KIN 240 Introduction to Kinesiology The Importance of

KIN 240 – Introduction to Kinesiology The Importance of Physical Activity Experiences

Introduction • How do our physical activity experiences transform our bodies and our physical performance? • Physical activity experiences • Defined as any activity that includes training, observation of practice and personal participation • Physical activity experiences are essential means by which we increase our capacity to perform physical activity • Almost everyone has desire to improve their performance of physical activities • Only way to do this is via systematic exposure to more an more appropriate physical activity experiences • Physical activity experiences are means by which we achieve expected health and psychological benefits of experiences

Human Physical Activity • 4 ways in which physical activity may be considered unique to human species • Intelligence based physical activity • Involves intricate plans and is directed toward more sophisticated goals • Cheetah runs fast but could not participate in relay race • Ethically and aesthetically based physical activity • Movements can be used to express imagination and moral reasoning • Animal dances based upon instinct vs. choreography • Flexibility and adaptability of physical activity • Anatomical advantages (bipedal gait, arm freedom, foot function) • Dexterity of movement possible (opposable thumb, UE motions) • Ability to improve performance through planned experience • Improved CV function of lion due to survival instinct vs. desire to improve efficiency of heart & lungs

Factors Influencing Experiences • Huge disconnect between what we know about benefits of physical activity and our behavior patterns • Most of us perform skills at far below our capabilities due to lack of practice opportunities (choice, logistics, time, etc. ) • Influencing factors include • Social environment • Parents, peers, teachers, coaches • Individual circumstances • Geography, local physical activity culture, economic considerations, personal attributes

Social Environment • People you interact with regularly can have significant effect on types and amounts of physical activity you pursue • Parents • Activity levels of children bear remarkable similarity to activity level of parents • Showing support for physical activity pursuits can be helpful as well (transport to practices/games, buying equipment, etc. ) • Peers • If friends are physically active, you are more likely to be as well • Impact of technology significant for some • Teachers and coaches • Roles confirm or disconfirm individual’s competence with activity • In essence are ‘gatekeepers’ to physical activity experiences

Individual Circumstances • Geography • Northern climates more likely to engage in skiing, skating, etc. while southern climates more likely to engage in golf and swimming • Local cultural practices • HS football in Texas, wrestling in Iowa, ethnic groups everywhere • Economic considerations • More affluent/educated tend to be more active than poor/uneducated, especially in equipment intensive sports • Personal attributes • We tend to involve ourselves in activities that we enjoy • Impact of self-perceptions of competence and self-esteem

Changing Capacity to Perform Physical Activity • Improvement in skill through practice resulting in learning • Skill involves attempt to attain specific goal/s by execution of efficient, coordinated motor responses • Practice is performance experience engaged in for the express purpose of refining motor control function to improve skill • Learning represented by refinements in nervous system that result from practice • Improvement in physical performance capacity through training exercise leading to conditioning • Examples of physical performance capacities are strength, flexibility and cardiorespiratory endurance • Training is physical activity experiences designed to improve those attributes • Conditioning is evidenced by changes brought about in system/s via training

Practice vs. Training • Practice produces effects of memory, cognition, perception and other central nervous system processes associated with problem-solving • Requires deliberate effort and intention to modify performance • Most important experience if intention is to develop skill • Training produces effects that are largely peripheral to central nervous system (muscles, bones, cardiorespiratory system) • Requires little in way of deliberate attention or problem-solving • Most important experience if intention is to develop physical performance capacity • Performing skills over and over again will undoubtedly lead to some degree of conditioning but mindlessly performing a skill over and over again is not likely to lead to learning

Performance Experience and Physical Fitness • Physical fitness • Physically fit person can perform essential activities of daily living at a high level, has sufficient energy remaining for active leisure lifestyle and can meet demands in unexpected events • Motor performance fitness vs. health-related fitness • Impact of hypokinetic diseases and how to address • Measuring physical fitness • Normative data exists for multiple populations/demographics • Type of physical fitness • Health-related fitness of interest to medical community • Need/desire to focus on both elements of physical fitness across lifespans for population

Impact of Quality and Quantity of Physical Activity Experiences • Improving skill or physical capacity is dependent upon ability to select appropriate practice and training experiences • Principle of quality • Experiences that engage us in most critical elements of activity are most likely to lead to increased capacity to perform activity • Running for distance not likely to yield significant gains in weight lifting – SAID principle • Principle of quantity • If all other factors equal, increasing frequency of doing critical components of activity will usually lead to increased capacity for performance of that activity • Critical components identified via task analysis • Point of diminishing returns (overtraining)

Identifying Components of Physical Activity • Must identify quality of experience that will bring about improvement • Much easier to do for veteran physical activity professionals and very difficult for entry-level individuals (framework required) • If activity more toward practice end of continuum, experiences applied should be those likely to improve skill • Goal is to identify critical aspects of performance that can be learned via carefully constructed practices • If activity more toward physical capacity/conditioning end of continuum, focus will be on training experiences that promote conditioning appropriate for the activity

Critical Components of Physical Activity • Determining skill components critical for learning • Motor skill taxonomies are classification systems that categorize skills according to common critical elements • Large vs. small movements, water vs. land, fast vs. slow • Closed skills • Predictable environment, movements consistent from trial to trial, coordinating movements with changing environment unnecessary, anticipation of external events unnecessary • Open skills • Environment unpredictable, movements vary from trial to trial, coordinating movements with changing environment essential, anticipation of external events essential

Critical Components of Physical Activity • Determining practice experience critical for improving skills • Skills nearer to closed end of continuum best practiced in situations where environment is structured the same way on each trial • Skills nearer to open end of continuum best practiced where environment structured in different ways on each trial to develop open technique that can adapt to variety of environmental stimuli • Determining experiences appropriate for training • Unlike skill, involve physical performance capacity elements such as muscular strength/endurance, flexibility, CV endurance • Evaluate extent to which each performance capacity element contributes to desired activity (golf vs. marathon runner) • Consultation with expert/s in field to determine best training methods

Heredity and Experience • Abilities as building blocks for experiences • Genetic predispositions that offer advantages/disadvantages to particular activities are called abilities • Individuals with greater amounts of unique abilities possess more potential for success in that activity than others without abilities • Interaction of experiences and abilities • Abilities are foundations upon which we build experiences • Those with greater abilities required in activity have potential for higher achievement but will not realize potential unless they capitalize on opportunities for improving performance via practice and training • Some fall short of potential despite unique abilities (underachievers) • Some exceed potential despite lacking abilities (overachievers)