Fitness Components Poster
By: Robert Russell
Cardiovascular Endurance
Definition: The ability of the circulatory system (heart and blood vessels) to supply oxygen to working muscles during exercise.
Example: Jump roping causes your heart rate to accelerate which supplies more oxygen to your muscles to allow you to jump up off the ground.
Muscular Strength
Definition: The amount of force that can be produced by a single contraction of a muscle.
Example: The Power Clean shows how much weight a person is able to lift and hold.
Muscular Endurance
Definition: The ability of a muscle group to continue movement over a length of time.
Example: Doing pull ups repeatedly shows the muscular endurance of your biceps and upper body by how many you are able to do
Flexibilty
Definition: The range of movement possible at various joints.
Example: Yoga shows a persons flexibility by having people stretch and move their joints in different positions.
Body Composition
Definition: The relative percentage of body fat compared to lean body mass (muscle, bone, water, etc.)
Example: Frequent exercise results in a body composition of mostly muscle. An inactive, unhealthy lifestyle could result in a body composition of mostly fat.
Speed
Definition: The ability to move quickly from one point to another in a straight line.
Example: The 100 yard dash is a race that shows how fast a person can run.
Agility
Definition: The ability of the body to change direction quickly.
Example: Tennis shows a persons agility because they have to be able to change direction and react quickly in order to hit the ball back to the other side of the court.
Balance
Definition: The ability to maintain an upright posture while still or moving.
Example: Tight rope walkers show balance because they have to be able to find their center of balance so that they don't fall.
Coordination
Definition: Integration with hand and/or foot movements with the input of the senses.
Example: Dancing uses coordination because you have to be able to produce movements with all different parts of the body in order to correspond to the music you hear.
Reaction Time
Definition: The time it takes to react and move once you realize the need to move.
Example: Water balloon fights are an example of reaction time because a person has to be fast in order to dodge out of the way of the balloon so they don't get wet. Slow reaction times result in someone getting hit.
Power
Definition: The ability to do strength work at an explosive pace.
Example: Fitness chutes show how much power a runner has because they have to be able to overpower the force against them while still running at high speeds.