There is a lot to know about Exercise, Physical Activity & Fitness. At it's simplest form, physical activity is body movement and exercise is training your body to move.

As defined by the World Health Organization, physical activity is "bodily movement produced by skeletal muscles that requires energy expenditure." It should also be noted that there is always an elevation of heart rate, though how much depends on a person's fitness

Fitness is different than physical activity and there are two types of fitness: Health-Related Fitness and Skill Related Fitness.

Health-Related Fitness is the ability to handle the physical work and play of everyday life without becoming tired. It has 5 components and our physical fitness tests are used to help us know where we're at and what to improve on in these areas. The health-related components of fitness are listed via a graphic further down on the page.

Skill-Related Fitness is most often associated with sports but does not always have to be. Skill-Related Fitness are things like speed, balance, coordination, and reaction time, that help you when engaging in specific tasks, performance-based competitions, games, and other activities. In daily life for example, you may need reaction time to stay safe from a falling piano. (Okay, that only happens in cartoons but you get the idea). The skill-related components of fitness are listed via a graphic further down on the page.

The basics of exercise & physical activity,

1) you should try to get each of the 5 components of health-related fitness to be in or at healthy levels of fitness

2) You should be physically active 30-60 minutes DAILY with a combination of Cardio and Muscular activities. These include things you do that would be considered "work" (aka things you have to do) and also things that would be considered "play" (things you want to do)

3) Exercise typically targets either heart/lung health, muscular health or body composition. You should do a variety of activities that target all aspects.

4) If generally just trying to be more physically active, then any exercise or physical activity that is safely performed or participated in will do the trick! This can include simple choices like using the stairs instead of the elevator. What are some things you do to generally increase your physical activity levels?

But, if you are trying to improve fitness, you should follow basic principles of exercise which you can learn by going here and that we'll focus on in the coming weeks/months

5) FINALLY, whatever it is, do something you enjoy! "work" can not be avoided but work should not be your only source of physical activity. do things that are enjoyable too!

Recall from above:

Health-Related Fitness is the ability to handle the physical work and play of everyday life without becoming tired. It has 5 components and our physical fitness tests are used to help us know where we're at and what to improve on in these areas.

Skill-Related Fitness is most often associated with sports but does not always have to be. Skill-Related Fitness components are very specific items such as speed and agility, that help you when engaging in performance-based competitions, games, and other activities.

In class, we definitely do many activities that engage and improve the skill-based components of fitness. However, our primary goals are to maintain or enhance our health-related fitness. This VERY SHORT 1:35 VIDEO, explains each component of fitness there is a graphic below that lists and defines each. click it to see it larger

For more detailed information about the health-related components of fitness and our specific fitness tests, CLICK HERE

1) Decide Time or Distance? If you are just starting out, it's usually better to run for time rather than distance. BUT, if a distance is your goal, then start off less...limit to 1 mile a day and run 3-4 times a week. Less is more

2) Need Breaks? That's okay! Make the entire run interval!

If your goal is time: jog for time then briskly walk for time

example: Jog 1 minute, briskly walk 1 minute, repeat for 10 minutes

or jog 2 minutes, walk 1 minute etc. IF YOU USE ADIDAS RUNTASTIC (use only the free version), you can set clues for every minute. Some other apps also allow this.

If your goals is distance, then jog 1 or 2/10ths of a mile then walk 1 tenth. Keep repeating. Over time, increase the amount of distance you run.

TIME IS BETTER for now and if you use the Adidas Runtastic app (use only the free version), at every minute, it will tell you your time and distance.

Another option to interval run is to jog level and declines but walk up hills.! That is, if you know your path!

3) In terms of stretching: Before you run use dynamic stretching and after you run use Static stretching.

I would recommend before = forward lunges, hip stretch, and walking toe grabs

After = Quad stretch (but grab your foot with your opposite hand), toe grab, modified hurdle (sit and reach test from school) and hold a forward lunge

You can also lookup the yoga pose "pigeon"

There are a ton more but these are the "go-to" stretches

This is a video that may help you with that: https://youtu.be/qq1kGDd4Q60 .