Developing a Personal Health Improvement Programme

The assignment presents a comprehensive personal health improvement programme, aiming to develop physical fitness through cardiovascular endurance, body composition, muscular endurance, flexibility, and muscular strength. The report outlines an action plan for improving individual health and cites relevant studies in the field of exercise science and public health.

ASSESSMENT 2

Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
P8. Planning a Personal Health Improvement Programme.........................................................1
M4. Participate in a Personal Health Improvement Programme.................................................5
D3. Create an action plan for further improvement in health......................................................5
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................6
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................7

INTRODUCTION
Physical fitness refers to the ability of a person for doing physical activities and tasks. The
uniformed public service offices need to be physically fit and need to pass the required tests for
entry. Police, armed forces, fire services and paramedics are considered as the uniformed public
services officers. The present report is based on the personal health improvement plan. This plan
is used for testing the fitness level of candidates for uniformed public services. The report further
provides an action plan for bringing further improvements in health.
P8. Planning a Personal Health Improvement Programme
Physical fitness is considered as the capacity of muscles, blood vessels, heart and lungs for
performing and functioning at optimal efficiency. The person planning for taking entry into
uniformed public services needs to be physical fit enough and pass the required tests. There are
basically five components of physical fitness such as flexibility, muscular endurance, strength,
cardiovascular endurance and body composition. The candidate planning for entering in relevant
or uniformed public services needs to pass the fitness tests which are based on the basic
components of physical fitness.
The uniformed public services need to be physically fit enough for enhancing fighting
ability and also control various required tactics. There are various factors or components that can
describe the physical fitness for police officers, armed forces or fire service officers and which
are explained as follows:
Speed strength/ muscular power: The uniformed officers’ needs to have ability for producing
force in brief amount of time for physical confrontation (Parnell and et.al., 2018). One must
apply speed with desired movement or for specific tactical motion or situation.
Muscular strength: The uniformed public officer’s needs to have ability for producing maximal
force and strength are important for optimising the muscle power.
Muscular endurance: The uniformed public services officer needs to be able to perform
repeated actions of muscles that are considered as important for physical confrontations. The
muscular endurance is also considered as the most important aspect for a police officer training
programme.
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Flexibility: Fire services, police officers or armed forces needs to have flexibility and ability for
moving the joints through various ranges of motion. This is important in weight training for
exercising in both sides of joint so that it does not limit the flexibility of joints.
Balance: This refers to the ability of a person for maintaining the centre for body mass over the
support base (Steel and et.al., 2018). This is also considered as the important aspect for police
officers’ and other uniformed public services’ ability for being stable during body motion.
Body composition: This describes height, weight, age, gender, body type, body mass, muscle
fibre type, etc. The uniformed public services officers brings their genetic inheritance into mix
however, regarding how they are being trained, how they make use of available strategies and
also how they integrate them in various performance dictates success degrees.
Aerobic endurance/ cardio-respiratory fitness: The publice services officer needs to have
ability for sustaining and persisting for a prolonged time period.
Agility: This refers to the ability for stopping and changing of directions very quickly. It is
generally composed of co-ordination, elasticity, mobility, stabilization, strength, power and
dynamic balance.
Quickness/ reaction time: public service officers need to have this physical component as it
allows improving chances of success in confrontation (Leung, Chung and Hagger, 2018).
Speed: This fitness component gives police officer and other uniformed public service officers to
take an advantage in getting to cover and tactically reposition and catch victim in quite short foot
chase.
Co-ordination: This reflects how well joints can manage with muscular firing patterns in
between or among them. This is important in hand-eye relationship which is needed in policing
and other uniformed public services.
The personal health improvement plan or programme needs to be developed after
properly testing the various fitness components of an individual. the improvement plan includes
various activities that needs to be undertaken for bringing improvements in required areas. The
health improvement programme or plan is action plan that is geared towards achieving and
accomplishing personal wellness and physical fitness. The personal health improvement plan
implies state of multidimensional satisfaction and health. There are various dimensions for
personal health and wellness and each must to be nurtured, developed, improved and maintained
for optimal overall well-being. The effective and efficient personal health improvement plan or
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programme can be developed by establishing purpose or direction then identifying the need for
development. One needs to then look for various opportunities of development or improvements
and then accordingly formulate an action plan (Martínez-Vizcaíno and et.al., 2019). Individual
can then undertake improvement and development and also needs to record the outcomes then
review and evaluate those results and outcomes. Following is given the Personal Health
Improvement Programme for uniformed public services:
Components of
Physical Fitness
Purpose of this
fitness component
Methods for testing
specific component
Activities
undertaken for
improving fitness
component
Time-frame
required for
improving
fitness
component
Muscular endurance This is the capacity of
muscles for exerting
force repeatedly over
a time-period.
Sit-up test, partial curl-
up test, bosco repetitive
jump test, and wall
squat test can be used
for testing the muscular
endurance of
individual.
The muscular
endurance can be
improved by
performing various
exercise such as
body weight squats,
plank, circuit
training, walking
lunges, sit-ups and
push-ups.
The muscular
endurance can be
improved with
repetitive sets of
exercise and
within 15 to 18
weeks.
Strength This is the capacity of
muscles for exerting
maximal forces
against resistance.
Deadlift repetition max,
handgrip strength test,
dynamic sit-up test,
muscle fibre RM test
and push and pull
strength test can be
used for testing
strength of individual.
The muscle
strength can be
improved by push-
ups, sit-ups, hill
walking, power
rowing, cycling,
lifting weights and
long distance runs
(Parnell and et.al.,
2018).
Strength can be
improved with
couple of
training sessions
and exercise
within 2 to 3
months.
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Cardio-vascular
endurance
This is the capacity of
blood vessels, heart,
lungs and muscles for
delivering nutrients
and oxygen
throughout the
individuals’
body(Pozuelo-
Carrascosa and et.al.,
2018).
Vo2 Max, mile run or
walk, PACER and
various standardized
measurement tables can
be used for measuring
the cardio-vascular
component of
individual.
The cardio vascular
endurance can be
improved by doing
various exercise
such as jogging,
stair climbing,
cycling, swimming,
rowing, aerobics,
hiking or cross
country skiing.
This can be
improved with
15 minutes to 30
minutes of
exercise for 3
times a week and
for approx 8 to
12 weeks.
Flexibility This refers to the
ability for using
muscles throughout
full range of
movements (How to
Create a Wellness
Plan, 2013).
Groin flexibility, floor
touch test, sit and reach
test, trunk rotation test,
V-sit test and calf
muscle flexibility test
can be used for testing
the flexibility of
individual.
The flexibility
component of
physical fitness can
be improved by
doing yoga,
stretching, water
aerobics, tai chi, sit
and reach method
and pilates exercise
(Simelane and
et.al., 2018).
The flexibility of
individual can be
improved with
doing various
exercise for 20-
30 minutes a day
for approx 2 to 3
months.
Agility run This refers to the
ability for running or
turning in different
directions and also at
different angles
(Stanley, Ng and
Laugharne, 2019).
The agility of
individual can be
measured by Illinois
agility run, zig zag test,
T-test and hexagon test.
The agility can be
improved by doing
dot drills, shuttle
runs, jump box
drills, lateral
running, forward
running or lateral
plyometric jumps.
One to three
times per week
for around 12
weeks can bring
improvements in
agility
component of
individual.
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M4. Participate in a Personal Health Improvement Programme
Health improvement programme refers to work for improving health and well-being of
individuals or society or communities through effectively enabling and encouraging healthy
lifestyle choices. The improvements in health and well-being can also be encouraged by
addressing the underlying issues such as lack of educational opportunity, poverty and various
other aspects. The health improvement can be brought by building healthy public policies,
creating supportive environments regarding health, strengthening community actions regarding
health, developing personal skills and re-orientation of health services (Steel and et.al., 2018).
The uniformed public service officers need to be physically fit enough and also lead a
healthy life style because their duties and roles are usually very physically demanding and are
very hectic as well. Through actively participating in health improvement programme, one can
measure and develop current fitness level and accomplish targeted goals and objectives. Various
lifestyle factors include physical activities, drug, alcohol, smoking, stress, dietary habits,
personal hygiene and other habits that can bring impacts and influences on the body and physical
fitness of individual. Therefore, individual needs to bring effective improvements in lifestyle and
it will lead to bring effective changes and improvements in physical fitness. Then according the
action plan is prepared which includes health-related physical activity programmes for
preparation of entry in uniformed public health services.
D3. Create an action plan for further improvement in health
The action plan is prepared that provides understanding, skills, knowledge and practical
experiences to be able for preparing for entry into uniformed public services such as fire
services, police services and armed forces. The action plan is prepared on the basis of personal
goals, medical history, attitudes, motivation and physical activity history. The goal setting may
involve short term, medium term and long term goals. The target needs to be specific,
measurable, achievable, realistic and time-based.
Developing physical
fitness component
Reasons for
improving
components
Activities undertaken
for bringing
improvements
Time-frame
Muscular endurance Improving muscular
endurance will allow
individual to place
The muscular
endurance can be
improved by lifting
This can be improved
with daily exercise of
30-45 minutes for 4 to
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demands on muscles
for a longer time
period. This also
includes repetitive
movements and static
positions which is
important for
uniformed public
services.
weights or using
resistance machines.
The marathons or
long distance cardio
events also helps in
building muscular
endurance.
5 weeks.
Flexibility This needs to be
improved as very
important and
required in uniformed
public services as it
helps in staying
healthy and also
injury free (Walsh and
et.al., 2018).
The flexibility can be
improved by adding
flexibility sessions
through yoga and
pilates in daily
activities and also
doing various stretch
routines.
This can be improved
by daily physical
activities and
stretching for 30
minutes in a day for 1
month (Easy Ways To
Improve The 5 Areas
Of Physical Fitness,
2017).
CONCLUSION
The health improvement programme helps in developing the physical fitness of individual as
it is more than what one weigh. The components of physical fitness are cardiovascular
endurance, body composition, muscular endurance, flexibility and muscular strength and keeping
proper balance of these aspects brings effective results on individual’s health. The present report
has prepared personal health improvement programme for bringing improvements in health of
individuals. The report further explains about the action plan for bringing improvements in
health of individuals.
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REFERENCES
Books and Journal
Leung, K. M., Chung, P. K. and Hagger, M. S., 2018. The effects of light volleyball intervention
programme in improving selected physical and psychological attributes of older adults in
Hong Kong. International Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology, pp.1-12.
Martínez-Vizcaíno, V. and et.al., 2019. Effectiveness of a school-based physical activity
intervention on adiposity, fitness and blood pressure: MOVI-KIDS study. Br J Sports
Med. pp.bjsports-2018.
Parnell, D. and et.al., 2018. Retracted article: Football and physical health: what do we know?.
Pozuelo-Carrascosa, D. P. and et.al., 2018. Effectiveness of school-based physical activity
programmes on cardiorespiratory fitness in children: a meta-analysis of randomised
controlled trials. Br J Sports Med. 52(19). pp.1234-1240.
Simelane, M. L. and et.al., 2018. The Practical Approach to Care Kit (PACK) training
programme: scaling up and sustaining support for health workers to improve primary
care. BMJ global health. 3(Suppl 5). p.e001124.
Stanley, S. H., Ng, S. M. and Laugharne, J. D., 2019. The ‘Fit for Life’exercise programme:
improving the physical health of people with a mental illness. Psychology, health &
medicine. 24(2). pp.187-192.
Steel, N. and et.al., 2018. Changes in health in the countries of the UK and 150 English Local
Authority areas 1990–2016: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study
2016. The Lancet. 392(10158). pp.1647-1661.
Walsh, D. and et.al., 2018. A comparison of physical activity, physical fitness levels, bmi and
blood pressure of adults with intellectual disability, who do and do not take part in
special olympics ireland programmes: Results from the sophie study. Journal of
Intellectual Disabilities. 22(2). pp.154-170.
Online
How to Create a Wellness Plan. 2013. [Online]. Available through:
<https://www.wikihow.com/Create-a-Wellness-Plan>
Easy Ways To Improve The 5 Areas Of Physical Fitness. 2017. [Online]. Available through:
<https://www.spunkfitness.com/easy-ways-to-improve-the-5-areas-of-physical-fitness/>
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