Chapter 2: Principles of Physical Fitness
Physical activity
Body movement carried out by the skeletal muscles that requires energy.
Muscular endurance
The ability of a muscle to remain contracted or contract repeatedly for a long period of time.
Fat-free mass
The nonfat component of the human body, consisting of skeletal muscle, bone, and water.
Health-related fitness
Physical capacities that contribute to health: cardiorespiratory endurance, muscular strength, muscular endurance, flexibility, and body composition.
Skill-related fitness
Physical capacities that contribute to performance in a sport or an activity: speed, power, agility, balance, coordination, and reaction time; neuromuscular fitness refers to specific fitness related to maintain performance levels of balance, agility, coordination, and gait.
Exercise
Planned, structured, repetitive movement intended to improve or maintain physical fitness.
Cardiorespiratory endurance
The ability of the body to perform prolonged, large - muscle, dynamic exercise at moderate to high levels of intensity.
Flexibility
The ability to move joints through their full range of motion.
Muscular strength
The amount of force a muscle can produce with a single maximum effort.
Physical training
The performance of different types of activities that cause the body to adapt and improve its level of fitness.
Body composition
The proportion of fat and fat-free mass (muscle, bone, and water) in the body.
Metabolism
The sum of all the vital processes by which food energy and nutrients are made available to and used by the body.
Reversibility
The training principle that fitness improvements are lost when demands on the body are lowered.
Progressive overload
The training principle that placing increasing amount of stress on the body causes adaptation that improve fitness.
Specificity
The training principle that the body adapts to the particular type and amount of stress placed on it.
Overtraining
A condition caused by training too much or too intensely, characterized by lack of energy, decreased physical performance, and aching muscles and joints.
Exercise stress test
A test usually administered on a treadmill or cycle ergometer that involves analysis of the changes in electrical activity in the heart from an electrocardiogram taken during exercise; used to determine if any heart disease is present and to assess current fitness level.
Graded exercise test (GXT)
And exercise test that starts at an evening intensity and progresses to maximum capacity.