Physical Fitness and Body Conditioning Programmes – JSS1 Physical & Health Education Lesson Note (First Term)

Physical fitness is the ability of an individual to have enough energy to perform one’s work effectively without unnecessary fatigue, and still have a little extra energy to enjoy social activities and cope with emergencies after the day’s work.

Behavioural objectives

By the end of the lesson, students should be able to:

• define physical fitness;
• name the two groups of components of physical fitness;
• list the health-related and the skills-related components of physical fitness;
• explain what body conditioning programmes are;
• list examples of popular body conditioning programmes.

What is physical fitness?

Physical fitness can be simply defined as the ability of an individual to perform his or her daily work well without feeling too tired, and still have reserved energy to do other activities.

What are the components of physical fitness?

Physical fitness can be grouped into two parts.

Health-related components

These are directly related to the health of an individual and affect it. They are essential for survival regardless of a person’s sex, age, religion or occupation. They include:

1. Muscular strength
2. Muscular endurance
3. Cardio-vascular-respiratory endurance
4. Flexibility

Performance or skills-related components

These are essential for skills performance and are regarded as additional to the health-related components. They are the abilities an individual needs to excel in various sporting activities. They include:

1. Coordination
2. Power
3. Speed
4. Accuracy
5. Balance
6. Reaction time
7. Agility

What are body conditioning programmes?

Body conditioning programmes are carefully selected and well-planned physical activities or exercises designed to achieve physical fitness in an individual.

Some popular body conditioning programmes

1. Push-up
2. Sit-up
3. Sit and reach
4. Jogging
5. Running
6. Weight-lifting
7. Cycling
8. Swimming
9. Bench press
10. Walking
11. Hiking
12. V-sits
13. Pull-ups
14. Aerobics
15. Dancing, and others

Evaluation

1. State the two groups of components of physical fitness.
2. List the four health-related components of physical fitness.
3. List four skills-related components of physical fitness.
4. What are body conditioning programmes?
5. Name five popular body conditioning programmes.

Assignment

1. Define physical fitness.
2. List two major components of physical fitness.
3. Mention two ways in which physical fitness is important.
4. What do you understand by body conditioning programmes?