Introduction
In this assignment, I will be exploring the benefits of exercise and the prescription of exercise. I will begin by
describing four different key benefits of exercise to each of three different specific groups. After this, I will
explain these exercise benefits in more detail. Finally, I will produce safe and effective exercise prescriptions
for the three different specific groups.
Children/Young People
Benefits of exercise:
- Learning a new skill/ technique: Participating in sport as a form of exercise enables children and young
people to develop their basic skill set and learn various techniques within a variety of different sports.
Physical activity lessons; especially those tailored to meet the needs of younger small children often focus on
developing fundamental skills such as throwing and catching, as well as fundamental movement such as
agility, balance and coordination. This enables them to build a foundation, as these skills can be adapted and
used in lots of different sports. For older children the sports sessions will be aimed at refining these skills and
techniques by placing more focus on implementing them into drills and match play. By doing this, they will
also develop their communication skills and decision-making skills. Participation in recreational sports
sessions for young people and children can also often lead to competition pathways, which will just further
result in further development and refining of sports related skills and techniques. Overall, learning new skills
and techniques is one of the main benefits of participating in exercise; particularly sport; as it requires them
to apply themselves in a way that they wouldn’t necessarily otherwise.
- Socialise: One of the main advantages of children and young people participating in exercise or sport is the
opportunity doing so provides children and young people to socialise with others; particularly as those
participating will probably have similar interests. This is a benefit as it might enable children to make friends
outside of the school environment; whilst also contributing to the development of their social skills.
Additionally, this benefit can also lead to long term participation in either exercise or sport; this is because if
a child has lots of friends within sport, then they are more likely to continue participating in sport and
progress either through the sport or their exercise.
- Improvements in mood/mental health: According to (takethemagicstep.2020) “Studies report that
exercise decreases anxiety, reduces depression, and improves mood and outlook in children. In addition,
their quality of sleep is improved.” This shows not only does exercise have physical and social benefits for
children, it can also have profound impact on their mental health which is essential to their overall wellbeing
and development. This benefit can also facilitate continued participation as it will positive influence on a
person, irrespective of their age.
- Increased self- esteem: It could be argued that the most important benefit of exercise however, for
younger people and children is the fact that physical activity can contribute massively to the development of
children’s self-esteem and confidence. This is because physical activity provides children and young people
with the opportunity to further develop social skills such as leadership and empathy; both of which effect a
child’s self-confidence. The physical benefits of exercise could also result in increased self-esteem as they
, can influence body image and how a young person views their appearance, positively. The following by
(ncbi.nlm.nih.gov) further highlights how exercise can have a profound benefit on a child’s or young
person’s overall self - esteem: “The results indicate that exercise has positive short-term effects on self-
esteem in children and young people. Since there are no known negative effects of exercise and many positive
effects on physical health, exercise may be an important measure in improving children's self-esteem.”
Exercise prescription
Frequency – According to (choosemyplate.2020) “Children and adolescents should do 60 minutes or more
of physical activity each day.” Therefore, children or young people should be participating in some form of
exercise or sport on a daily basis in order to meet the criteria of a physically healthily lifestyle.
Intensity - According to (choosemyplate.2020) “Most of the 60 minutes should be either moderate- or
vigorous intensity aerobic physical activity”. Therefore, the exercise that children or young people are
participating in should be physically challenging for them
Time – According to (choosemyplate.2020) children should do “60 minutes or more of physical activity each
day”. Therefore, children and young people should be spending an hour of their day taking part in some
form of physical activity – they should be exercising or physically active for the extent of this timing.
Type – According to (choosemyplate.2020) children should do “muscle-strengthening activities, like
climbing, at least 3 days a week and bone-strengthening activities, like jumping, at least 3 days a week”.
Therefore, children and young people should vary the type of exercise that participate in every week, but it
should focus around the above physical requirements.
Absolute contradictions
- High Blood pressure
- Tachycardia
- Uncontrolled medical conditions (asthma, diabetes, angina, acute heart failure)
Specific contradictions
- Obesity
- Social anxiety
- Growth related problems – e.g. Osgood Schlatters
Ante-natal Women
Benefits of exercise:
