Departamento de Educación Física 4th ESO

UNIT 1: PHYSICAL FITNESS AND BASIC PHYSICAL SKILLS

1. WHAT IS PHYSICAL FITNESS?

As we have studied in the last few years, physical fitness refers to a person’s physical conditions.
That’s to say, the characteristics of a person’s physical skills, which determines all his or her daily activities.
It is defined as the “set of anatomical, physiological and motor characteristics that determines
a person’s health and quality of life and/or the sports performance of an athlete and that a person
has got to carry out different physical efforts”.

In order to enjoy a healthy life, it is essential to be in good physical and healthy condition. In our society, there
are two ideas of physical fitness:

FF -HEALTH: Its components are aerobic endurance, muscular endurance and flexibility. It is linked to a
healthy life and quality of life.
FF - PERFORMANCE: It refers to sports training and its components are aerobic and anaerobic endurance,
maximum and explosive strength, gestural speed, wideness of movements and coordination.

2. WHAT DOES PHYSICAL FITNESS DEPEND ON?

As you know, it is important to keep good physical fitness but, what does it depend
on? There are two different factors:

INTRINSIC FACTORS: These factors are inherent in ourselves and we cannot influence
on them:

 Genetics: Each of us has got special physical and mental characteristics that
come from the gens we inherit from our parents.
 Age: our physical fitness changes as we grow up. At a certain age, it starts to deteriorate.
 Gender: Each gender has got its own characteristics: men develop them later and lose them before.
Some characteristics are better developed in women and some others in men.

EXTRINSIC FACTORS: they are determined by external factors. There are some factors that can be modified to
improve our physical fitness:
 Physical exercise: an active person that performs frequent physical exercise will enjoy a better
physical fitness than a sedentary person, and so, active people will perform more satisfactorily their
daily activities.
 Rest: Getting tired is as important as recovering from an effort. Because of this, if we want to keep our
organism fit, we must sleep 9 hours approximately and having a break of 25 minutes after lunch.
 Diet: The phrase “we are what we eat” means that if we take care of our diet, we are also taking care
of our body. Eating properly and avoiding drinking alcohol, smoking or taking drugs will give to our
organism the energy required to our daily life.

3. WHAT ARE THE ADVANTAGES OF BEING IN GOOD PHYSICAL FITNESS?

As you should know, practicing sports regularly will make some changes in your body. These changes
may affect your muscles, your breathing or your circulatory system. They may be temporary (they disappear
when training finishes) or permanent. The most important ones are explained below:

CHANGES TEMPORARY PERMANENT

 Muscle fibres improve their  Muscle hypertrophy
MUSCLES contraction capacity  Muscle strength increases
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  Oxygen flows better  Maximum oxygen consumption increases.
RESPIRATORY SYSTEM throughout our body  Respiratory muscles improve their
function
CIRCULATORY SYSTEM  Blood flow increases.  Heart becomes bigger (up to 40%)
 When carrying out a physical  Heartbeat power increases (40-50%)
effort, heart tiredness  Heart rate becomes slower
decreases

You shouldn’t forget other important improvements that you have studied previously:
C We will be able to perform certain activities that people with bad physical
fitness can’t, for example climbing a mountain.
C We will enjoy more when doing physical exercise because we won’t get so
tired and we will recover quicker.
C We will do better at school because our personal advancement, concentration
and working skills will improve.
C Injuries and illnesses will be less frequent.
C It is proved that sport improves our state of mind and our vitality.

4. LOCOMOTOR SYSTEM AS A BASIS OF THE GROWING OF THE BASIC PHYSICAL SKILLS

4.1 SKELETAL SYSTEM:

An adult’s skeleton has got, approximately, 206 bones, which corresponds to the 12% of the body
weight. For example, a person whose weight is 75 kilograms, 9 of those kilograms are bones. However, a fetus’
skeleton has got 350 cartilaginous bones, which, as it grows up, ossify and sometimes they even join to each
other making just one bone structure.
A human skeleton is a set of bones that are organized and joined by joints. It provides support to our
body, keeps it upright and protects our vital internal organs (lungs, heart, etc…). Other functions of our bones
are:

 They keep and provide calcium and phosphorus.

 They help to create blood cells (hematopoiesis)
 They constitute an energy reserve: the yellow bone marrow,
which is a flexible tissue found in the medullary channel of
long bones, is a great energy reserve.
According to their shape, there are 3 types
of bones:

 Long: as the name shows, they are long

bones that are usually found in
extremities. They have got three parts:
epiphysis (found in the extremities of the
bone), diaphysis (central part of the bone)
and metaphysis (connecting and growth
tissue of the bone) (Ex. Femur /
Thighbone)
 Short: they are irregular, very strong and
more or less squared. They help to various
muscles and joints (ex. Vertebrae)
 Flat: thin, wide and mainly horizontal
bones. They provide protection to what
they cover. (ex. Cranium /Skull)

Bone problems and diseases

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 Contrary to what you may think, bones also suffer some diseases. Some of the most important tones are:
Osteogenesis imperfecta: It is also known as brittle bone disease. It is a congenital bone disorder
characterized by the fact that bones of people who suffer it are prone to easily fracture, frequently
after a knock or sometimes without an apparent reason. This disorder has got genetic reasons and is a
consequence of the lack of collagen.
Paget’s disease: This disorder causes a problem in the natural growth of the bone in a way that it
breaks and regenerates in an irregular and disorganized way (as a consequence, there are areas with
very little bone tissue and others with excessive bone growth).
Osteonecrosis: It appears when the bones suffer a blood supply interruption or when this supply is
very little. Due to this, bones die and in the end they collapse, causing pain and arthritis.

4.2 MUSCULAR SYSTEM:

In human anatomy, the muscular system is the set of the over 650 muscles that generate movement,
either voluntary or involuntary.

Depending on their voluntariness to carry out their functions, there are three types of muscles:
 Skeletal: voluntary contraction. They are responsible of movement (eg. deltoids)
 Smooth: involuntary contraction (eg. Stomach)
 Cardiac: involuntary contraction (eg. Heart)

The muscular system has got different functions:

 Movement: muscles are in charge of moving blood and extremities.

 Inner organs activity: muscles make our organs to carry out their functions, helping other systems
like the cardiovascular one.
 Posture and stability: The control of the postures of our body when it is resting and letting us
staying balanced.
 Shape: both muscles and cartilages give our body its traditional shape.

Other less known but also important functions are:

 Physiological information: For example, a

renal colic causes heavy contractions of the
smooth muscle leading to severe pain, symptom
of a colic.
 Protection: The muscular system helps to
protect the proper running of the digestive
system or the vital organs.

How does a muscle move? Thanks to MUSCLE

CONTRACTION

Each muscle is made up of a lot of packages called “muscle fascicle”. These are made up of the
thousands of “muscle fibres”.
Muscle fibres are made up of a lot of
“myofibrils”. Inside them, there are two types
of threads: actin and myosin threads, which
alternate in a parallel position.
When a nerve impulse arrives, there are a series of processes that end up in the activation of the
actin, which slides along the myosin. In this way, the myofibril, and therefore the muscle, shortens.

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 Agonists-antagonists muscles
Muscles are classified in agonists or antagonists depending on their contraction or relaxation when
performing a movement. These are new concepts, so pay attention and study them.
 Agonist muscles contract when performing a movement.
 Antagonist muscles relax to let the agonist muscle perform a movement.
For example: when we bend the elbow, the biceps contracts (it acts as the agonist) and the triceps
relaxes (it acts as the antagonist).
Check YouTube: type muscle contraction or agonist and antagonist muscles to see some videos
that explain this process.

Pectoralis

Abdominal
muscle

Gluteus

Tibialis

Soleus

4.3 JOINT SYSTEM:

Joints join two or more bones. A classification may be:

 Synarthrosis: they are rigid, without mobility (ex. Those that join the skull)
 Amphiarthrosis: they generate little movement. They join muscles with a cartilage (vertebra)
 Diarthrosis: they can move (ex. Those in the hips)

Their most important functions are:

 Generating movement
 Being joining points of the skeleton
 Providing elasticity to our body
 Being points for growth
Joint problems and diseases
The diseases that affect the joint system are:

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 Osteoarthritis: there is an injury in the joint cartilage causing pain, stiffness or problems to properly
move a joint.
Rheumatoid arthritis: chronic disease that causes the swelling and eventually the deformity of the
joints.

5. BASIC PHYSICAL SKILLS

As we have said before, our physical fitness depends on the degree of development of your basic
physical skills. In Spanish they are also called “Cualidades físicas básicas” and “capacidades motrices”.

 CARDIORESPIRATORY ENDURANCE: It is the ability of the heart and lungs

to function efficiently during long periods of time (more than 3 minutes). In general, the
endurance increases with the age, and the best moment is when we are 35 years old.
There are two types of cardiorespiratory endurance:
+ Aerobic endurance: It is the ability of the heart to supply enough oxygen to
the muscles. This provides the possibility to make efforts with low/medium intensity
during a long period of time. The heart beat should be between 140-180. Training aerobic endurance makes
important benefits, especially during childhood and adolescence. Among them, we can highlight that the heart
chambers get bigger, so the heart also gets bigger and it can pump more blood.
+ Anaerobic endurance: It is the ability to make big efforts during a short period of time. In this case,
the heart cannot supply enough oxygen to the muscles. Because of this, we have to stop after a short time
(no more than 2 minutes and 30 seconds). The heart beat should be between 180-200. Training anaerobic
endurance also produces important benefits but it isn’t recommended until the age of 17. Among its benefits,
we can highlight that the heart walls get thicker and stronger. Thanks to it, the heart can pump blood more
efficiently. Within this, we can distinguish:
o Alactic anaerobic endurance: it doesn’t produce lactic acid (a waste substance that our body
produces). It is used in explosive efforts of maximum intensity of under 20 seconds.
o Lactic anaerobic endurance: It DOES produce lactic acid. These efforts last for from 20” to 2’ 30”.
STRENGTH: It is the amount of force a muscle can produce to move a resistance, without considering the
time used on it. This is a very important skill because each movement that we make needs strength to
be done. Also, just keeping our body posture requires the action of a great number of muscles.
Otherwise, we wouldn’t be able to face gravity and our body would fall. In general, this skill improves
with the age until you are 25/30 years old.
There are a lot of classifications. One of the most important defines three types:
 Maximum strength: It is the ability to move a maximum resistance, without taking care of the
time used doing it (weightlifting or arm wrestling)
 Muscular endurance: It is the ability to use muscles many times without becoming tired
(example: climbing or push ups).
 Explosive strength: It is the ability to move a non-maximum resistance in the shortest possible
time (jumping or shot put)

 SPEED: It is the ability to make quick movements using the muscular contraction. The best
moment is when you are 25 years old. It is classified in two types:
 Reaction speed: it is related to the time that is used from the moment when we get the stimulus (for
example: the sound of the whistle), to the time when the movement is done.
 Gestural speed: It is the ability to make a movement in the shortest period of time. Within it, there
are two types:
Cyclic: if the movement is repeated with a constant frequency (swimming, running, pedalling...)
Acyclic: if the movement is unique and not repeated (avoiding an opponent or catching a fly…)

 FLEXIBILITY: It is the ability to make wide movements, using the elasticity of the muscles and the
movements of joints. If you have low levels of flexibility you might have physical problems and injuries during
the sport practise. This skill is the only one that goes down from the day we are born. Until 10 years, the level

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is quite good, but after this time it goes down. The principal drop starts when we are 14, because muscles get
bigger. The basic types of flexibility are:
 Active: The muscles move voluntary.
 Passive: There is an external force (it may be a partner or simply the gravity).

6. TRAINING BASIC PHYSICAL SKILLS

In order to improve our physical fitness, we have to do experimental and scientifically checked systems:
they are called training systems. They vary according to the physical skills. The more useful for you are:

 ENDURANCE TRAINING: there are two big types:

 CONTINUOUS SYSTEMS: the training is carried out without recovery breaks. For example:
 Continuous race: running at a uniform rate with a moderate intensity (30-60 % o 140-150
p/min.) + constant pace.
 Fartlek: it combines continuous race with changes in the pace.
 Total training: it combines continuous race with pace changes and jumping, throwing, climbing
exercises…
 FRACTIONAL SYSTEMS: the training is divided into stages and between them there are recovery
breaks.
Remember that you have to consider heart rate as an excellent sign of work intensity when training
endurance. By now, you should know how to check it and to train within your possibilities. Don’t forget
it every time you train this skill.

 STRENGTH TRAINING: In order to improve strength you can perform many different activities. In
these activities, there must be high muscles tension and short duration of effort (some seconds). For
example: exercises of pair fight, exercises with weights, medicine balls…; climbing, natural-load exercises
(sit-ups, push-ups…). For this reason, in this ability we are not going to explain the training systems but
the exercises you can do:
 Natural-loading exercises (we work with our own weight)
 Exercises in pairs
 Medicine ball or weights
 Rubber bands
 SPEED TRAINING: In general, speed is trained with any short exercise (some seconds) at a
maximum speed. Breaks must be long. It is important for you to know that it is very difficult to train
speed since it has got a big genetic component (it depends on the most common types of fibres in our
muscles. “You become a long-distance runner but you are born a sprinter.”
There are two types of methods:
 Repetitions method: The movement to improve is repeated once and again.
 Varied method: It aims at improving reaction speed using different stimulus and starting positions.
 FLEXIBILITY TRAINING: Firstly, we must distinguish between exercises of joint mobility (always
dynamic) and stretching. The last ones may be done individually or in pairs. When training flexibility,
it is important to avoid rebounds (miotatic reflex).

GLOSSARY: ALACTIC ANAEROBIC ENDURANCE Resistencia anaeróbica aláctica

PHYSICAL FITNESS Condición física LACTIC ANAEROBIC ENDURANCE Resistencia anaeróbica láctica
PHYSICAL SKILLS Capacidades físicas STRENGTH Fuerza
ENDURANCE Resistencia SPEED Velocidad
HEARTBEAT Latido FLEXIBILITY Flexibilidad
HEART RATE Frecuencia cardíaca JOINTS Articulaciones
HEART CHAMBERS Cavidades cardíacas COMPLETE SESSION Entrenamiento total
HEART WALLS Paredes del corazón NATURAL-LOADING EXERCISES Ejercicios de autocarga
INJURIES Lesiones