Physical Education: Fitness Components: Strength, Endurance, Flexibility
Identifying and applying key parts of physical fitness
Physical Education: Fitness Components: Strength, Endurance, Flexibility
Identifying and applying key parts of physical fitness
Physical Education - Grade 6-8
- 1
Match each fitness component to its meaning: strength, endurance, flexibility. Write the correct component next to each meaning: the ability to move joints through a full range of motion, the ability of muscles to produce force, and the ability to keep moving for a long time.
Think about stretching, lifting, and running for several minutes.
Flexibility is the ability to move joints through a full range of motion. Strength is the ability of muscles to produce force. Endurance is the ability to keep moving for a long time. - 2
A student does push-ups, wall sits, and bodyweight squats during class. Which fitness component is the student mainly training? Explain your answer.
The student is mainly training strength because push-ups, wall sits, and squats require muscles to produce force and support body weight. - 3
A student jogs at a steady pace for 15 minutes without stopping. Which fitness component is the student mainly training? Explain your answer.
Endurance activities usually continue for more than a short burst.
The student is mainly training endurance because jogging for 15 minutes requires the body to keep moving over time. - 4
A student practices a hamstring stretch and a shoulder stretch after class. Which fitness component is the student mainly training? Explain your answer.
The student is mainly training flexibility because stretching helps joints and muscles move through a greater range of motion. - 5
Classify each activity as strength, endurance, or flexibility: holding a plank for 30 seconds, biking for 20 minutes, touching your toes slowly, doing curl-ups, and walking quickly for 1 mile.
Ask whether the activity focuses on force, time, or range of motion.
Holding a plank is strength, biking for 20 minutes is endurance, touching your toes slowly is flexibility, doing curl-ups is strength, and walking quickly for 1 mile is endurance. - 6
Explain why a balanced fitness plan should include strength, endurance, and flexibility instead of only one component.
A balanced fitness plan should include all three components because strength helps muscles work well, endurance helps the heart and lungs support activity, and flexibility helps the body move safely and comfortably. - 7
Maya can run for a long time, but she has trouble lifting heavy objects and doing push-ups. Which fitness component should she focus on improving? Give one safe activity that could help.
Look at what Maya can already do well and what she struggles with.
Maya should focus on improving strength. A safe activity that could help is doing modified push-ups, bodyweight squats, or resistance band exercises with good form. - 8
Jordan can lift weights but gets tired quickly during soccer games. Which fitness component should Jordan focus on improving? Give one safe activity that could help.
Jordan should focus on improving endurance. A safe activity that could help is jogging, cycling, swimming, or playing continuous movement games for gradually longer periods of time. - 9
A student wants to improve flexibility. Circle the safest choice and explain why: bouncing quickly during a stretch, holding a gentle stretch for 20 to 30 seconds, or stretching until sharp pain begins.
Safe stretching should not cause sharp pain.
The safest choice is holding a gentle stretch for 20 to 30 seconds. This is safer because stretches should feel controlled and mild, not painful or bouncing. - 10
Read this workout plan: 5 minutes of light jogging, 10 push-ups, 10 squats, 10 minutes of jump rope, and 3 gentle stretches. Identify one activity for each fitness component.
Push-ups or squats are strength activities. Jump rope or light jogging can be endurance activities. The gentle stretches are flexibility activities. - 11
Why is warming up before fitness activities important? Name one warm-up activity that would prepare the body for exercise.
A warm-up should start easy and prepare the muscles and joints.
Warming up is important because it gradually increases heart rate, blood flow, and body temperature, which helps the body prepare for movement. One warm-up activity is walking, light jogging, or dynamic stretching. - 12
Look at the sample weekly plan: Monday strength, Tuesday endurance, Wednesday flexibility, Thursday strength, Friday endurance. Which component is practiced the fewest times, and how could the plan be improved?
Flexibility is practiced the fewest times because it appears only once. The plan could be improved by adding flexibility after workouts or adding another flexibility-focused day. - 13
During a fitness test, Sam completes 25 curl-ups, runs a mile, and performs a sit-and-reach test. Name the fitness component each test measures.
Think about what each test asks the body to do.
The curl-up test measures muscular strength or muscular endurance of the core. The mile run measures endurance. The sit-and-reach test measures flexibility. - 14
Create a short 20-minute fitness session that includes strength, endurance, and flexibility. Include the activity and the time spent on each part.
One possible session is 5 minutes of brisk walking to warm up, 6 minutes of bodyweight squats and modified push-ups for strength, 6 minutes of jogging or jump rope for endurance, and 3 minutes of gentle stretching for flexibility. - 15
A classmate says, "I only need strength training because strong muscles are the only part of fitness that matters." Write a respectful response that explains why endurance and flexibility also matter.
Use a positive tone and include benefits of all three components.
A respectful response is that strength is important, but endurance and flexibility also matter. Endurance helps the heart and lungs support activity for longer periods, and flexibility helps the body move well and may reduce the chance of injury.