⚽ Year 7 Physical Education

Health & Fitness Basics

Health vs Fitness

• Health: a state of complete physical, mental, and social wellbeing — not merely the absence of illness (WHO definition)
• Fitness: the ability to meet the demands of the environment (being able to do daily tasks without undue fatigue)
• You can be healthy without being highly fit, and highly fit but with poor health (e.g. overtraining injuries)

Benefits of Exercise

• Physical: stronger heart and lungs, lower blood pressure, stronger muscles and bones, healthy weight, improved flexibility
• Mental: releases endorphins (mood-boosting chemicals), reduces stress and anxiety, improves sleep, builds confidence
• Social: teamwork, communication, making friends, learning to win and lose graciously

Recommended Activity Levels

• Children (5–17 years): at least 60 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity every day
• Moderate activity: raises heart rate and breathing but you can still talk (e.g. brisk walking, cycling)
• Vigorous activity: you are working hard and can only say a few words (e.g. running, swimming fast, competitive sport)
• Include muscle-strengthening activities (gym, gymnastics, sport) at least 3 times a week

Components of Fitness

Health-Related Components

• Cardiovascular endurance (aerobic endurance): the ability of the heart and lungs to deliver oxygen to working muscles over time. Important for: long-distance running, swimming, cycling
• Muscular strength: the maximum force a muscle can exert in a single effort. Important for: weightlifting, rugby scrums, gymnastics vaulting
• Muscular endurance: the ability of a muscle to work repeatedly over time without fatigue. Important for: rowing, cycling, swimming
• Flexibility: the range of movement possible around a joint. Important for: gymnastics, dance, martial arts
• Body composition: the ratio of fat to lean tissue (muscle, bone) in the body

Skill-Related Components

• Speed: how quickly you can move a body part or the whole body. Key in: sprinting, boxing, reaction sports
• Power: a combination of speed and strength (power = force × speed). Key in: throwing, jumping, kicking
• Agility: the ability to change direction quickly and accurately. Key in: football, basketball, tennis
• Balance: maintaining stability when stationary (static) or moving (dynamic). Key in: gymnastics, surfing, martial arts
• Coordination: the ability to use two or more body parts together smoothly. Key in: most sports
• Reaction time: the time between a stimulus and the start of a response. Key in: sprint starts, goalkeeping, catching

Fitness Testing

• Multi-stage fitness test (bleep test): measures cardiovascular endurance
• Sit and reach test: measures flexibility
• Illinois agility test: measures agility
• Grip dynamometer: measures muscular strength in the hand/forearm
• 30-metre sprint test: measures speed

Training Principles (FITT & SPORT)

FITT Principle

• Frequency: how often you train. To improve, you should train regularly (e.g. 3–5 times per week)
• Intensity: how hard you work. Use the training zone (60–80% of maximum heart rate for aerobic training)
• Time: how long each session lasts. Government guidelines: at least 60 minutes per session for children
• Type: what kind of training you do (should match the sport). e.g. a swimmer should train in the water, not mainly on a bike

SPORT Principles

• Specificity: training should be specific to your sport and the muscles/energy systems used
• Progression: gradually increase the demands placed on the body over time
• Overload: you must work harder than normal to stimulate improvement
• Reversibility: if you stop training, you lose your fitness gains ("use it or lose it")
• Tedium: vary your training to keep motivation high and prevent boredom

Heart Rate

• Resting heart rate (RHR): average adult ≈ 60–80 bpm. A fit athlete may have an RHR of 40–60 bpm
• Maximum heart rate (MHR): estimated as 220 − your age
• Training zone: 60–80% of MHR for aerobic improvement
• After exercise, heart rate returns to resting faster in fitter individuals (recovery rate)

Team Sports Rules

Football

• 11 players per side on a rectangular pitch; 90 minutes (two 45-minute halves)
• Score by getting the ball in the opposing goal
• Offside: a player is in an offside position if they are nearer the goal line than both the ball and the second-to-last defender when the ball is played to them
• Fouls: deliberate contact, handling the ball (except goalkeepers in their own area) → free kick or penalty (if in the penalty area)
• Yellow card = warning; red card = sent off

Netball

• 7 players per side; 4 quarters of 15 minutes; played on a court divided into thirds
• Ball must be caught and passed within 3 seconds; cannot run with the ball
• Only GS (Goal Shooter) and GA (Goal Attack) can shoot; only in the shooting circle
• Players are restricted to specific areas of the court based on their position

Basketball

• 5 players per side; 4 quarters of 10 minutes (FIBA) or 12 minutes (NBA)
• Moving with the ball requires dribbling; walking without dribbling = travelling
• Shot inside the 3-point line = 2 points; outside = 3 points; free throw = 1 point
• Personal fouls: physical contact. Five personal fouls → player is fouled out

Rounders

• Two teams of 9; batters hit a ball thrown by the bowler and run around four posts
• Full rounder scored if you reach 4th post in one hit; half rounder with a stop on the way
• Batter is out: caught, stumped (post touched while running), or run out

Individual Sports

Athletics

• Track events: sprints (100m, 200m, 400m), middle distance (800m, 1500m), long distance (5000m, 10000m), hurdles, relay
• Field events: long jump, high jump, triple jump, pole vault, shot put, discus, javelin, hammer
• Key technique for sprinting: drive phase (push off blocks), acceleration phase, maximum velocity phase, deceleration phase

Gymnastics

• Artistic gymnastics: floor, vault, parallel bars, beam, rings, pommel horse
• Key skills: forward roll, backward roll, cartwheel, handstand, bridge
• Balance: distributing your weight evenly; core strength is essential
• Sequences: linking movements together smoothly with clear start and finish positions

Swimming

• Four main strokes: front crawl (fastest), backstroke, breaststroke, butterfly (most difficult)
• Front crawl: alternating arm pull, flutter kick, head to the side to breathe
• Breaststroke: symmetrical arm pull, frog kick, breathe at the front of the stroke
• Turns: tumble turn in front crawl; touch the wall for breaststroke and butterfly

Muscles & the Skeleton

The Skeleton

• The human body has 206 bones
• Functions of the skeleton: support, protection, movement (with muscles), blood cell production (in bone marrow), mineral storage
• Key bones: skull, clavicle (collar bone), sternum (breastbone), humerus (upper arm), radius and ulna (forearm), femur (thigh), tibia and fibula (lower leg), patella (kneecap), pelvis
• Types of joint: hinge (knee, elbow — movement in one plane), ball and socket (hip, shoulder — movement in all directions), pivot (neck — rotation), gliding (wrist), saddle (thumb)

Major Muscles

• Biceps (front upper arm) — flexes elbow | Triceps (back upper arm) — extends elbow
• Pectorals (chest) — pulls arm across body | Deltoids (shoulder) — raises arm
• Trapezius (upper back) — moves shoulder blades | Latissimus dorsi (back) — pulls arms down
• Rectus abdominis (abs/core) — flexes trunk | Gluteus maximus (buttocks) — extends hip
• Quadriceps (front thigh) — extends knee | Hamstrings (back thigh) — flexes knee
• Gastrocnemius (calf) — plantar flexion (pointing toes)

Antagonistic Pairs

• Muscles work in pairs: one contracts (agonist) while the other relaxes (antagonist)
• Biceps/Triceps: when you flex your elbow, the biceps is the agonist and triceps is the antagonist; when you extend, the roles reverse
• Quadriceps/Hamstrings: work together for running and jumping

Warm-Up & Cool-Down

Why Warm Up?

• Gradually increases heart rate and blood flow to muscles
• Raises muscle temperature, improving elasticity and reducing injury risk
• Prepares the nervous system for coordinated movements
• Mentally prepares you for the activity

A Good Warm-Up Has 3 Phases

• Phase 1 – Pulse raiser: light aerobic activity (jogging, skipping) to gradually increase heart rate (3–5 minutes)
• Phase 2 – Mobility: dynamic stretching and joint mobilisation (arm circles, leg swings, hip rotations)
• Phase 3 – Sport-specific activity: movements specific to the sport (dribbling a ball, passing practice, footwork drills)

Cool-Down

• Gradually lowers heart rate back to resting levels
• Helps remove lactic acid from muscles (reducing soreness)
• Prevents blood pooling in the legs (can cause dizziness)
• Phase 1: gradual reduction in activity (light jog, then walking)
• Phase 2: static stretching (holding each stretch for 15–30 seconds)

Types of Stretching

• Static stretching: hold a stretch in position; good for cool-down; improves flexibility over time
• Dynamic stretching: controlled, moving stretches; used in warm-up; prepares muscles for action
• PNF (Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation): advanced stretching technique; contract then relax; most effective for flexibility gain