Health and fitness: Introduction

                     Health And Fitness
                           
                         Introduction
Aim-
(a) To explain the nature of the health and fitness industries.
(b) To explain the human body at a microscopic level, including the structure and function of cells, tissues, and membranes.

Introduction-
Health and fitness are simply some of many the different words used to describe people being in good condition. There are many different services and products on offer which promise to improve or maintain a state of wellbeing, and any (or all) of these goods and services might be considered to be part of the health and fitness industry. These can include things as variable as medical services through to sport, recreation, food and natural therapies. 

The health and fitness industry is not a clearly defined industry. It does have many aspects to it, and it does overlap into many different fields. Your perception of the scope of this field may be limited as you commence this course; but on completing the course it should have broadened considerably; and in doing so your prospects for employment should have also broadened. 

Scope of the health and fitness industry-
The following are just some of the organisations/businesses which might employ people with management skills in the health and fitness industry.

- Recreation Centres
- Gymnasiums
- Sporting Clubs
- Medical practitioners
- Swimming Pools
- Chiropractors or Naturopaths
- Health Food Shops
- Health Food Manufactures

This is a short list as well as Gymnasium or Sports equipment businesses (retailers or manufactures) , Resorts, Hotels, Tourist industry, and Schools.

There are also many different forms of working with the body for better physical fitness. Modalities such as callisthenics, jogging, and weight training were some of the first forms that became popular. Through the years, many other forms have developed such as aerobics, yoga (which has actually been around for centuries) , Pilates and then hybrids from each of these such as yogalates, body pump, and water aerobics as well as many other form of exercising the body.


Reasons for fitness-
Physical fitness is the capability of the heart, blood vessels, lungs and muscles to function at optimal efficiency - Fitness is broader than just this though! A person's mental attitude towards life is another aspect of fitness. Mental stress (pressures from situations at work, home etc.) can affects a persons fitness just as much as malnutrition or a physical enjury. Stress is very often related to physical fitness. 

A stressed person can have difficulty with muscles etc. Tensing or pulling where they should not pull, placing pressure or nerves, bones etc., abd leading to other problems. Allergies to foods, dust, even the common bacteria which can occur in everyone's throat can pose problems to a person's fitness, or complicate already existing problems.

The single most important fact to understand about human fitness is the complexity of the human body, and the fact that this complexity makesfitness a multi facetted thing. (You will never be fit by just eating right, or just exercising).

In a nutshell. fitness comes only by developing a balanced approach to life in all of the important spheres of life.
Example:
- Eat healthy foods which you are not allergic or sensitive to, which provide all the necessary nutrients in adequate but not excessive amounts.
- Exercise all of the parts of the body regularly and adequately.
- Know how to relax, to reset the body both physically and mentally.

BASIC COMPONENTS OF PHYSICAL FITNESS
1. Strength
Most people think that to be fit is to be strong. This is true, in a way; but strength isn't all there is to fitness. Strength is the capacity of muscle to exert maximal force against a resistance. Strength training(exercising to develop strength) will result in some enlargement of muscle fibres and a relative increase in your ability to apply force. Properly conducted weight resistance programs (exercise with barbells for examples) are the most efficient ways of gaining rapid strength.

2. Muscular endurance
Endurance is the capacity of muscle to exert force repeatedly over a period of time. It is not the same as strength! Muscular endurance can also refer to holding a muscular contracted for a period of time. Your ability to do sit ups or pull ups is a measure of your muscular endurance. The distance which you can jog without stopping to walk is a measure of your muscular endurance. By doing these tyoes of exercising and gradually increasing the repetitions. You will be able to increase your muscular endurance.

3. Flexibility
Flexibility is your ability to use a muscle throughout its full range of movement. It is essentially your abity to move your joints. Someone who can touch their toes is much more flexible than someone who cannot. Exercising such as touching the toes which stretch muscles to their full extent are the best way of increasing flexibility.

4. Motor Skill Performance
This is the ability of the nerves to receive and provide impulses which result in smooth, co-ordinate muscular movement. This is evident in your ability to dodge, control balance, react and move quickly, etc. Motor Skill Exercise include such things as the vertical jump, agility run, squat thrusts, etc.

5. Cardiorespiratory endurance
This refer to the capacity of your heart, blood vessels and lungs yo deliver nutrients and oxygen throughout the body. Vigorous exercises increases the cells need for oxygen. This means you mist breathe in more oxygen and the heart must pump more through the body. Vigorous exercise is the best way to increase cardiorespiratory endurance. Be careful though - too much too soon is dangerous.
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