HEALTH, EXERCISE & FITNESS - LEVEL 3 COURSE

The home study courses are split into the following 15 Units:

Unit One - Defining the Concepts Health, Exercise and Fitness

The following topics are covered: What is Health?; Physical, Social and Mental Health; What is Exercise?; Types of Exercise – Sports Continuum; The Sports Continuum; What is Fitness?; Health Benefits of taking Part in regular Exercise; 10 Reasons to get More Active; Health Related Components of Fitness; Skill Related Components of Fitness; and Comparison of Health and Skill Related Fitness.

Unit Two - Understanding the Components of Fitness and How To Test them

The following topics are covered: Definition of the Components of Fitness; Detained Analysis of each Component; Why do we want to Test our Fitness?; Measuring the Components of Fitness – Examples of Fitness Tests; and Components of Fitness needed for Different Sporting Activities.

Unit Three - Ways to Improve Fitness – Training Methods

The following topics are covered: How does the Body Generate Energy for Exercise?; The Creatine Phosphate System; The Lactic Acid System and Oxygen Dept; The Aerobic System; Analysis of Different Training Zones; Principles of SPORT; FITT Principles; Methods of Training (Continuous, Fartlek, Interval, Weight Training, Plymetrics, Flexibility Training and Circuit Training); and Examples of Training Sessions for each Training Method.

Unit Four - Planning Training and Fitness Programmes

The following topics are covered: Physiological and Psychological Benefits of Warming Up; Cool Down – Reasons why it is Important; Phases of a Warm Up:- Body Temperature Raising, Stretching and Skill Development; Planning a Training Programme; Applying the Sport and Fitt Principles of Training; Periodisation – Off Season, Pre Season, Peak Season and Transitional Period; Planning a Training Session (Warm Up, Main Activity and Cool Down); and Examples of Training Programmes and Sessions.

Unit Five - Factors Affecting your Sporting Performance

The following topics are covered: Factors affecting Sporting Performance (Age, Gender, Personality, Lifestyle, Environment, Injury, Illness, Diet, Body Type and Drugs); Social Drugs:- How Smoking and Alcohol Affect Sporting Performance; Other Social Drugs and their Effect on Sporting Performance; Types of Performance Enhancing Drugs; Examples and Effects of Performance Enhancing Drugs and Blood Doping.

Unit Six – Safety in Sport

The following topics are covered: How to Prevent Injury (Safe Environment, Clothing and Equipment, Fair Competition, Obey the Rules and Warm Up and Cool down); What Causes Sports Injuries?; Accidental Injuries, Overuse Injuries, Chronic Injuries; Examples of Sports Injuries (Soft Tissue Injuries, Skin injuries and Hard Tissue Injuries) Injuries, Symptoms and Treatment; RICE Procedure; More Serious Injuries; Assessing the Casualty’s Condition – DRACB; How to Treat an Unconscious Casualty; Emergency Action Plan; and Other Conditions that can Influence Sports Performance.

Unit Seven – Diet & Nutrition

The following topics are covered: A Balanced Diet; The Essential Groups of Nutrients; Macronutrients and Micronutrients; Diet and Exercise; The Importance of each Nutrient for Exercise; Energy and Diet (Metabolic Rate and Physical Activity Level); Energy in Food; Energy Equations; The Athletes Diet (Day of Competition, After the Event and Glycogen Loading); Common Eating Disorders; Healthy Eating; Food Pyramids; and Examples of Diets.

Unit Eight - Body Systems – The Skeletal System

The following topics are covered: Outline of the Different Body Systems; The Human Skeleton and Major Bones; Functions of the Skeleton (Support, Protection, Movement, Blood Production and Mineral Storage); Ossification; Cartilage; Types of Bone; The Skeletal Frames:- Axial and Appendicular; Exercise and the Bones; Definitions of Fixed, Slightly Movable and Synovial Joints; A Typical Synovial Joint Structure; Movement Patterns at Synovial Joints; and How can Exercise Help Improve the Skeletal System.

Unit Nine – The Muscular System

The following topics are covered: Functions of Muscles; Types of Muscle Tissue; Skeletal Muscles – Structure and Functions; Muscular Contractions (Isotonic, Isometric and Isokinetic); How Muscles are Attached to Bones; Muscle Fibres (Slow and Fast Twitch); Characteristics of Muscle Fibres and Exercises they Relate to; Major Muscles in the Human Body (Location and Function); Exercises to Strengthen the Muscles; and Benefits of Warming Up the Muscles.

Unit Ten - The Cardiovascular System

The following topics are covered: What Parts of the Body Make Up the Cardiovascular System; Functions of the Cardiovascular System; The Double Pumping Action of the Heart; Pulmonary Circulation; Systemic Circulation; Structure of the Heart; Blood Flow Through the Heart; How does the Heart Pump Blood; Blood Vessels:- Arteries, veins and Capillaries; The Heart and Exercise; Heart Rate – Measuring the Pulse; What Happens to our Cardiovascular System when we Exercise; Long Term Effects of Training on the Cardiovascular System; Components and Functions of Blood; The Blood and Exercise; Blood Pressure – Measuring Blood Pressure; and Factors Affecting Blood Pressure.

Unit Eleven – The Respiratory System

The following topics are covered: Structure of the Respiratory System; How Air Passes Through the Body; Pulmonary Ventilation; The Mechanics of Breathing; Inspiration and Expiration; How do we get the Oxygen to the Working Muscles?; External Respiration; Internal Respiration; Capacity for Exchanging Gases; and What Happens to the Respiratory System as we Exercise?

Unit Twelve – The Digestive System

The following topics are covered: What is Digestion?; Energy Molecules in Food; Chemical Digestion; Physical Digestion; The Digestive Process; Parts of the Digestive System and their Functions; What is an Enzyme; Food Enzymes; Digestive Enzymes; and The Digestive System and Exercise.

Unit Thirteen – The Nervous System

The following topics are covered: Basic Functions of the Nervous System; Parts of the Nervous System; The Central Nervous System – Parts of the Brain; The Spinal Cord; The Peripheral Nervous System:- Sympathetic and Autonomic Nervous Systems; Reflex Actions and Conditioned Reflexes; Receptor Organs; and The Nervous System and Sport.

Unit Fourteen - The Endocrine System

The following topics are covered: Hormones – What are they?; Hormone Producing Organs and Body Parts; and The Endocrine System and Exercise.

Unit Fifteen – Stress & Anxiety in Sport

The following topics are covered: Defining Anxiety – Cognitive and Somatic; Types of Anxiety; Anxiety and Sport; Stress; What Causes Stress?; Symptoms of Stress; Stress Management and Stress Management Technique.