Active IQ Entry Level 3 Award in the Principles of Leading an Active, Healthy Life (sample manual)

Manual
Entry Level 3 Award in the
Principles of Leading an
Active, Healthy Life
Version AIQ005931

The principles of active, healthy living
Section 1
Physical fitness
Fitness is defined as:
‘The ability to meet the demands of the environment.’
(BBC, 2020)
This means that everyone needs a different level of fitness, depending on their job and what they do with their time/
lifestyles. For example, a builder would need more physical fitness than someone who works in an office, but a
professional footballer would need more fitness than the builder.
The Principles of Leading an Active, Healthy Life
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The principles of active, healthy living
Section 1
ACTIVITY
Answer the following questions on your experience of sleep:
1. How much sleep do you get on average?
2. What do you do to relax before you go to sleep?
3. How could you improve your sleep environment?
4. Do you often wake up during the night?
How can you stop this from happening in the future?
5. How do you feel after a good night’s sleep?
6. How do you feel after a bad night’s sleep?
Here are some great tips for helping you improve your sleeping habits! Think about why they might help.
• Get into a routine – wake up and go to bed at the same time every day, even on weekends.
• Use the hour before bed as quiet and relaxation time – avoid bright light, technology and noise.
• Avoid heavy or large meals a few hours before bedtime.
• Avoid alcoholic drinks before bedtime.
• Avoid nicotine before bedtime as it is a stimulant. So is caffeine in coffee, soft drinks, tea and
chocolate – the effects of caffeine can last as long as 8 hours!
• Spend time outdoors every day and be physically active.
• Keep your bedroom dark, cool and quiet.
• Take a bath or use relaxation techniques before going to bed.
The Principles of Leading an Active, Healthy Life
Figure 1.1: Rules of healthy sleep
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Section 2
Mental health and wellbeing
KEY
POINT
If you notice that someone is showing signs of mental
ill health, make sure that you check they are OK, talk
to them. Listen and encourage them to seek help.
Time to talk
Being open, sharing and talking about your feelings can help your
overall wellbeing and help you stay in good mental health.
Talking about your mental health is important because:
It is not a sign of weakness –
you are taking charge of your
wellbeing and doing what you
can to stay healthy.
It helps you cope
with a problem you
have been carrying
around, helping you
feel supported and less
alone, and helping to
find a solution.
It helps you deal
positively with times of
trouble and challenge.
If you open up, it may
encourage others to do so too
and you can therefore improve
each other’s wellbeing.
There is evidence
that talking about
mental health can
make us feel better.
The NHS’ five steps to mental wellbeing
The NHS provides evidence that there are five steps you can take to improve your mental health and wellbeing, and
to try and manage positively any problems you are having. Trying these out could help you feel more positive and
able to get the most out of life:
Connect with other
people
• Helps you build a sense of
belonging.
• Gives an opportunity to
share positive experiences.
• Others can provide
emotional support.
Be physically active
• Raises your self-esteem.
• Helps you set goals and
achieve them.
• Causes chemical changes
in the brain to positively
change your mood.
Learn new skills
• Boosts self-confidence.
• Builds a sense of purpose.
• Helps to connect with
others.
Give to others
• Creates positive feelings and a sense
of reward.
• Gives you a feeling of purpose and
self-worth.
• Helps you connect with others.
Pay attention to the present
moment – mindfulness
• Helps you enjoy life more.
• Helps you understand yourself better.
• Positively changes the way you
feel about life and how you
approach challenges.
Scan the QR
code to find out
more about the
five steps.
Figure 2.1: The NHS’ five steps to mental wellbeing
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Section 4
Barriers, goals and physical activity guidelines
Mobility: movements should
start small and build up to a full
range of motion.
All major joints should be
mobilised (shoulders, elbows,
hips, knees, ankles and spine).
For example: shoulder lifts and
side bends.
Pulse raising: movements
should be low-impact and have
a small range of motion.
Use large muscle groups to
raise the heart rate. Choose
movements that prepare the
body for the main workout.
For example: walking, small
knee bends, marching on the
spot.
Pre-stretching: stretch only
when the muscles are warm.
All main muscle groups should
be stretched. Dynamic or static
stretching can be used.
For example: arm swings, gentle
backwards lunging, gentle toetouching.
Cool-down
Figure 4.3: Features of a warm-up
At the end of any sport or physical activity, there is a cooldown
phase to lower the heart rate and return the body back
to its normal resting state. This is essential to reduce the
risk of blood pooling (blood gathering in the lower legs) and
to promote circulation.
The full cool-down component is completed at the end of the
main activity, when no further work will happen. It will involve
a reduction in intensity, such as a gentle cycle or walk and
some light stretching.
Appropriate clothing and footwear
Physical activity and sport come with some risk of injury,
but this risk can be minimised – not just by warming up
and cooling down, but by having the appropriate:
• Personal protective equipment (PPE).
• Clothing that is suitable for the activity.
• Footwear.
ACTIVITY
Think of a sport or physical activity
that you take part in. List three pieces
of clothing or footwear that should be
worn, and three that should be avoided.
Personal protective equipment Suitable clothing Appropriate footwear
Some sports and activities
require specific protection, and
this can even be part of their
rules – for example, cycling
helmets, gym shields, shin pads,
buoyancy aids.
Make sure they are safety-tested,
the correct size and fit for use.
Some activities or sports
will require suitable clothing,
such as warm weather gear or
waterproofs in the outdoors,
loose-fitting clothing for mobility,
or closer-fitting clothing for less
resistance and drag.
Clothing that is light, technical
and sweat-wicking is always
beneficial.
Footwear is important as it can
impact your knees, hips, back,
and general posture and physical
health. Many activities and sports
require specialist footwear. Some
footwear is also required for safety,
e.g. studs on football boots.
It is important to have the
appropriate footwear, of the
correct size and fit for the activity.
Table 4.2: PPE, suitable clothing and appropriate footwear for physical activity
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Creating a personal health and activity plan
Section 6
• If you are under a lot of stress, you may want to check your health with
your GP first.
• Exercise will help to manage stress, but you may want to use a gentler
approach – for example, walking outdoors.
• Alternatively, you could try yoga or Pilates, as they can help you to
manage stress.
• If you are eating unhealthily, you may want to make some changes to your
diet.
• Food is energy, so if you are not eating enough of the right foods, you
may feel that you don’t have the energy to exercise.
• If you smoke, you can still exercise.
• However, be aware that smoking reduces the amount of oxygen in
your body, which will affect your energy levels.
• Smoking will also clog the arteries, is a contributory factor for
coronary heart disease and may influence your blood pressure, so
you may want to check this.
• You should not smoke especially if you are under 18 years of age.
• If you drink alcohol, you can still exercise.
• You should never exercise immediately after having a drink, or if drunk.
• If you drink on most days, you should aim to have two alcohol-free days
each week and decrease the amount that you drink, to prevent any longterm
health problems.
• You should not drink alcohol if you are under 18 years of age.
What else should you consider when creating a
personal health and activity plan?
• Choose activities that you like, so that you are more likely to continue with them.
• Try a variety of different activities, to keep you interested.
• Build up steadily and gradually. Don’t do too much too soon.
• Always warm up first and cool down after exercise to prevent injury.
• If you are new to exercise, use low-intensity, low-weight activities, fewer repetitions and less complex activities
so that you exercise more safely.
Creating personal health and fitness goals
The Principles of Leading an Active, Healthy Life
RECAP
In order to be able to create your own health and fitness goals, you need to make sure you know what these
terms mean. Have a look back through the manual to check this.
Remember health can be physical, mental or social and, although it can include being free from illness and
injury, it is much more than that.
The different components of fitness include muscular strength and endurance, flexibility, cardiovascular
fitness, agility, speed, power, balance and coordination.
Goals give you a target to work towards and can keep you motivated; remember they should be SMART. Can
you remember what SMART stands for?
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