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Unit 3: Physical Activity: Health and Exercise for Fitness

3.0 Intended Learning Outcomes

After working on this unit, you should be able to:
a. Describe the health and wellness benefits of physical activity; and
b. Execute basic positions where most exercises begin safely and accurately.

3.1 Introduction
Physical activity is fun whether it is playing a sport or simply hiking or
walking. The more fit we are, the more opportunities we have for fun and
enjoyment. Our bodies are designed to move and they function best when we act
on that movement.

In 1996 the US Surgeon General issued a report titled Physical Activity and Health
that clearly established the importance of regular physical activity to health and
wellness. Since that report, growing scientific evidence has continued to drive the
point home. Regular physical activity leads to good fitness of the body systems
(e.g., heart, lungs, blood, blood vessels, brain, muscles). Active people with good
fitness are less likely to have a hypokinetic disease. Hypo means too little, and
kinetic means movement; thus hypokinetic diseases are caused by too little
movement or activity – for example, heart disease, stroke, cancer diabetes,
osteoporosis, and Alzheimer’s disease. Active people also possess better wellness,
as evidenced by looking good, feeling good, and enjoying the other factors.

3.2 Topics/Discussion (with Assessment/Activities)

3.2.1. Basic Principles of Physical Activity

How do you know if you’re doing enough physical activity? To answer this
question, you need to understand three basic principles of physical activity:
overload, progression, and specificity.

Principle of Overload

The principle of overload – the most basic law of physical activity – states that the
only way to produce fitness and health benefits through physical activity is to
require your body to do more than it normally does. Increasing the demand on
your body (i.e., overloading) forces it to adapt. Your body was designed to be
active; therefore, if you do nothing (underload), your fitness will decrease and
your health will suffer.
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Principle of Progression

The principle of progression states that the amount and intensity of your exercise
should be increased gradually. After a while, your body adapts to an increase in
physical activity (load), and that amount of activity becomes easy. When this
happens, increase your activity slightly.

Principle of Specificity

The principle of specificity states that the specific type of exercise you do
determines the specific benefit you receive. Different kinds and amounts of activity
produce very specific and different benefits. An activity that helps you in one part
of health-related fitness may not be equally good in another part. For example,
jogging improves cardiorespiratory endurance but does not improve flexibility.

FITT Formula

To apply the basic principle of exercise, use the FITT formula (sometime called the
FITT principle). Each letter in the acronym FITT represents one of the following
factors in determining how much physical activity is enough: frequency, intensity,
time and type. When you apply the formula to one specific type of fitness or a
specific type of activity, you can drop the last T and use only FIT (see Physical
Activity Pyramid later in this lesson).

 Frequency refers to how often you do physical activity. For physical activity
to be beneficial, you must do it on multiple days per week. The proper
frequency depends on the type of activity you're doing and the part of
fitness you want to develop. For example, to develop strength you might
need to exercise two days a week, but daily activity is recommended for
losing fat.
 Intensity refers to how hard you perform physical activity. If your activity
is too easy, you won't build fitness or gain other benefits. But remember-
extremely vigorous activity can be harmful if you don't work up to it
gradually. Intensity is determined differently depending on the type of
activity you do the type of fitness you want to build. For example, if you're
building cardiorespiratory endurance, you can determine intensity by
counting your heart rate; if you're building strength, you can determine
intensity by the amount of weight you lift.
 Time, of course, refers to how long you do physical activity. The length of
time for which you should do physical activity depends on the type of
activity and the part of fitness you want to develop. For example, to build
flexibility, you should exercise for 15 seconds or more for each muscle (or
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muscles group); to build cardiorespiratory endurance, on the other hand,

you need to be active continuously for at least 20 minutes.
 Type refers to the kind of activity you do in order to build a specific part of
fitness or gain a specific benefit. Any given type of activity may help you
build one part of fitness but not another part. For example, doing active
aerobics builds your cardiorespiratory endurance but does little to develop
your flexibility.

The Physical Activity Pyramid

Established physical activity guidelines recommended at least 60 minutes of

physical activity each day for teens. The five steps of the Physical Activity Pyramid
(figure 3.1) are designed to help you understand the five kinds of physical activity,
which build different parts of fitness and produce different health and wellness
benefits (recall the principle of specificity). To meet the recommended 60 minutes
of daily activity, you can choose from the different types of activity. For optimal
benefits, you should perform activities from all parts of the pyramid each week.
Information about the FITT formula type of activity in the pyramid is presented in
figure 3.1.

Figure 3.1 The new Physical Activity Pyramid for Teens

Moderate Physical Activity

This is the first step in the Physical Activity Pyramid, and you should do it daily
or nearly every day. Moderate activity involves exercise equal in intensity to brisk
walking. It includes some activities of normal daily living (also called lifestyle
activities), such as walking to school, doing yardwork, and doing housework.
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Moderatesactivity is a good way to accumulate some of the recommended 60

minutes of daily activity. At least 30 minutes a day is recommended for adults. It
should be performed at least five days a week. It is associated with reduced risk of
hypokinetic disease and enhanced wellness. It also helps you control your body
fat level and is well suited for people of various abilities.

Vigorous Activities

Step 2 of the Physical Activity Pyramid represents vigorous aerobics, which

includes any activity that you can do for a long time without stopping and that is
vigorous enough to increase your heart rate and make you breathe faster. Thus
these activities are more intense than moderate activities, and they are typically
continuous (e.g., jogging, aerobic dance). Like moderate activity, they provide
many health and wellness benefits, and they’re especially helpful for building a
high level of cardiorespiratory endurance and controlling body fat.

You should perform vigorous aerobics and vigorous sport and recreation
activities (see step 3) at least three days a week for at least 20 minutes each to meet
national activity guidelines.

Vigorous Sport and Recreation

Like vigorous aerobics, vigorous sport and recreation (represented in step 3 of the
Physical Activity Pyramid) require your heart to beat faster than normal and cause
you to breathe faster. Unlike vigorous aerobics, however, vigorous sport and
recreation often involve short bursts of activity followed by short bursts of rest-as,
for example, in basketball, football, soccer, and tennis. When done for at least 20
minutes a day in bouts of 10 minutes or more at a time, these activities provide
fun, fit ness, health, and wellness benefits similar to those of vigorous aerobics.
They also help you build motor skills and contribute to healthy weight
management. Like vigorous aerobics, they should be done at least three days per
week for at least 20 minutes.

Muscle Fitness Exercises

Step 4 in the Physical Activity Pyramid represents muscle fitness exercises, which
build your strength, muscular endurance, and power. Muscle fitness exercises
include both resistance training (with weights or machines), moving your own
body (as in calisthenics and rock climbing), and doing activities that build power
such as jumping. These types of exercise produce general health benefits (e.g.,
reduced risk of disease, a healthier back, better posture, stronger bones), wellness
benefits (e.g., look good, feel good, enjoy life), as well as better performance. These
exercises can be used to meet established activity guidelines and should be
performed on two or three days a week.
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Flexibility Exercises

The fifth step of the Physical Activity Pyramid represents flexibility exercises,
which help you have a healthy back, good posture, and improve your performance
in activities such as gymnastics and dance. Flexibility is also beneficial in jobs that
require reaching and bending. Also, stretching exercises that build flexibility can
help you relax and may reduce risk of injury. They are also used in therapy to help
people who have been injured. Two examples of flexibility exercise are stretching
and yoga. To build and maintain flexibility, perform flexibility exercises at least
three days a week.

Avoiding Inactivity

Just below the Physical Activity Pyramid, you'll notice pictures of a TV set and a
video game controller with an X over them. This illustration emphasizes the fact
that being sedentary, or inactive, poses a health risk.

Just as you should do 60 minutes of daily physical activity, drawing from the
five types of activity presented in the pyramid, you should also avoid the inactivity
that is common among people who log too much "screen time" in front of a TV or
other device. We all need to take time to recover from daily stresses and prepare
for new challenges, so periods of rest and sleep are important to good health. Some
low-key activities of daily living-such as studying, reading, and even a moderate
amount of screen time—are appropriate. But general inactivity or sedentary living
is harmful to your health. Your choices from active areas of the pyramid should
exceed your choices from the inactivity area.

Unit 3: Activity 1

Directions: Read the paragraph below then answer the questions that follow. You
may use a separate sheet of paper for your answer.

To enjoy a physical activity, it helps to have the skills needed for that particular
sport or game-for example, kicking, throwing, hitting, and swimming. Learning
such skills is easier for some people than for others, but anyone can get better with
practice.

Zack felt that he was never really good at sports. He had tried several activities
and found that he was not as good at any of them as the other people he knew. He
had even tried out for the soccer and swim teams at school but didn't make either
one. His biggest problem was that he hadn't learned to play any sports when he
was young, and now he was behind his friends and peers.
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s to learn a sport but was afraid that he would be unsuccessful

Zack wanted
again and that his friends might laugh at him. Still, he did a self-assessment of his
skill-related abilities and was surprised to find that he did pretty well on most of
the assessments. His power was not especially high, but he did well in
coordination and agility.

Before trying out for a team again, Zack thought it would be best to try to learn
some skills used in a sport that matched his abilities. Being over 6 feet (1.8 meters)
tall and weighing 180 pounds (82 kilograms) seemed to give him an advantage,
but he wanted to get stronger. And he still wasn't sure which sport would be best
for him. He wanted to be on a team, but he also wanted to learn something that
would be fun and interesting. An alternative to trying out for a team would be to
participate in an individual sport like mountain biking or dancing.

For Comprehension:

What advice would you give Zack for choosing a sport? Once he chooses, what
steps could he take to improve his performance skills? How might Zack's life be
different in the long term if he develops his sport skills now? Who could he talk to
for help? Zack knew that he needed to practice but wasn't sure exactly what to
practice. What practice advice would you give him?

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s for Fitness
3.2.2 Exercise

The presence of modern technologies made most of the people nowadays

especially the young so inactive. They would rather sit down the whole day facing
the computer for games and chatting, holding and playing with cell phone and
other communication devices all day, taking elevators and escalators instead of
walking up the stairs, long time spent sitting on the desk in the office, or sitting on
the sofa whole day watching television.

Today, due to the threat of so many diseases that is secretly attacking the people
through sedentary life, many are going out their comfort zones and begin to be
active in physical activities. It is a common fact that regular exercises or other
physical activities develop and maintain overall physical health.

Kids, as well as adults, benefit from regular exercise. Health benefits from
regular exercise include: stronger muscles and bones, increased coordination and
energy, and decreased risk of developing chronic diseases such as type 2 diabetes.
For most students, exercise means being physically active during play, recess, and
physical education class, also known as P.E. contributes to each student’s total
growth and development.

Classification of Physical Exercises

Generally, exercises are of two types i.e. dynamic and static. Dynamic exercises
consist of walking and running of lower fats in the body and controlling the flow
of blood pressure. Static exercise includes bodybuilding through muscles
strengthening, giving a beautiful shape to body and getting rid of obesity. The
second one is considered best exercise for fitness through proper procedure and
training. Different styles and weights are used for building each muscle stronger
and there are many types of equipment to be used in this regard. A perfect fitness
can be attained by working on different parts of body through systematic
procedure as you can work on muscles of legs, back, deltoids, chest, abs, triceps
and biceps. One should also need to maintain a proper diet for achieving
maximum results otherwise such procedures might be harmful to health.

 Aerobic Exercise is any physical activity that uses large muscle groups and
causes your body to use more oxygen than it would while resting. The goal of
aerobic exercise is to increase cardiovascular endurance. Examples of aerobic
exercise include cycling, swimming, and brisk walking, skipping rope, rowing,
hiking, and playing tennis, continuous training, and long slow distance
training,
 Anaerobic exercise – is also called strength or Resistance training and can firm,
strengthen, and tone your muscles, as well as improve bone strength, balance,
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and coordination. Examples of strength moves are push-ups, lunges, and bicep
curls using dumbbells. Anaerobic exercise also includes weight training,
functional training, eccentric training, interval training, sprinting and high-
intensity interval training increase short-term muscle strength.
 Flexibility exercise – exercises stretch and lengthen your muscles. Activities such
as stretching help to improve joint flexibility and keep muscles limber. The goal
is to improve the range of motion which can reduce the chance of injury.
 Physical exercise can also include training that focuses on accuracy, agility,
power, and speed. Sometimes the terms ‘dynamic’ and ‘static’ are used.
 Dynamic exercise such as steady running, tend to produce a lowering of the
diastolic blood pressure during exercise, due to the improved blood flow.
 Static exercise (such as weight-lifting) can cause the systolic pressure to rise
significantly (during the exercise).

Parts of an Exercise Program

Exercise is important to every individual. To achieve good effect in every

exercise, there must be a proper selection of activities or program of exercise
adapted to the age, condition, body type, and other needs of the individual,
together with proper exposure to these activities in terms of time and intensity
workout.

Physical Exercise is any bodily activity that enhances or maintains physical

fitness and overall health and wellness. Frequent & regular physical and overall
health immune system and helps prevent the “diseases of affluence such as heart
disease, diabetes, and obesity.”

Exercise Program is great way to stay fit. It also brings a wide range of physical
and mental benefits. When prescribing exercise, health professionals will usually
talk about 3 important factors, namely: intensity, duration & frequency.

It is very important to have regular proper exercise together with

good/healthy life style and a balanced diet to be physically fit. Proper exercise or
the program of exercise depends on the individual’s needs considering the type of
the body and what needs to be improved.

There are three stages in an exercise program, namely warm-up, workout, and
cool-down.

Warm-up and cool down are the two important parts of an exercise session along
with actual workout. The three are most recommended each time a physical activity
program is done. Many people take for granted warm-up and cool down activities;
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s a little time doing it; as a result, body pains and injuries are most
some may spend
likely to happen.

a) Warm-up. The warm-up is a basic protocol to be observed before the start of the
program; strenuous or mild physical activity. It is in the state that the muscles
and heart for the exercise workout are being prepared. Warming up improves
performance to that effect and reduce the risk injuries. Moran and McGlynn
(2001) presented stretching and warm-up principles needed for the workout.
Here are some of the selected principles:
1. No matter what the nature of the exercise to come, a slow, gradual warm-
up consisting of calisthenics, stretching, and slow jogging could always
precede exercise, even if you are highly trained.
2. Your warm-up should last ten to fifteen minutes.
3. Stretching following mild jogging should be slow but thorough.
4. Initial stretching should be gentle and specific to the muscles that will
receive the most stress.
5. The muscle must be stretched beyond its normal range, but not to the point
of pain.
6. Take caution with stretching exercises of the neck and lower back.
7. Don’t hold your breath while stretching.
8. Stretch at least three times a week for maximum results.
9. Jogging should be considered at an intensity and rate unique to your
anticipated activity.
10. Remember to stretch and cool down the activity.

b) Workout. Workout is the main activity. This can be in the form of sports,
aerobics and dance.

c) Cool-down. Cooldown is also very essential to a regular fitness program. The

purpose of the cooldown is to let the body return to its normal functioning
level. The cool-down activity is usually made up of walking and slow stretches
that bring the pulse rate gradually back to normal. Stopping the workout
abruptly is not advisable. Here are some examples of cool-down exercises:
 Breathing exercise
 Walking with fingers bent and stretched
 Slow stretches
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s Where Most Exercises Begin

Basic Positions

There are fundamental positions and body movements that can be done while
standing, sitting, kneeling and lying down. Familiarize yourself with these basic
positions and movements that will help you in your regular fitness exercises.

A. Standing Positions

1. Feet Together or Feet Parallel. The feet are about one (1) inch apart, toes
pointing forward. Arms at the sides.

2. Stride Position. The feet are apart about 12 inches wide. The stride may be
made wider than 12 inches. The weight of the body is on both feet and the trunks
is at the center. Arms at sides.

3. Lunge Position. Bend one knee, the other leg straight. Weight on both feet.
Hands on hips.

4. Half-Knee Bend. Feet together, bend knees to about 45-degree angle; feet flat
on floor, body erect; hands on hips.

5. Full Knees Bend or Squat Position. The knees are fully bent, sit on the heels of
the feet. The weight of the body is on the balls of the feet.

B. Sitting Positions

1. Long Sitting Position. Sitting with legs extended forward, toes pointed, trunks
erect and hands on hips.

2. Hook Sitting Position. Sit on buttocks, bend knees close to the body. Trunk
erect, hands on shin of the legs.

3. Long Sitting Rest Position. Legs and toes are extended forward; hands at the
rear in the floor. Elbow and body straight.

4. Tuck Sitting Position. Sit on buttocks, bend knees close to body; round back so
that the forehead and the knees are in contact; hold shin of legs.

5. Stride Sitting Position. Sitting on buttocks, spread legs apart, trunk erect, hands
on thighs.

6. Side Sitting Position. Sitting on buttocks, bend right or left leg in front; other
leg extended sideward. Hands on knees.

7. Hurdle Sitting Position. Sitting on buttocks, bend right leg at the back about
90-degree angle, the other leg extended diagonally forward.
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s From kneeling position, sit on the heels of the feet, toes pointed.
8. Heels Sit.
Hands on hips.

C. Kneeling Positions

1. Kneeling Position. Kneel on both knees, knees close together, body erect, hands
on hips.

2. Stride Kneeling Position. Kneeling on both knees, with knees apart.

3. Half-Kneeling Position Right of Left. Kneeling on right, left in half-kneeling

position in front. Hands on hips.

4. Kneeling Position One Leg Extended Sideward Position. Kneeling on one leg,
the other extended sideward, forward or backward.

D. Lying Position

1. Back or Supine Lying Position. Lying on the back, the body us well extended,
arms overhead, toes pointed.

2. Front or Prone Lying Position. Body is well extended and in front of the body
in contact with the floor. Toes pointed, arms forward.

3. Side Lying Position. With the body well extended, the side of the body is in
contact with the floor, one hand on the floor overhead and the other hand bent
close to chest palms on floor. Toes pointed.

4. Hook Lying Position. In a back lying position, bend knees, with the feet close
to buttocks, feet flat on the floor. Arms overhead.

5. Tuck Lying Position. Lying on the back, pull the knees close to the forehead,
hold shin of legs.

E. Arms Support Positions

1. Supine or Back Arm Support. From a long lying position, lift the body with
straight arms support. Body, legs and toes well extended and one straight line.

2. Prone or Front Arm Support. From a front lying position. Lift the body to front
arms support; body, legs and toes well extended and in one straight line.

3. Side Arm Support. The body is supported with the right or left arm; the body
is well extended.
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F. Four-base Positions

1. Dog Stand Position. From a kneeling position, place the hands on the floor,
elbows straight, toes pointed, the knees and hands are the base of support.

2. Bridge Stand Position. From a hook sitting lift the trunk; legs and arms in right
angle with the trunk.

G. Hand Positions

1. Hands on Waist. Place hands on waist. Fingers pointing front thumbs pointing
backward.

2. Hands on Chest. Palms facing down, thumbs touching the chest, elbows in line
with the shoulders.

3. Hands on Shoulders. Bends arms from the elbow, finger tips touching the
shoulders, elbow in line with the shoulders, rib cage lifted.

4. Hands on Neck. Bend arms from the elbows, place hands behind the neck,
finger tips meeting each other, elbows in line with the shoulders.

5. Hands on Hips. Place hands on hips, thumbs pointing back and fingers
pointing front.

H. Arm Positions

1. Arms Forward. Raise arms forward with palms facing each other. Hands in
line with the shoulders, elbows slightly extended.

2. Arms Sideward. Raise arms sideward, palms facing down, finger tips in line
with the shoulder.

3. Arms Upward. Raise arms upward, palms facing each other, elbows touching
the ears, the whole arm in line with the body.

For this lesson, kindly click the link to watch video demonstration of the
following basic positions.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lFtNVj6xMxU&t=94s
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Unit 3: Activity 2

Directions: Read the information below; then complete the instruction that
follows:

a. Click this link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lFtNVj6xMxU&t=94s to

watch a video demonstration of the basic positions where most exercises begin.
Or you can search Basic Positions (Where Most Exercises Begin) by Angines
Cezar from YouTube.
b. Perform the basic positions as demonstrated in the video.
c. Document each successfully executed position and on a long bond paper
organize the photos and caption each as to what position you are executing.
d. See rubric below for assessing student output.

*Note: Remember to inform your instructor of your medical background and

physical limitations before performing any physical activity.
Rubric for assessing student output

3.3 References
3G ELearning FZ LLC. (2017). Physical Education and Health. 3G ELearning FZ LLC

Diñoso, C. (1990). Gymnastics Book. Rex Book Store

McConnell, K., Corbin, C.B., Corbin, D.E., Farrar, T.D. (2014). Health for Life.
Human Kinetics, Inc.

Oyco, V.D. (2008). Physical Fitness for College Freshmen. RBSI.

3.4 Acknowledgement
The images, tables, figures and information contained in this module were taken
from the references cited above.