Learning outcomes
Download Foundations in Physical Activity and Exercise Learning objectives (.pdf file)
Chapter 1: A Foundation for Exercise Leadership
Objective I: Defining the leadership role
Sub-objectives:
- Identify the 3 levels of leadership and how they relate to the role of the exercise leader
- State the 3 practices of exemplary leadership as they relate to exercise leadership
- Describe the components of the professional profile of exercise leadership
- List roles and responsibilities associated with the exercise leader's professional profile
Objective II: Identify values, qualities, strategies and skills of leadership
Sub-objectives:
- Identify your personal values for exercise leadership
- State some qualities and skill sets that the leader can expect to develop over the course of their career
- Describe how the 3 practices of leadership are integral to the leader's role as health educator and promoter of wellness
- Identify one’s leadership skills
Objective III: Examining skills and styles of leadership
- Indicate the leadership styles associated with situational leadership
- Explain how the instructional leadership styles apply to situations in exercise leadership
- Define leadership presence
- Describe your leadership presence
Chapter 2: Leadership and Communication
Objective I: Effective and efficient communication
Sub-objectives:
- State the role of effective communication within the class environment
- State methods to create and maintain interest when two people are communicating
- Describe the 4 key components of verbal & non verbal cues (timely, concise, informative, clear)
- List key indicators of leaders implementing effective communication
Objective II: Verbal and non-verbal communication
Sub-objectives:
- Distinguish between verbal and non-verbal communication
- State the impact of non-verbal communication techniques
Objective III: Questions and feedback
Sub-objectives:
- List reasons for asking questions
- Describe different types of question styles
- List and describe hints for giving and receiving feedback
- List strategies that exercise leaders may use when providing feedback to participants in a fitness class
- Identify uses and types of need assessments and the reasons for goal setting
Objective IV: Knowing your Audience
Sub-objectives:
- Describe the profile of the adult learner
Chapter 3: Understanding and Motivating Health Behaviour
Objective I: Creating a positive environment
Sub-objectives:
- Understand the physical activity/exercise motivation and adherence problem in Canada
- Review reasons for lack of participation and adherence to physical activity and fitness programs
- Understand principles underlying a participant centered approach to learning
Objective II: The personal image
Sub-objectives:
- Describe the importance of inclusiveness in the exercise class environment, and give examples of how it can be achieved.
- List methods an exercise leader could use to be a positive example of health related fitness
Objective III: Impact of the leader
Sub-objectives:
- Indicate techniques leaders can use to externally motivate class participants
- Identify the reasons for goal setting and the difference between "away from" and "toward" goals
- Explain the SMART acronym in relation to setting goals
Objective IV: Promotion of attitude and behaviour change
Sub-objectives:
- List the six stages of change in the stages of behavioural change model and the processes associated with movement between stages
- State action strategies at each stage of the change model to promote health behaviour
Chapter 4: Defining Physical Activity, Active Living, Exercise and More
Objective I: Defining health, physical activity, quality of life and active living
Sub-objectives:
- Describe the term physical activity
- Identify characteristics associated with the term quality of life
- Describe what is meant by the term active living
Objective II: Define the variables of the FITT principle
Objective III: Health and fitness related benefits of physical activity
Sub-objectives:
- Identify the benefits of daily physical activity
- Define the term physical fitness
- Indicate the relationship between the terms health and physical fitness
Chapter 5: Health, Wellness, and Healthy Lifestyle Concepts
Objective I: Defining wellness
Sub-objectives:
- Define the term wellness
- Explain the term healthy lifestyle
- Identify and define the dimensions of wellness
Objective II: Connections: relating wellness and health
Sub-objectives:
- Indicate interconnection of physical health and other areas of wellness
- Demonstrate the interaction of dimensions of wellness
- List and describe 5 factors related to single bouts of exercise that help to reduce stress
- Describe lifestyle behaviours that can and cannot be modified and how they increase or decrease the risk of health related problems
Objective III: Promoting wellness
Sub-objectives:
- Describe the role of the fitness leader in promoting wellness to class participants
Chapter 6: Components of Physical Fitness
Objective I: Defining fitness related terms
Sub-objectives:
- Differentiate between performance related fitness and health related fitness
- Define the terms cardiorespiratory fitness, aerobic, maximum oxygen consumption, muscular strength, muscular endurance, flexibility and body composition
Objective II: Aerobic system and responses to training
Sub-objectives:
- Identify exercise related changes in the cardiovascular system which lead to increased cardiovascular efficiency
Objective III: Importance of muscular strength and muscular endurance
Sub-objectives:
- Describe the importance of muscular fitness across the life span
- Describe the role of muscular endurance in posture and injury prevention
Objective IV: Stretching and flexibility
Sub-objectives:
- State the benefits of having good flexibility
- List factors that limit flexibility
- Differentiate between stretching and flexibility
- Describe static flexibility, ballistic stretching and PNF stretching
- Describe neuromuscular efficiency and the role of Golgi tendon organs and muscle spindles in stretching
- Differentiate between passive and active stretching
Objective V: Health risks and body fat
Sub-objective:
- Identify elevated health risks associated with excess body fat
Chapter Seven: Basics of Anatomy
Objective I: Define the terms - anatomy and biomechanics
Objective II: The skeletal system
Sub-objectives:
- State the five important functions of the skeletal system
- Identify the bones of the axial and appendicular skeleton
- Identify factors contributing to bone density and bone loss with aging
- Differentiate between the long, short, flat, irregular and sesamoid bones
Objective III: Defining anatomical, directional and regional terms
Sub-objectives:
- Define terms associated with anatomical position
Objective IV: Joints and their actions
Sub-objectives:
- State the function of cartilage
- Describe the three planes of motion
- Indicate the characteristics of fibrous, cartilaginous and synovial joints
- Identify causes of joint stiffness
- Describe the following synovial joints: hinge, condyloid, ball and socket, sliding, saddle and pivot
- Describe the following terms: flexion, extension, abduction, adduction, rotation, circumduction, hyperextension, lateral flexion, dorsiflexion, plantar flexion, eversion, inversion, supination, pronation, horizontal abduction, horizontal adduction, elevation, depression, retraction, protraction, upward rotation (of the shoulder girdle) and how they relate to specific joint actions of the: neck and spine, knee, ankle, elbow and shoulder
Objective V: Ligaments, muscles and their functions
Sub-objectives:
- State the functions of ligaments and their attachments
- Describe the role of bursae and fascia in body structures
- Describe the fleshy and fibrous attachment of muscle to bone
- State three types of muscles found in the human body
- State the four functional properties of muscle tissue
- Describe the four roles of muscle
- State the difference and give an example of a one joint muscle and a two joint muscle
- Describe the general structure of a muscle and its role in muscle contraction
- Explain how musculoskeletal structure impacts your exercise selection
Objective VI: The muscular system
Sub-objective:
- Identify the major muscle groups and their functions: quadriceps (rectus femoris, vastus medialis, vastus intermedialis, vastus lateralis), hamstrings (biceps femoris, semitendinosis, semimembranosis), abductors (gluteus minimus & gluteus medius), gluteus maximus, sartorius, iliopsoas, biceps, brachialis, brachioradialis, triceps, trapezius, rhomboids, serratus anterior, latissimus dorsi, pectoralis major, pectoralis minor, deltoids, rotator cuff (teres minor, infraspinatus, supraspinatus, subscapularis), gastrocnemius, soleus, tibialis anterior, adductors (gracilis, pectineus, adductor longus, adductor magnus, adductor brevis), transverse abdominals, internal obliques, external obliques, rectus abdominus, erector spinae, multifidus, quadratus lumborum
- Identify the agonist or antagonist of a muscle pair (quadriceps/hamstrings, gluteus maximus/iliopsoas, biceps/triceps, trapezius, rhomboids/serratus anterior, latissimus dorsi/ pectoralis major, medial rotators/lateral rotators of the rotator cuff, gastrocnemius, soleus/ tibialis anterior, adductors/ abductors, abdominals/erector spinae)
- In a given exercise identify the joint action and the prime mover during the concentric, eccentric and isometric phases of the movement
Objective VII: Lever systems
Sub-objectives:
- Define the terms lever and fulcrum
- Demonstrate ways to increase stability considering: center of mass and base of support
- Explain one way in which inertia affects movement
- Describe the three classes of levers
- Indicate how resistance force, length of lever and the angle of pull can alter forces on a muscle
Chapter 8: Exercise Analysis
Objective I: Safe and effective physical activity practices and exercise selections
Sub-objectives:
- Identify and describe the five components of exercise analysis
- Identify potential risks to joint structures (knee, shoulder, spine, etc.) associated with various exercise movements
- Explain the functionality criteria of exercise analysis
- Compare and contrast functional versus contraindicated exercise selections
Chapter 9: The Cardiovascular and Respiratory Systems
Objective I: The heart: structure and circulation
Sub-objectives:
- Identify the structure of the heart
- Differentiate between the systemic and pulmonary circulation
- Indicate the flow of blood through systemic and pulmonary circulation
- Describe the exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide in the lungs and at the utilization sites
- Describe the flow of gases and nutrients between blood and tissue as it flows through capillaries
- Indicate how the blood is “pushed” and “milked” through the veins
- Describe what happens when blood pooling occurs
Objective II: Blood pressure
Sub-objectives:
- Define blood pressure - systolic and diastolic pressure
- Identify normal blood pressure range and factors affecting blood pressure
- Indicate what “hypertension” means
- State how blood pressure responds to exercise
Objective III: Performance parameters of the heart
Sub-objectives:
- Define cardiac output
- Describe the short term and long-term impact of exercise on stroke volume and cardiac output
Objective IV: State the role of iron in carrying oxygen
Sub-objectives:
- State the role of iron in carrying oxygen
- Describe iron deficiency anemia
Objective V: Respiratory responses to exercise
Sub-Objectives:
- Identify responses of the respiratory system to exercise
- Describe guidelines for breathing during muscular conditioning exercise
Chapter 10: Energy and Metabolism
Objective I: Energy production in the body
Sub-objectives:
- Identify the body’s sources of food for energy production
- State the function of ATP
- Describe the immediate, short term and long term energy pathways
- Identify the symptoms of high lactic acid levels in the body
Objective II: Interaction of energy systems during work
Sub-objectives:
- Describe the energy continuum Explain steady state exercise
Objective III: Assessing body composition
Sub-objectives:
- Differentiate between overweight and overfat
- Discuss the methods utilized to determine body weight and body composition
Objective IV: Energy balance and weight control
Sub-objectives:
- Define and explain the energy balance equation
- Differentiate between metabolism and metabolic rate relative to rest and exercise
- Identify means of promoting weight loss
- Discuss the importance of aerobic exercise and muscle conditioning for “fat loss”
- Summarize the findings regarding diet as a method of losing weight
Chapter 11: Basic Training Principles
Objective I: Physical training principles
Sub-objectives:
- Explain the physical training goal of adaptability
- Describe the variables to be considered when selecting the intensity of an exercise
- Identify the method for monitoring the level of intensity of muscular conditioning exercise
- Indicate the time or duration of exercise and the factors to consider
- Identify the criteria to consider when determining the frequency of exercise
- Identify the criteria for selecting type of exercise
- Indicate the relationship between the training variables of duration, intensity and frequency
- Define the principles of specificity and progressive overload
- Explain the terms - training threshold, ceiling effect, rest and recovery - as used in training and overtraining and as they apply to the principle of overload
- Define the principle of reversibility
- Understand principles underlying a participant centered approach to learning a new motor skill
Objective II: Defining overtraining
Sub-objectives:
- Indicate how a fitness participant can avoid overtraining and chronic fatigue
Chapter 12: Components of Workout Design
Sub-objectives:
- Identify and describe the different components of a workout or fitness class
- Explain the physiological responses to each component
- Identify considerations to prevent injury and increase safety for the warm-up and cool-down
Chapter 13: Monitoring Exercise Intensity
Objective I: Physiological responses to exercise
Sub-objectives:
- Compare and contrast the normal signs of the acute effects of exercise to the chronic effects of exercise
Objective II: Monitoring heart rate during exercise
Sub-objectives:
- Indicate why heart rate is useful for monitoring the intensity of aerobic exercise or the amount of physiological stress
- Explain the term target heart rate
- Demonstrate how to take a carotid and radial pulse
- Calculate the target heart rate using the Karvonen and the Max target heart rate zone methods
Objective III: Perception of effort
Sub-objectives:
- State what is meant by Ratings of Perceived Exertion
- Describe the use of the Dyspnea scale and talk test in monitoring exercise intensity
Chapter 14: Designing, Planning and Delivering
Objective I: The program planning cycle
Sub-objectives:
- State the 5 steps in the program planning cycle
- Discuss the importance of careful planning
- Identify the benefits of planning and consequences of failing to plan
Objective II: Evaluation
Sub-objectives:
- Discuss the importance of evaluation
Chapter 15: Health Screening
Objective I: Health screening instruments and procedures
Sub-objectives:
- Explain the importance of screening for health status in previously sedentary participants
- State the purpose of health screening prior to adopting physical activity
- Describe the PAR-Q+ and its use with apparently healthy clients
- Explain how to deal with noncompliance with PAR-Q+ requirements
Chapter 16: Understanding Nutrition
Objective I: Nutrients and their functions
Sub-objectives:
- List the six major classes of nutrients and their functions
Objective II: Hydration and dehydration
Sub-objectives:
- Describe the role of water in the body and the factors that cause dehydration
- Identify the impact of dehydration on performance
- Identify steps to prevent dehydration during exercise
Objective III: Promotion of healthy nutrition
Sub-objectives:
- State some steps that all adults should take to promote nutritional health
- List the directional statements within Canada’s Food Guide