5 Components of Physical Fitness

The Five Components of Physical Fitness for Youth and Adults with ASD is something that I have developed to help educate parents, teachers and school administrators.

Over the past 20 years, documented, the way that our children have been physically assessed and taught in a PE class has not changed. After talking with some people at the Presidents Challenge, they say it could be nearly 50 years!

Over this time everything in the way we educate our children have changed. Standardized testing (which I do not agree with), cirriculums, history has changed, science has changed..and then their books changed. Well, what has changed with our children physically?

Most of you can answer this....our children are more obese, more are on the spectrum, more have heart disease, diabetes, depression and the list keeps going. And what has changed in the PE classes? Well obviously, PE classes are being reduced...that makes sense?

The movement of the body is not only important for our bodies but it has as much to do with our childrens cognitive development. Parents I know you know this....Teachers and school administrators, you want the research right? Its out there but for some reason the education on this topic is not a priority.

To teach our children about a physically active, healthy mind and body we need to go back to the beginning. We need to assess our children differently. Instead of focusing on the excesses (how fast?, how far?, how many?), we need to focus on the quality of work. Isn't that what education is all about? I never took a history test and the teacher said, "First person to finish gets an "A""

I have developed the Five Components as a way to better educate our students and ourselves. Here they are:

1. Body Image
2. Posture
3. Motor Coordination
4. Cardiovascular Fitness
5. Muscular Fitness

If you want to know more about each of these let me know. Hope to hear from you...

Yours in Health,

David S. Geslak, B.S., CSCS