COMPONENTS OF PHYSICAL FITNESS

Cardiovascular (aerobic) fitness

Ability of the heart and blood vessels to deliver oxygen-rich blood to working musculature. Measured
by oxygen consumption (volume of oxygen consumedVO2). Indirectly measured by heart rate.
Increased cardiovascular fitness is linked to reduced cardiovascular disease risk

Components of CV Fitness

Resting heart rate

Blood pressure

VO2 maximum

Stroke volume

Cardiac output

Muscular strength and endurance

Strength: The ability of a muscle to exert maximum force

Endurance: The ability of a muscle to exert sub-maximal force over an extended period of time
Increased strength/endurance = increased lean muscle mass = increased metabolic rate

Flexibility

Range-of-motion at a particular joint

Varies with different joints
Limited by tightness of muscles and connective tissue surrounding the joint
Decreased flexibility leads to increased risk of injury

Body composition

Percent body fat

Lean mass versus fat mass
Excessive body fat = increased health risk
Average percent body fat:
Males = approximately 15 percent
Females = approximately 23 percent
 MEASURING PHYSICAL ACTIVITY INTENSITY

Relative Intensity

The level of effort required by a person to do an activity. When using relative intensity, people pay
attention to how physical activity affects their heart rate and breathing.

The talk test is a simple way to measure relative intensity. In general, if you're doing moderate-
intensity activity you can talk, but not sing, during the activity. If you're doing vigorous-intensity
activity, you will not be able to say more than a few words without pausing for a breath.

Absolute Intensity

The amount of energy used by the body per minute of activity. The table below lists examples of
activities classified as moderate-intensity or vigorous-intensity based upon the amount of energy used
by the body while doing the activity.

Moderate Intensity

Walking briskly (3 miles per hour or faster, but not race-walking), Water aerobics, Bicycling slower
than 10 miles per hour, Tennis (doubles), Ballroom dancing, General gardening

Vigorous Intensity

Race walking, jogging, or runningSwimming lapsTennis (singles)Aerobic dancingBicycling 10 miles

per hour or fasterJumping ropeHeavy gardening (continuous digging or hoeing)Hiking uphill or with
a heavy backpack.

Other Methods of Measuring Intensity

Target Heart Rate and Estimated Maximum Heart Rate

One way of monitoring physical activity intensity is to determine whether a person's pulse or heart
rate is within the target zone during physical activity.

For moderate-intensity physical activity, a person's target heart rate should be 50 to 70% of his or
her maximum heart rate. This maximum rate is based on the person's age. An estimate of a person's
maximum age-related heart rate can be obtained by subtracting the person's age from 220. For
example, for a 50-year-old person, the estimated maximum age-related heart rate would be calculated
as 220 - 50 years = 170 beats per minute (bpm). The 50% and 70% levels would be:

50% level: 170 x 0.50 = 85 bpm, and

70% level: 170 x 0.70 = 119 bpm

 Thus, moderate-intensity physical activity for a 50-year-old person will require that the heart rate
remains between 85 and 119 bpm during physical activity.

For vigorous-intensity physical activity, a person's target heart rate should be 70 to 85% of his or
her maximum heart rate. To calculate this range, follow the same formula as used above, except
change "50 and 70%" to "70 and 85%". For example, for a 35-year-old person, the estimated
maximum age-related heart rate would be calculated as 220 - 35 years = 185 beats per minute (bpm).
The 70% and 85% levels would be:

70% level: 185 x 0.70 = 130 bpm, and

85% level: 185 x 0.85 = 157 bpm

Thus, vigorous-intensity physical activity for a 35-year-old person will require that the heart rate
remains between 130 and 157 bpm during physical activity.

Perceived Exertion (Borg Rating of Perceived Exertion Scale)

The Borg Rating of Perceived Exertion (RPE) is a way of measuring physical activity intensity level.
Perceived exertion is how hard you feel like your body is working. It is based on the physical
sensations a person experiences during physical activity, including increased heart rate, increased
respiration or breathing rate, increased sweating, and muscle fatigue. Although this is a subjective
measure, a person's exertion rating may provide a fairly good estimate of the actual heart rate during
physical activity* (Borg, 1998).

Practitioners generally agree that perceived exertion ratings between 12 to 14 on the Borg Scale
suggests that physical activity is being performed at a moderate level of intensity. During activity, use
the Borg Scale to assign numbers to how you feel (see instructions below). Self-monitoring how hard
your body is working can help you adjust the intensity of the activity by speeding up or slowing down
your movements.

Through experience of monitoring how your body feels, it will become easier to know when to adjust
your intensity. For example, a walker who wants to engage in moderate-intensity activity would aim
for a Borg Scale level of "somewhat hard" (12-14). If he describes his muscle fatigue and breathing as
"very light" (9 on the Borg Scale) he would want to increase his intensity. On the other hand, if he felt
his exertion was "extremely hard" (19 on the Borg Scale) he would need to slow down his movements
to achieve the moderate-intensity range.

*A high correlation exists between a person's perceived exertion rating times 10 and the actual heart
rate during physical activity; so a person's exertion rating may provide a fairly good estimate of the
actual heart rate during activity (Borg, 1998). For example, if a person's rating of perceived exertion
(RPE) is 12, then 12 x 10 = 120; so the heart rate should be approximately 120 beats per minute. Note
that this calculation is only an approximation of heart rate, and the actual heart rate can vary quite a
bit depending on age and physical condition. The Borg Rating of Perceived Exertion is also the
preferred method to assess intensity among those individuals who take medications that affect heart
rate or pulse.

MUSCULAR STRENGTH
Although muscular strength refers to the external force (properly expressed in newtons, although
kilograms and pounds are commonly used as well) that can be generated by a specific muscle or
muscle group, it is commonly expressed in terms of resistance met or overcome. Strength can be
assessed either statically (i.e., no overt muscular movement at a given joint or group of joints) or
dynamically (i.e., movement of an external load or body part in which the muscle changes length).
Static or isometric strength can be measured conveniently using a variety of devices including cable
tensiometers and handgrip dynamometers. In certain instances, measures of static strength are specific
to the muscle group and joint angle involved in testing; therefore, their utility in describing overall
muscular strength may be limited. Peak force development in such tests is commonly referred to as
the maximum voluntary contraction (MVC).

Isokinetic testing involves the assessment of maximal muscle tension throughout a ROM set at a
constant angular velocity (e.g., 60 angles s1). Equipment that allows control of the speed of joint
rotation (degrees s1) as well as the ability to test movement around various joints (e.g., knee, hip,
shoulder, elbow) is available from commercial sources. Such devices measure peak rotational force or
torque, but an important drawback is that this equipment is substantially more expensive compared to
other strength testing modalities.
MUSCULAR ENDURANCE
Muscular endurance is the ability of a muscle group to execute repeated muscle actions over a period
of time sufficient to cause muscular fatigue or to maintain a specific percentage of the 1-RM for a
prolonged period of time. If the total number of repetitions at a given amount of resistance is
measured, the result is termed absolute muscular endurance. If the number of repetitions performed at
a percentage of the 1-RM (e.g., 70%) is used pretesting and posttesting, the result is termed relative
muscular endurance. Simple field tests such as a curl-up (crunch) test or the maximum number of
push-ups that can be performed without rest may be used to evaluate the endurance of the abdominal
muscle groups and upper body muscles, respectively.

Resistance training equipment also can be adapted to measure muscular endurance by selecting an
appropriate submaximal level of resistance and measuring the number of repetitions or the duration of
static muscle action before fatigue. For example, the YMCA bench press test involves performing
standardized repetitions at a rate of 30 lifts or reps min1. Men are tested using a 36.3-kg (80 lb)
barbell and women using a 15.9-kg (35 lb) barbell. Subjects are scored by the number of successful
repetitions completed. The YMCA test is an excellent example of a test that attempts to control for
repetition duration and posture alignment, thus possessing high reliability. Normative data for the
YMCA benchpress test are presented in.