HEALTH, EXERCISE AND FITNESS NCFE Level 3

This course is designed to equip you with the knowledge to begin or develop a career in the health, exercise and fitness industry. It also provides all the information and resources needed to educate people on how to lead healthier lifestyles. The health and fitness industry is becoming increasingly important and dominant in today’s society. There should always be a demand for jobs and career in this industry as people strive to lead healthier, active lifestyles.

The need to be fit and healthy is an essential commodity of life. People are constantly looking for ideas and solutions on how to lose weight, how to exercise safely and what exercise to do. This course offers you the chance to understand what you can do and ultimately need to do in order to lead a healthier lifestyle. It gives you the theoretical knowledge and offers practical ideas on how to set about shaping yours and others’ lifestyles in order to increase health and fitness.

The course will first of all focus on gaining a sound knowledge base on what we mean by the concepts Health, Exercise and Fitness. It will address the essential components of fitness and examine how these can be tested. The ability to take part in exercise depends on your level of fitness which can be improved through regular training and exercise. Methods of training will be analysed to give practical ideas on what type of training you can do and how to do it. Guidance will be given on how to plan training programmes and sessions effectively. Practical examples of training programmes and sessions will be included.

This course will also look at factors that affect sporting performance both physiology and psychologically. These factors will determine how improved fitness levels and healthier lifestyles are achieved.

One unit will focus on the impact of diet and nutrition on health and fitness.  Essential nutritional requirements will be looked at and how to compose a balanced diet. The dietary requirements of an athlete will also be studied.

Injury will be covered in another unit. Ways of preventing injury will be evaluated and discussed. You will gain an insight into how to recognise and treat different injuries and this will prepare you with basic first aid knowledge.  N.B. Completing this course does not mean that you are First Aid qualified.

There will be seven units that will give you detailed knowledge about the different body systems and how they enable us to exercise, and the effects that exercise has on them. These units will give you a clear understanding of how your body is structured, how the body organs work and how the different systems work in unison to ensure your body functions effectively and to its maximum potential.

The final unit looks at the role of stress and anxiety on sporting performance.  It gives an insight into the physiological and psychological characteristics of these two closely connected forms of tension. You will be given practical ideas on how to cope with and manage stress.

At the end of this course you will be able to plan exercise and nutritional programmes for individuals taking into account their individual differences in terms of age, gender, weight and fitness level.

Pre-requisites
The only requirements are an active interest in the subject and a reasonable level of literacy.

Support
Tutor support is available 7 days per week via email by a fully qualified Fitness instructor. This will last for a full 12 months from the day you receive the course.

Can I obtain employment after completing this course?
As with all distance learning courses, you will need practical experience before applying for a job in a gym, so why not approach your gym managers as a volunteer to gain practical experience?

Qualification
NCFE Level 3 Award in Health, Exercise and Fitness. Plus a UK Open Learning Diploma.

Awarding Body Information
NCFE is recognised as an awarding body by the qualification regulators ('regulators') for England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The regulators are the Office of the Qualifications and Examinations Regulator (Ofqual) in England, the Department for Children, Education, Lifelong Learning and Skills (DCELLS) in Wales and the Council for Curriculum, Examinations and Assessment (CCEA) in Northern Ireland.

Further information
www.ncfe.org.uk

Study Details
This course can be studied at your own pace and there are no deadlines for assignments. However, you must complete the course within 12 months from the date you received the course. To complete this course will take in the region of 100 study hours, which can be spread over a 12 month period.

How does the course work?
We send you the complete course by courier and you complete a series of assignments which you can e-mail or post to your tutor.

Is there a word count for my assignments?
There is no specific word count but you have to prove to your tutor that you have fully understood the questions. One sentence answers will be rejected and you will have to re-submit them.

Course Content
Unit 1 – Defining the Concepts Health, Exercise and Fitness
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
Ten reasons to get more active
Health related components of fitness
Skill related components of fitness
Comparison of health and skill related fitness

Unit 2 – Understanding the components of Fitness and how to test them
Definition of the components of fitness
Detained analysis of each component
Why do we want to test our fitness?
Measuring the components of fitness
Components of fitness needed for different sporting activities

Unit 3 – Ways to improve Fitness – training methods
How the body generates energy for exercise
The Creatine Phosphate system
The Lactic Acid system and Oxygen debt
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
Examples of training sessions for each training method

Unit 4 – Planning Training and Fitness Programmes
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
Examples of training programmes and sessions

Unit 5 – Factors affecting Sporting Performance
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
Blood doping

Unit 6 – Safety in Sport
How to prevent injury:- environment, clothing and equipment, fair competition, obeying the rules and warm up and cool down
Causes of sports injuries
Accidental injuries, overuse injuries, chronic injuries
Examples of sports injuries:- soft tissue, skin 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
Other conditions that can influence sports performance

Unit 7 – Diet and Nutrition
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 athlete’s diet:- day of competition, after the event and Glycogen loading
Common eating disorders
Healthy eating
Food pyramids
Examples of diets

Unit 8 – Body systems – the skeletal system
Outline of the different body systems
The human skeleton
Functions of the skeleton: 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
How exercise can help improve the skeletal system

Unit 9 – The muscular system
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
Benefits of warming up the muscles

Unit 10 – The Cardiovascular System
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
Factors affecting Blood Pressure

Unit 11 – The Respiratory System
Structure of the Respiratory System
How air passes through the body
Pulmonary ventilation
The mechanics of breathing
Inspiration and expiration
How we get oxygen to the working muscles
External respiration
Internal respiration
Capacity for exchanging gases
The Respiratory System as we exercise

Unit 12 – The Digestive System
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
The Digestive System and exercise

Unit 13 – The Nervous System
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
The Nervous System and Sport

Unit 14 – The Endocrine System
Hormones
Hormone producing organs and body parts
The Endocrine System and exercise

Unit 15 – Stress and Anxiety in Sport
Defining Anxiety – Cognitive and Somatic
Types of Anxiety
Anxiety and Sport
Stress
The causes of Stress
Symptoms of Stress
Stress management
Stress management technique