The health-related components of fitness for Preliminary PDHPE are only half of the components of fitness you have to develop an understanding of. The key to this dot point is to connect each component with movement efficiency so that you can discuss and analyse the question: to what degree is fitness a predictor of performance? (this direction is provided by the learn to)
The health-related components of fitness are: cardiorespiratory endurance (also known as aerobic endurance, or cardiovascular fitness), muscular strength, which needs to be separated from muscular endurance, flexibility and body composition. These five (5) components make up the base work of fitness, and relate closely to improvements in health outcomes. But here, the focus is on movement efficiency and therefore performance. The health-related components of fitness are the foundation. They are what you work on in pre-season. They provide the general conditioning needed for most sports performances and ensure the athlete does not fatigue and then lose their technique for movement.
The Preliminary PDHPE syllabus states:
Students learn about:
- Health-related components of physical fitness
Students learn to:
- Analyse the relationship between physical fitness and movement efficiency. Students should consider the question ‘to what degree is fitness a predictor of performance?’
- Measure and analyse a range of both health-related and skill-related components of physical fitness
- Think critically about the purpose and benefits of testing physical fitness
Practice Exam Questions
How does one component of fitness affect movement efficiency and performance? 3 marks
Why would an elite coach use physical fitness tests within his training program? 5 marks
Critically analyse the relationship between physical fitness and performance for a specific sport. 8 marks