Fitness For Life 6th Edition Ebook PDF
Fitness For Life 6th Edition Ebook PDF
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Contents
Glossary 471
Index 479
vi
Touring Fitness for Life
© Monkey Bu
siness - Fotolia
© Photodisc
vii
Touring Fitness for Life
Fitness for Life will help you meet your fitness and physical activity goals. Take this guided tour
to learn about all of the features of this textbook. Two lessons are included in each chapter to
help you learn key concepts relating to fitness, health, and wellness.
Unit iii
HEALTHY PEOPLE
2020 GOALS: Lists
Moderate and Vigorous
national health
goals covered in
Physical Activity
each unit. Healthy People 2020 Goals STUDENT WEB
• Increase the percentage of teens who meet aerobic activity guidelines.
• Increase overall cardiovascular health. RESOURCES: Provides
•
•
Reduce the risk of heart disease and other chronic diseases.
Increase education to promote health-enhancing behaviors and reduce health risks.
the web address for
• Reduce the percentage of teens with high blood pressure and other health risks. finding additional
• Improve teens’ understanding of health promotion and disease prevention.
• Reduce overweight and obesity among teens. information in each
FEATURES: Lists the •
•
Reduce sport and recreation injuries.
Improve community facilities (such as parks) and environment (such as sidewalks).
lesson.
2
Self-Assessment, • Increase physical education in schools.
• Increase the percentage of teens who do in-school and out-of-school activity.
Taking Charge, • Improve health literacy and increase the number of high-quality health-related websites.
Self-Management, Self-Assessment Features in This Unit
• Walking Test
and Taking Action • Step Test and One-Mile Run Test
features in each unit. • Assessing Jogging Techniques
Taking Charge Features in This Unit
Adopting a H
ealthy
• Learning to Manage Time
• Self-Confidence
Lifestyle and
• Activity Participation
S
Management elf-
Self-Management Features in This Unit
• Skills for Managing Time
• Skills for Building Self-Confidence
Skills
• Skills for Choosing Good Activities
Taking Action Features in This Unit
• Your Moderate Physical Activity Plan
• Target Heart Rate Workouts In This Chapte
r
• Your Vigorous Physical Activity Plan Lesson 2.1
www
Student Web
Adopting Health
Resources
y Lifestyles www.fitnessfo
135
rlife.org/studen
seLf-Assessm t
ent
Practicing Phy
sical Fitness Tes
ts
Lesson 2.2
Learning Self-M
anagement Ski
lls
tAking ChAr
ge
Building Knowle
dge and Under
CHAPTER OPENER: seLf-mAnAg
ement
standing
Skills for Buildin
Provides a brief over- and Understandi
g Knowledge
ng
the chapter.
28 Fitness for
ire
Life
viii
Touring Fitness for Life
ix
Touring Fitness for Life
EXERCISES: Provide
instructions and pictures SELF-ASSESSMENT: Helps you
to teach you correct learn more about your fitness
technique for exercises. and behaviors that affect your
health and wellness and helps
you prepare a personal plan for
improvement.
ise
Heel Ra inches (5
centi-
that is 2 and with
the
e a board e floor. St d and the
1. Plac ick on th
meters) th on th e boar
ur feet lders.
balls of yo your shou
even with lms facing
handles
2. Gra sp the ha nd les with your pa
dy . Ke ep
m your bo during the lift.
your hand
s
Gastrocne
mius
✓ Self-AS
SeSSme
away fro ry nt: Wa
and arms
statio na
your feet
, then Many of lking te
balls of
onto the ting position.
th
this cour e self-assessmen st
3. Rise ar se ts you pe
lower to
th e st ity. If you’ require very in rform in
re a very tens
fit, the m active pe e physical activ
Soleus ile run or rson and -
to estim PACER m ar e quite
ate ay
but the w your cardioresp be the best way
alking te iratory en
is especi st is also durance,
al a go
ners, who ly good for peop od one. The te
haven’t le st
or who ar done a lo who are begi
e t of rece n-
get mor regular walkers nt activity
e vigorou bu ,
uscles. also good fo s activity t do not regularly
string m cannot do r older people The walk test
.
your ham
ex ercise uses ru nn an d fo is
is ing tests r
problem due to jo those who
Th
s.
your scor As directed by int or mus
cle
es and yo
ing test fitness ra ur teacher, reco
. You ca rd
Trapeziu
s
preparin n then us tings for the w
g your pe e th al k-
-Down 1 e info
laT Pull in g on Te
in/ res10ma
fig
/471476
.17jor yo/Ru’
If/JG re worki rsonal physical rmation in
, depend
orb ng with ac
h (or floor ht so
E5266/C that self-
as a partner tivity plan.
the benc seat heig and cons sessment info
dorsi , remem
1. Sit on hine). Adjust the nd ed when
Latissimus
sh
idered co rmation
is perso
ber
the m ac fully ex te ar ed with othe nf id en tia nal
arms are the pers rs withou l. It shouldn’t
that your e bar. on being te t the perm be
th cing
you grab yo ur palms fa at sted. ission of
with ould be 1. Walk
the bar ur arms sh
a mile at The wal
2. Grab m you. Yo apart. can go w a fast king test
away fro hile keep pace (as fast as or peop
le who
is a good
ou ld er-width sa m e pace for in g ap yo u don’t do assessm
ent for
least sh ch es t level. th e entire
proximat
el y
a lot of
vigorous beginners
ba r do wn to 2. Immed w al k).
the activity.
e n. iately af
3. Pull th tin g sit
Lesson
po io3.1
heartbea te r the wal 3. U se the ap
to the star ts for 15 k,
your wal propriate chart
4. Return result b seconds. count your ki to determ
y
minute he four to calculat ultiply the
M rate in th ng rating. Loca ine
e your e te your
art rate. one- your wal left column of he
king tim the char art
Find the e along t and
Science in Action: optimal challenge 18 0+
intersec
point whe
re the ro
th e bottom
row.
t to dete w
rmine yo and column
170 ur rating.
Scientists in many fields have collaborated to Success 180+
find ways to help people stay active, eat well, 160 and
in)
Low
have discovered that in order to be successful, 150 you fitness
must set goals that provide “optimal challenge.”
om
zone
Fa
Margina 16 0
l
in)
ilur
ed
(beats/m
Bor
Low
e
uses your s.
cise there’s
140 zone fitness
lenge
This exereasy,
is too
bo w fle xor mno need to try hard—it’s
uscle
23 5
150
zone
not ot her ela challenge. On the other hand, if a
really Goss
ne od Basics
130 uscle Fit
goal is too hard, we fail, which may lead Mus to fitness
Heat rate
140
zone Too easy Optimal Too hard
give up or quit because our effort seems 120hopeless
(see figure 3.2). Figure 3.2 Some challenges can lead to boredom 130 or Good Margina
l
fitness fitness
An optimal challenge requires 11reasonable 0
failure, but optimal challenges can lead to success.
zone zone
effort. Meeting an optimal challenge provides 14 15us /47 /JG /R 2 12 0
or less fig 10.18 16 147717 E5266/Corbin/fig 3.2/470795/JG/R1
with success and makes us wantE5to26try 6/Corbagain.
in/ In 18 19 20
fact, providing optimal challenge is one reason Time (m 21 110
Rating ch
that video games are so popular.AdThey challenge art for th
in) StudentorActivity more 12
e walking 13 14
apted fro or less 15
you by making the task moreM.difficult Rippe, M. as you
m the One Mile Imagine
te that
st (for fe you want to help a friend learn 16
Walk Te males). 17 18
improve, and this optimal challenge makes you
D. astskill—for
with perm example, hitting a tennis ball Time (m 19
ission of Ra g ch in)
or a golf ball. How r James you usetin
authocould optimal ar t for the
or more
want to play again and again. You can use optimal Adapted w al king test
challenge to help your friend learn the fro
skill?
m the On (fo
challenge when setting your own goals to help M. Rip pe, M.D. e Mile Wa
lk Test wit
r males).
h permiss
yourself succeed. E5266/C
orbin/fig ion of au
thor
7.3/4708 James
92/JG/R
1
SCIENCE IN ACTION: E5266/C M
od/ar
orbin ertat
7.2e/47
Ph08
day (figure 3.1b). Process goals make good short- The Taking Charge and Self-Management fea- ys93
ica/JG
Helps you understand
l Ac
/Rtiv
2 ity 143
term goals because you can easily monitor your tures in this chapter focus on setting goals for physi-
progress and, with effort, succeed. In contrast, prod- cal activity and building physical fitness. Elsewhere
how new information uct goals do not make especially good short-term in the book, you’ll get the chance to set long-term
goals, because they can be discouraging, especially goals for fitness, health, and wellness (product goals)
is generated using the for a person who is just beginning to change. For and for making healthy lifestyle changes (process
example, if you chose a product goal of performing, goals) that lead to good fitness, health, and well-
scientific method. say, 25 push-ups, it might (depending on your cur- ness. You’ll also get the chance to set short-term
FITNESS QUOTES:
rent fitness level) take you so long to meet the goal goals that help you move toward achieving your
that you would give up. But a short-term process
goal—such as performing 5 to 10 push-ups each
long-term goals.
Provide quotes
“ from famous
day for two weeks—would be possible for you to
achieve with effort. Thus, as you meet a series of If you want to live a happy life,
short-term process goals, you work toward meeting tie it to a goal, not to people or
people about
”
long-term product goals. things.
—Albert Einstein, Nobel Prize–winning physicist
fitness, health,
LESSON REVIEW:
Lesson Review and wellness.
Helps you review 1. How does the SMART formula help you set goals?
and remember 2. How can you use long-term and short-term goals to plan your program? In your answer,
use fitness and physical activity examples.
the information 3. What is the difference between a process goal and a product goal? In your answer, use
fitness and physical activity examples.
you learned in the 56 Fitness for Life
lesson.
x
Touring Fitness for Life
© Photodisc
type of activity. If you feel embar- that he had never been a great
rassed about your appearance or basketball player, but he still liked
ability level while doing an activity, to play with his friends from school.
you’ll probably avoid that activity. He also discovered that height had
Here are two very different examples of physi- nothing to do with his ability to go hiking, nor
cal self-perception. did it prevent him from being a good wrestler.
Michael was not sure that he wanted to
go back to school after the summer break. It
seemed as if all of his friends had grown taller
For Discussion
in the last few months, but he had stayed the Michael had a negative self-perception
same height. Michael felt embarrassed and a because of his height. What can he do to
change his negative perception? How does
FOR DISCUSSION: Helps you
little jealous, even though none of his friends
seemed to notice. His height certainly did not Raul keep a positive self-perception? What
else can a person do to develop a positive self-
take charge by making good
alter his ability to play tennis. In fact, his friends
still called him “King of the Court” because he perception? Consider the guidelines presented
in the Self-Management feature as you answer
decisions.
usually won.
the discussion questions.
, or thre
wellness. e quart cent of
iles, of the
the gir girls were in
ls were the go
not in od
the go
od
Body C
omposi
tion 32
3
xi
Touring Fitness for Life
TAKING ACTION: Lets you try out
teacher-directed activities that can
help you become fit and active for
a lifetime.
eo of th re
e comm sources are
ire
ercial.
an enrichment
activity for use
outside the 51
classroom.
In addition to all the textbook features, the Fitness for Life program includes several other
components:
• Student Web Resource: You have access to a wide variety of resources at www.fitnessforlife.
org/student. These resources will aid your understanding of the textbook content and
include video clips that demonstrate how to do the self-assessment exercises in each chap-
ter, worksheets, interactive review questions, and expanded discussions of topics that are
marked by web icons throughout this book.
• Teacher Web Resource: Your teacher has access to a special web resource with lessons and
activities that you can do to better learn and understand the information in this textbook.
Now read on, and enjoy Fitness for Life!
xii
UNIT I
Building a Foundation
1
1
Fitness, health, and
Wellness for All
in this chapter www Student Web resources
www.fitnessforlife.org/student
LESSON 1.1
Scientific Foundations
SELF-ASSESSMENT
Physical Fitness Challenges
LESSON 1.2
Lifelong Fitness, Health, and Wellness
TAKING CHARGE
Learning to Self-Assess
SELF-MANAGEMENT
Skills for Learning to Self-Assess
TAKING ACTION
The Warm-Up
?
=
=
ww w
2 You’ve probably used the scientific method and research studies are required before medical
yourself when conducting experiments in science procedures and medicines are approved.
classes. You’ve also read studies that used the scien- Because of advances in health and medical
tific method. But you may not have thought about science, life expectancy in the United States has
using the scientific method in your personal life. increased dramatically over the last century. In 1900,
As you work your way through the Fitness for Life the life expectancy for Americans was 47 years. Over
program, you’ll learn to use the scientific method to the next century, it almost doubled, reaching nearly
help you solve problems and make healthy lifestyle 80 years. Health and medical scientists have devel-
decisions. You’ll also use the scientific method to oped medicines that treat bacterial infections, and
plan programs for building your fitness, health, as a result infectious diseases such as typhoid fever
and wellness. and smallpox, which used to be among the leading
causes of death, have been conquered. Before 1900,
fewer than 100 medicines were available to doctors.
health and Medical Now there are more than 10,000, and in the United
Science States they must be tested before the government’s
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approves
Medicine is the art and science of healing. His- them. With infectious illness reduced, the main
torically, the practice of medicine has been focused causes of early death in developed countries today
on diagnosing and treating disease. In prehistoric are heart disease, cancer, diabetes, and other chronic
times, people often associated illness with demons diseases related to unhealthy lifestyles.
and evil influences. But as early as 2000 Health science focuses on preventing disease and
BC, Egyptians performed sur- promoting wellness and high quality of life. Some
gery and began to build a more health scientists study personal health issues in order
scientific base for medicine. to help individuals prevent disease and promote
Modern medical practitioners wellness. Public health scientists, on the other hand,
use evidence-based approaches, study patterns of health and illness among popula-
tions in order to help prevent epidemics of illness;
thus they are sometimes called epidemiologists.
”
creative intellectual activity.
Kinesiology
(Exercise Science)
The past two centuries have sometimes been
called the golden age of medicine because
they have seen many of the most significant
© REmy MASSEGLIA
Fit FAct
One national health goal established by
the U.S. Department of Health and Human
Services (USDHHS) is to eliminate dispari-
ties in fitness, health, and wellness. People
who study kinesiology look for ways of
helping all people be active, fit, healthy,
and well—regardless of race, ethnicity,
social or economic class, disability, age,
sex, or gender identity.
muscles work together with our bones, ligaments, cooperation; social responsibility; and cultural and
and tendons—to produce movement. Understand- ethnic differences in physical activity. Understand-
ing exercise anatomy can help you choose good ing key principles of exercise and sport sociology
exercises for building your personal fitness program. will help you experience positive social interactions
in your physical activity.
Biomechanics
The human body is much like a machine. It uses
a complex system of levers (bones) that are moved
by the force produced when you contract your
muscles. Biomechanics is the branch of kinesiology
that seeks to understand the human machine in
motion through the principles of physics. Knowing
the basic principles of biomechanics can help you
move efficiently and avoid injury.
Exercise Psychology
Psychology is commonly referred to as the science
of mind and behavior. More specifically, exercise
psychology focuses on the study of human behavior
Exercise sociology is the branch of kinesiology that
in all types of physical activity, including sport and
focuses on social relationships and interactions in
exercise for fitness. Exercise psychology, including physical activity, including sports.
sport psychology, can help motivate people to be
active, set realistic goals, and perform better in
sports. Motor Learning
When you see the word motor, you may think of an
Exercise Sociology automobile engine, but the term motor learning in
Sociology is the study of society and social relation- this book refers to skill learning. When you perform
ships. Within this broad field, exercise sociology a movement skill (also called a motor skill), your
focuses on social relationships and interactions in brain sends a signal through a nerve that tells the
physical activity, including sports. Exercise sociol- relevant muscles to contract. Nerves and muscle
ogy has helped people understand teamwork and fibers that work together to produce movement are
Biomechanics is the branch of kinesiology that seeks to understand the human body in motion through the
principles of physics.
8
Lesson 1.1
in sport competition. Examples include jumping for flexibility be done after the general warm-up
and shooting drills for basketball and swinging as part of the workout or as a separate workout
a club or bat with gradually increasing intensity. session after the cool-down. The flexibility
Dynamic warm-up exercises are good for increas- workout is typically much more comprehensive
ing your body temperature and for getting your than a warm-up. You will have the opportunity
muscles ready for more vigorous exercise. They to study flexibility and the flexibility workout
can serve as all or part of the general warm-up later in this book.
recommended by ACSM.
A stretching warm-up may be performed The Cool-Down
prior to a workout or competition, includ- After a workout, your body needs to recover
ing activities that require strength, speed, from the demands of physical activity; to aid
and power, if the stretch is not held too long. this process, ACSM recommends a cool-down
The NSCA recommends dynamic movement of 5 to 10 minutes after a vigorous workout.
exercises as the preferred warm-up before activi- The cool-down usually consists of slow to mod-
ties requiring strength, speed, and power. For erate activity, such as walking or slow jogging,
this reason, some may choose not to perform a that allows your heart and muscles to gradually
stretching warm-up before these activities. How- recover. The cool-down helps prevent dizziness
ever, for those who enjoy a stretching warm-up, and fainting. Hard exercise increases the flow
stretching exercises can be included as long as of blood to your muscles; for example, running
each stretch is not held for more than 60 sec- causes more blood to be pumped to your arms
onds, even prior to a strength, speed, and power and legs than to your head. If you suddenly stop
workout. Recent research indicates that as long as running, the blood can pool in your legs. This
the stretches don’t exceed 60 seconds, they don’t leaves your heart with less blood to pump to your
inhibit performance. Research also indicates that brain, which may cause you to feel dizzy or faint.
abruptly stopping a stretching warm-up after But if you continue moving after a hard run, your
regularly performing one increases risk of injury. muscles will squeeze the veins of your legs. This
If you choose a stretching warm-up you should helps return the blood to your heart, which can
use a variety of stretching exercises to address then pump more blood to your brain, making
all of your major muscle groups and joints (see you less likely to feel dizzy or faint. The following
this chapter’s Taking Action feature). Stretches list provides some more cool-down guidelines.
should be held for 15 to 30 seconds. Stretching
is more effective when your muscles are warm, • Do not lie down or sit down immediately
so you should stretch only after performing a after vigorous activity.
general warm-up. • Gradually reduce the intensity of activity
Stretching exercises used to build flexibility, during the cool-down (for example, if you
rather than for warming up, are best per- were running, slow to a jog, then a walk,
formed as a separate part of your workout. The and then consider gentle stretching).
stretching warm-up and the stretching workout • Walk or do other moderate total body
are not the same thing. A stretching warm-up movements.
is used to prepare you for physical activity. The • You may choose to do some of the stretch-
stretching workout includes exercises to build ing exercises presented in the chapter
flexibility, a health-related component of physi- titled Flexibility after your general cool-
cal fitness. ACSM recommends that stretching down while your muscles are still warm.
Student Activity
How does the information in this feature change the way you would warm up before, and cool
down after, a workout?
9
Lesson 1.1
For healthy growth and development, apply the principles of nutrition in daily life.
Lesson review
1. What is the scientific method and what are its four steps?
2. What are the health and medical and nutrition sciences, and how do they relate to fit-
ness, health, and wellness?
3. What is kinesiology, and what are the seven types of science it encompasses?
4. What are the warm-up and the cool-down, and how are they best performed?
1. Bend forward at your waist so that your upper body rests on a table and your feet are
on the floor.
2. Raise one leg so that it is extended straight out behind you. Complete several such raises
with each leg. Performing multiple repetitions (8 or more) requires muscular endurance.
Stop if you reach 25 with each leg.
1. Lie facedown on a mat or carpet with your hands under your shoulders, your fingers
spread, and your legs straight. Your legs should be slightly apart and your toes should
be tucked under.
2. Push up until your arms are straight. Keep your legs and back straight—your body should
form a straight line.
3. Lower your body by bend-
ing your elbows until your
upper arms are parallel
to the floor (elbows at a
90-degree angle), then
push up until your arms
are fully extended. Do
one push-up every three
seconds. You may want
to have a partner say “up-
down” every three seconds
to help you. Performing up
to 5 push-ups requires
muscular strength. This challenge focuses on strength.
Knees-to-Feet (power)
1. Kneel so that your shins and knees are on a mat. Hold your arms back. Point your toes
straight backward.
2. Without curling your toes under you or rocking your body backward, swing your arms
upward and spring to your feet.
3. Hold your position for three seconds after you land.
if you could have one wish come true, what would of the words fitness, health, and wellness, and you’ll
it be? Some people would wish for material things, learn about their components.
such as money, a new car, or a new house. But after
thinking about it, most people indicate that they
would wish for good fitness, health, and wellness for What is health? What is
themselves and their family. If you possess health, Wellness?
fitness, and wellness, you can enjoy life to its fullest.
Without them, no amount of money will allow you Early definitions of health focused on illness. The
to do all of the things you would like to do. More first medical doctors concentrated on helping sick
than 90 percent of all people, including teens, agree people overcome their health problems; in other
that good health is important because it helps you words, their main job was treating people who
feel good, look good, and enjoy life with the people were ill.
you care about most. But in 1947, the World Health Organization
As you read this book, you’ll learn more about (WHO), which now includes representatives from
healthy lifestyle choices that can help you be fit, 194 countries, issued a statement indicating that
healthy, and well. You’ll learn how to prepare a health meant more than freedom from disease or
healthy personal lifestyle plan and how to use self- illness. This recognition led people to develop a
management skills to stick with your plan. The goal more comprehensive definition of health, which
of this book is to help you become an informed now includes wellness. According to the WHO
consumer who makes effective decisions about your statement, the sheer fact of not being sick doesn’t
lifelong fitness, health, and wellness. mean you are well. Wellness is the positive compo-
nent of health that includes having a good quality
“ ”
of life and a good sense of well-being exhibited by
The first wealth is health. a positive outlook on life.
Figure 1.2 shows that a healthy person both is
—Ralph Waldo Emerson, poet
not ill (the blue circle) and has a strong wellness
Before you can start developing a plan, you need component (the green circle). Illness is the nega-
some basic information. In this lesson, you’ll learn tive component of health that we want to treat or
definitions for some key words used throughout prevent, whereas wellness is the positive component
this course. You’ll better understand the meaning of health that we want to promote.
Social Emotional-mental
E5266/Corbin/fig 1.3/470773/JG/R3
18 Fitness for Life
Lesson 1.2
the year 2020. The project is part of an ongoing power, and strength. They also help you function
program. Every 10 years, experts from more than effectively in daily activities.
400 groups nationwide work together to develop As the name implies, skill-related physical fit-
health goals for the nation. Public health scientists ness components help you perform well in sports
and other experts from every state and many federal and other activities that require motor skills. For
and private agencies develop the goals. Many of the example, speed helps you in sports such as track
Healthy People 2020 objectives are described on the and field. These 5 parts of physical fitness are also
unit opening pages of this book. linked to health but less so than the health-related
components. For example, among older adults,
balance, agility, and coordination are very impor-
What is Physical Fitness? tant for preventing falls (a major health concern),
Physical fitness refers to the ability of your body and reaction time relates to risk for automobile
systems to work together efficiently to allow you accidents. Each part of physical fitness is described
to be healthy and perform activities of daily living. in more detail in the two following features: The Six
Being efficient means doing daily activities with the Parts of Health-Related Fitness and The Five Parts
least effort possible. A fit person is able to perform of Skill-Related Fitness.
schoolwork, meet home responsibilities, and still
have enough energy to enjoy sport and other leisure
activities. A fit person can respond effectively to Fit FAct
normal life situations, such as raking leaves at home, Cardiorespiratory endurance is also
stocking shelves at a part-time job, and marching in referred to as cardiovascular fitness and
the band at school. A fit person can also respond to aerobic fitness. The Institute of Medicine,
emergency situations—for example, by running to an independent U.S. nonprofit organi-
get help or aiding a friend in distress. zation, reviewed names for this fitness
component and chose cardiorespiratory
endurance, especially for use with youth.
Fit FAct They chose the name because this type
Studies indicate that fitness scores in the of fitness requires the cardiovascular and
United States have declined in recent years respiratory systems to work well together
for recruits in physically demanding lines (cardiorespiratory) to allow your entire
of work, such as policing, fire fighting, and body to function for a long time without
the military. fatigue (endurance).
ww w
3 the Parts of Physical health-related Physical Fitness
Fitness Think about a runner. She can probably run a long
distance without tiring; thus she has good fitness in
Physical fitness is made up of 11 parts—6 of them at least one area of health-related physical fitness.
health related and 5 skill related. All of the parts But does she have good fitness in all six parts? Run-
are important to good performance in physical ning is an excellent form of physical activity, but
activity, including sports. But the 6 are referred to being a runner doesn’t guarantee fitness in all parts
as contributing to health-related physical fitness of health-related physical fitness. Like the runner,
because scientists in kinesiology have shown that you may be more fit in some parts of fitness than in
they can reduce your risk of chronic disease and others. The feature named The Six Parts of Health-
promote good health and wellness. These parts of Related Fitness describes each part and shows an
fitness are body composition, cardiorespiratory example. As you read about each part, ask yourself
endurance, flexibility, muscular endurance, how fit you think you are in that area.
© Michael Svoboda
Cardiorespiratory endurance is Strength is the amount of force your Muscular endurance is the ability to F
the ability to exercise your entire muscles can produce. It is often mea- use your muscles many times with- j
body for a long time without stop- sured by how much weight you can out tiring—for example, doing many m
ping. It requires a strong heart, lift or how much resistance you can push-ups or curl-ups (crunches) or i
healthy lungs, and clear blood ves- overcome. Examples of activities that climbing a rock wall. e
sels to supply your large muscles require good strength are lifting a heavy e
with oxygen. Examples of activities weight and pushing a heavy box. m
that require good cardiorespiratory g
endurance are distance running, g
swimming, and cross-country skiing.
How do you think you rate in each of the six have more energy. You don’t have to be a great
health-related parts of fitness? To be healthy, you athlete in order to enjoy good health and wellness
should be fit for each of the six parts. Totally fit and be physically fit. Regular physical activity can
people are less likely to develop a hypokinetic improve anyone’s health-related physical fitness.
condition—a health problem caused partly by
lack of physical activity—such as heart disease, Skill-Related Physical Fitness
high blood pressure, diabetes, osteoporosis, colon
cancer, or a high body fat level. You’ll learn more Just as the runner in our example may not achieve
about hypokinetic conditions in other chapters of a high rating in all parts of health-related physical
this book. People who are physically fit also enjoy fitness, she also may not rate the same in all parts
better wellness. They feel better, look better, and of skill-related physical fitness. Though most sports
require several parts of skill-related fitness, different enjoyed both by great athletes and by people who
sports can require different parts. For example, a consider themselves poor athletes.
skater might have good agility but lack good reac- As noted earlier, health-related fitness offers a
tion time. Some people have more natural ability in double benefit. It not only helps you stay healthy
some areas than in others. No matter how you score but also helps you perform well in sport and other
on the skill-related parts of physical fitness, you can activities. For example, cardiorespiratory endurance
enjoy some type of physical activity. helps you resist heart disease and helps you perform
Remember, too, that good health doesn’t come well in sports such as swimming and cross-country
from being good in skill-related physical fitness. It running. Similarly, strength helps you perform
comes from doing activities designed to improve well in sports such as football and wrestling, mus-
your health-related physical fitness, and it can be cular endurance is important in soccer and tennis,
I see increasing reason to believe that the view formed some time
back as to the origin of the Makonde bush is the correct one. I have
no doubt that it is not a natural product, but the result of human
occupation. Those parts of the high country where man—as a very
slight amount of practice enables the eye to perceive at once—has not
yet penetrated with axe and hoe, are still occupied by a splendid
timber forest quite able to sustain a comparison with our mixed
forests in Germany. But wherever man has once built his hut or tilled
his field, this horrible bush springs up. Every phase of this process
may be seen in the course of a couple of hours’ walk along the main
road. From the bush to right or left, one hears the sound of the axe—
not from one spot only, but from several directions at once. A few
steps further on, we can see what is taking place. The brush has been
cut down and piled up in heaps to the height of a yard or more,
between which the trunks of the large trees stand up like the last
pillars of a magnificent ruined building. These, too, present a
melancholy spectacle: the destructive Makonde have ringed them—
cut a broad strip of bark all round to ensure their dying off—and also
piled up pyramids of brush round them. Father and son, mother and
son-in-law, are chopping away perseveringly in the background—too
busy, almost, to look round at the white stranger, who usually excites
so much interest. If you pass by the same place a week later, the piles
of brushwood have disappeared and a thick layer of ashes has taken
the place of the green forest. The large trees stretch their
smouldering trunks and branches in dumb accusation to heaven—if
they have not already fallen and been more or less reduced to ashes,
perhaps only showing as a white stripe on the dark ground.
This work of destruction is carried out by the Makonde alike on the
virgin forest and on the bush which has sprung up on sites already
cultivated and deserted. In the second case they are saved the trouble
of burning the large trees, these being entirely absent in the
secondary bush.
After burning this piece of forest ground and loosening it with the
hoe, the native sows his corn and plants his vegetables. All over the
country, he goes in for bed-culture, which requires, and, in fact,
receives, the most careful attention. Weeds are nowhere tolerated in
the south of German East Africa. The crops may fail on the plains,
where droughts are frequent, but never on the plateau with its
abundant rains and heavy dews. Its fortunate inhabitants even have
the satisfaction of seeing the proud Wayao and Wamakua working
for them as labourers, driven by hunger to serve where they were
accustomed to rule.
But the light, sandy soil is soon exhausted, and would yield no
harvest the second year if cultivated twice running. This fact has
been familiar to the native for ages; consequently he provides in
time, and, while his crop is growing, prepares the next plot with axe
and firebrand. Next year he plants this with his various crops and
lets the first piece lie fallow. For a short time it remains waste and
desolate; then nature steps in to repair the destruction wrought by
man; a thousand new growths spring out of the exhausted soil, and
even the old stumps put forth fresh shoots. Next year the new growth
is up to one’s knees, and in a few years more it is that terrible,
impenetrable bush, which maintains its position till the black
occupier of the land has made the round of all the available sites and
come back to his starting point.
The Makonde are, body and soul, so to speak, one with this bush.
According to my Yao informants, indeed, their name means nothing
else but “bush people.” Their own tradition says that they have been
settled up here for a very long time, but to my surprise they laid great
stress on an original immigration. Their old homes were in the
south-east, near Mikindani and the mouth of the Rovuma, whence
their peaceful forefathers were driven by the continual raids of the
Sakalavas from Madagascar and the warlike Shirazis[47] of the coast,
to take refuge on the almost inaccessible plateau. I have studied
African ethnology for twenty years, but the fact that changes of
population in this apparently quiet and peaceable corner of the earth
could have been occasioned by outside enterprises taking place on
the high seas, was completely new to me. It is, no doubt, however,
correct.
The charming tribal legend of the Makonde—besides informing us
of other interesting matters—explains why they have to live in the
thickest of the bush and a long way from the edge of the plateau,
instead of making their permanent homes beside the purling brooks
and springs of the low country.
“The place where the tribe originated is Mahuta, on the southern
side of the plateau towards the Rovuma, where of old time there was
nothing but thick bush. Out of this bush came a man who never
washed himself or shaved his head, and who ate and drank but little.
He went out and made a human figure from the wood of a tree
growing in the open country, which he took home to his abode in the
bush and there set it upright. In the night this image came to life and
was a woman. The man and woman went down together to the
Rovuma to wash themselves. Here the woman gave birth to a still-
born child. They left that place and passed over the high land into the
valley of the Mbemkuru, where the woman had another child, which
was also born dead. Then they returned to the high bush country of
Mahuta, where the third child was born, which lived and grew up. In
course of time, the couple had many more children, and called
themselves Wamatanda. These were the ancestral stock of the
Makonde, also called Wamakonde,[48] i.e., aborigines. Their
forefather, the man from the bush, gave his children the command to
bury their dead upright, in memory of the mother of their race who
was cut out of wood and awoke to life when standing upright. He also
warned them against settling in the valleys and near large streams,
for sickness and death dwelt there. They were to make it a rule to
have their huts at least an hour’s walk from the nearest watering-
place; then their children would thrive and escape illness.”
The explanation of the name Makonde given by my informants is
somewhat different from that contained in the above legend, which I
extract from a little book (small, but packed with information), by
Pater Adams, entitled Lindi und sein Hinterland. Otherwise, my
results agree exactly with the statements of the legend. Washing?
Hapana—there is no such thing. Why should they do so? As it is, the
supply of water scarcely suffices for cooking and drinking; other
people do not wash, so why should the Makonde distinguish himself
by such needless eccentricity? As for shaving the head, the short,
woolly crop scarcely needs it,[49] so the second ancestral precept is
likewise easy enough to follow. Beyond this, however, there is
nothing ridiculous in the ancestor’s advice. I have obtained from
various local artists a fairly large number of figures carved in wood,
ranging from fifteen to twenty-three inches in height, and
representing women belonging to the great group of the Mavia,
Makonde, and Matambwe tribes. The carving is remarkably well
done and renders the female type with great accuracy, especially the
keloid ornamentation, to be described later on. As to the object and
meaning of their works the sculptors either could or (more probably)
would tell me nothing, and I was forced to content myself with the
scanty information vouchsafed by one man, who said that the figures
were merely intended to represent the nembo—the artificial
deformations of pelele, ear-discs, and keloids. The legend recorded
by Pater Adams places these figures in a new light. They must surely
be more than mere dolls; and we may even venture to assume that
they are—though the majority of present-day Makonde are probably
unaware of the fact—representations of the tribal ancestress.
The references in the legend to the descent from Mahuta to the
Rovuma, and to a journey across the highlands into the Mbekuru
valley, undoubtedly indicate the previous history of the tribe, the
travels of the ancestral pair typifying the migrations of their
descendants. The descent to the neighbouring Rovuma valley, with
its extraordinary fertility and great abundance of game, is intelligible
at a glance—but the crossing of the Lukuledi depression, the ascent
to the Rondo Plateau and the descent to the Mbemkuru, also lie
within the bounds of probability, for all these districts have exactly
the same character as the extreme south. Now, however, comes a
point of especial interest for our bacteriological age. The primitive
Makonde did not enjoy their lives in the marshy river-valleys.
Disease raged among them, and many died. It was only after they
had returned to their original home near Mahuta, that the health
conditions of these people improved. We are very apt to think of the
African as a stupid person whose ignorance of nature is only equalled
by his fear of it, and who looks on all mishaps as caused by evil
spirits and malignant natural powers. It is much more correct to
assume in this case that the people very early learnt to distinguish
districts infested with malaria from those where it is absent.
This knowledge is crystallized in the
ancestral warning against settling in the
valleys and near the great waters, the
dwelling-places of disease and death. At the
same time, for security against the hostile
Mavia south of the Rovuma, it was enacted
that every settlement must be not less than a
certain distance from the southern edge of the
plateau. Such in fact is their mode of life at the
present day. It is not such a bad one, and
certainly they are both safer and more
comfortable than the Makua, the recent
intruders from the south, who have made USUAL METHOD OF
good their footing on the western edge of the CLOSING HUT-DOOR
plateau, extending over a fairly wide belt of
country. Neither Makua nor Makonde show in their dwellings
anything of the size and comeliness of the Yao houses in the plain,
especially at Masasi, Chingulungulu and Zuza’s. Jumbe Chauro, a
Makonde hamlet not far from Newala, on the road to Mahuta, is the
most important settlement of the tribe I have yet seen, and has fairly
spacious huts. But how slovenly is their construction compared with
the palatial residences of the elephant-hunters living in the plain.
The roofs are still more untidy than in the general run of huts during
the dry season, the walls show here and there the scanty beginnings
or the lamentable remains of the mud plastering, and the interior is a
veritable dog-kennel; dirt, dust and disorder everywhere. A few huts
only show any attempt at division into rooms, and this consists
merely of very roughly-made bamboo partitions. In one point alone
have I noticed any indication of progress—in the method of fastening
the door. Houses all over the south are secured in a simple but
ingenious manner. The door consists of a set of stout pieces of wood
or bamboo, tied with bark-string to two cross-pieces, and moving in
two grooves round one of the door-posts, so as to open inwards. If
the owner wishes to leave home, he takes two logs as thick as a man’s
upper arm and about a yard long. One of these is placed obliquely
against the middle of the door from the inside, so as to form an angle
of from 60° to 75° with the ground. He then places the second piece
horizontally across the first, pressing it downward with all his might.
It is kept in place by two strong posts planted in the ground a few
inches inside the door. This fastening is absolutely safe, but of course
cannot be applied to both doors at once, otherwise how could the
owner leave or enter his house? I have not yet succeeded in finding
out how the back door is fastened.