weight easier.

Some sports in which strength is important:
Weightlifting: to lift as much weight as you can.
Judo: to throw your opponent.
Climbing: you need to move your body weight up the mountain.
Athletics: to jump higher or longer and to throw the javelin or hammer.
  
There are three types of strength:

Maximum or maximal strength: to lift very heavy weights

Explosive strength: to do a movement as fast as we can, moving a small weight (javelin throwers, for example)

Strength Endurance: to do exercises with medium weights for a long time (in judo, combats last 4 minutes; rowers must move the boat for a long time also)

Benefits of developing your strength:

-You have more muscular power

-Your muscles and tendons grow in size.
-You can move weights easier (including your own body).

-It helps you keeping a good posture in daily life and sports

3. Speed:Speed is the ability to make one or more movements in a short period of time.

Some examples of sports where speed is important:

Fifty meters swimmers, react quickly to the horn and swim very fast.
Handball goalkeepers react very fast to stop balls.
Fencers must move fast to touch the opponent with their sword.

 

 















When we talk about the speed to move from one place to another (running, biking or swimming), we call it a sprint.

Speed means reacting quickly and moving fast.

So you can find three types of speed:

Reaction speed: moving as fast as you can after the referee blows the whistle in a 100m sprint. In team sports there is also reaction speed: chasing your opponent when he runs away from you, or reacting to a volleyball spike quickly.

Speed of an isolated movement: e.g. a karate kick or a tennis service must be very quick.

Speed of combined movements: any sprint in running or swimming, a dribbling in football...

Benefits of speed training:

-Speed is basic in all sports.
-It is related with coordination and agility. If you react and move fast, you have an advantage in all sports.
-Speed training develops and makes your muscles grow.

4. Suppleness or Flexibility:

Suppleness is the ability to have a wide range of movement with any part of your body. It is also called Flexibility.

Flexibility is very important in all sports, because with it, you have better performance and less injuries.

 

 














It is important for gymnasts, for hurdle runners or taekwondo fighters.
Flexibility depends on the joint range of movement and the stretching ability of the muscles around it.

Here are two types of flexibility:

Dinamic Flexibility: you use it when you do wide, ample and relaxed movements.
Static Flexibility: you use it when you hold one position for some seconds. There is no movement. You must keep the position at least 15 or 20 seconds.

Flexibility is the only physical ability that decreases as you get older.

You need to spend a little time everyday to maintain it.

Benefits of flexibility training:

-Your range of movement in joints is bigger, so you can accelerate your arms and legs for a longer distance. Then, you can kick, throw and hit faster and stronger.

-You have less injuries.

-Your movements are not limited.

-Your muscles are more elastic and more powerful.

LINK:

Juego on line sobre las cualidades físicas.

Las capacidades físicas. Autoevaluación. **Esta actividad es muy interesante ,ya que puedes repasar todo lo aprendido en clase. Muy útil para el examen.

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