Athletic Performance
In terms of athletic performance, rest is vital to a healthy fitness program. You need to give your body time to repair, rebuild, and strengthen between workouts. Continuously working out without any breaks can actually weaken muscles. This is why it is recommended that you are physically active MOST days of the week. During those other days, your body needs to rest. If you worked out every day at your maximum effort, you could become fatigued and cause harm to your overall health.
Hover your cursor over the following image to see how days of rest should be built into your fitness routine. If you were to adopt this fitness routine as your own, your body would have time to heal and strengthen. This would allow you to perform at your optimal level.
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You should have observed that both aerobic and anaerobic exercises were included in the sample weekly fitness routine image above. Aerobic exercise is also known as cardio exercise. This type of exercise requires the pumping of oxygen rich blood by the heart to working muscles. Aerobic exercise stimulates the heart rate and increases the breathing rate for the length of the exercise. Cycling, running, swimming, walking, hiking, dancing are a few of the many types of aerobic exercise. Anaerobic exercise is exercise that causes you to quickly run out of breath. You work so hard that you deplete your body of oxygen. Sprinting and weight-lifting are examples of anaerobic exercises. Aerobic exercises can become anaerobic if performed at a high intensity level. It is important to include both aerobic and anaerobic exercises, along with days of rest for recovery in your weekly plan. This will help you achieve the highest levels of performance
Aerobic and Anaerobic Respiration.
Whether you participate in aerobic or anaerobic exercise, your body must continually produce energy in order for you to move. In this interactivity, you will learn how your body uses aerobic and anaerobic respiration to produce energy. Click the player button to begin.
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Heart Rate, Training Zones, and Exercise Intensity
Anaerobic exercise is higher in intensity than aerobic exercise, so it requires greater physical effort. Research has shown powerful benefits from exercising at different intensities, or training zones, to achieve optimal performance. Training zones are heart rate ranges used to estimate exercise intensity. Your heart rate is measured in beats per minute, or bpm. Your resting heart rate is the measurement when you are sitting, relaxed, or sedentary. Most people have a resting heart rate of 70 bpm. Your maximum heart rate is the fastest your heart can beat for one minute. You can calculate your maximum heart rate by subtracting your age from 220. To determine your heart rate during exercise, it is best to use a heart rate monitor. You can also use a pedometer or accelerometer that includes a setting to measure your heart rate.
Training zones are expressed as percentages of your maximum heart rate. There are five training zones that reflect the intensity of your exercises. There are different benefits from exercising in each zone. Zones 1 and 2 will help you increase your energy and burn fat. Zones 2, 3, and 4 will help you improve your overall fitness. Zones 4 and 5 will help you maximize your athletic performance. The table above shows the different training zones, the percentage of your maximum heart rate to maintain exercise in each zone, the time duration you should spend in each zone, and the training benefits of each zone. Exercise is considered aerobic when your heart rate is in Zone 3, and anaerobic when your heart rate is in Zone 4. When starting a training program, be sure to gradually increase exercise intensity to avoid overexertion and injury.
Resistance-Training Exercises
Resistance-training exercises strengthen your muscles through the use of weight. Muscle mass naturally diminishes with age. If you do not replace the lean muscle you lose, the percentage of fat in your body will increase. Using weight machines, free weights, and even your own body weight are all effective methods of increasing your muscular strength. In this interactivity, learn about three types of resistance-training exercises: isometric, isotonic, and isokinetic. Click the player button to begin.
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Muscular Endurance
To improve your muscular endurance, you should participate in aerobic and anaerobic exercises. Aerobic exercises are activities that use large muscle groups, are rhythmic in nature, and can be maintained continuously over a sustained amount of time. In this interactivity, click each of the tabs to learn about benefits of muscular endurance and different ways you can work your muscles to build muscular endurance. Click the player button to begin.
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Types of Movement
There are different types of movement that occur when you are developing muscular strength and endurance. Flexion and extension are two types of body movements, and both take place in the sagittal plane. The sagittal plane divides the body into two symmetrical sides. Abduction and adduction are two terms that are used to describe movements toward or away from the midline of the body. In this interactivity, explore the different types of movement. Click the player button to begin.
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Rest and Athletic Performance Review
Now that you have explored the importance of rest and athletic performance, it is time to review your knowledge and practice what you have learned. In this non-graded activity, read the set of directions associated with each question and provide your answers. Click the player button to get started.