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Concept of Physical Fitness

Physical fitness is the capacity to adjust to the demands of everyday life and the surrounding environment, enabling individuals to engage in activities related to both daily living and work, as well as to meet the requirements of emergency situations. Whether one's physical fitness is good or not can impact their work and daily life, subsequently affecting their physical and mental well-being, as well as their overall quality of life.

Physical fitness is typically divided into two categories. The first aspect is health-related physical fitness, which encompasses various components of physical abilities and body composition. These components include muscular strength, muscular endurance, flexibility, cardiovascular endurance, and body composition. The second category is sport-related physical fitness, which encompasses specific physical abilities such as speed, coordination, agility, balance, explosive power, and reaction time (Ministry of Education, 2006).

Currently, the Physical Fitness Center at National Taiwan Normal University offers the following tests:

Body Composition Analysis: This test utilizes bioelectrical impedance instruments to analyze comprehensive full-body data. It provides information on body weight, body fat percentage, body fat mass, lean body mass, body mass index, muscle mass, protein content, body water content, body water percentage, extracellular fluid, intracellular fluid, extracellular fluid ratio, basal metabolic rate, estimated bone mass, biological age, visceral fat index, and specific data related to body parts. This includes muscle mass, body fat percentage, body fat mass, limb muscle mass balance, leg muscle fraction, body fat distribution, and special data such as body type determination, limb skeletal muscle index, and whole-body skeletal muscle mass.

Comprehensive Physical Fitness Assessment: This assessment includes a variety of tests to evaluate different aspects of physical fitness. These tests include the one-legged standing with eyes closed, repeated side-to-side steps, sitting trunk flexion, sit-ups, grip strength (dominant hand), back muscle strength, sit and reach, push-ups, and a 3-minute step test.

Military Physical Fitness Test: Conducted under the auspices of the Ministry of National Defense, this test station provides physical fitness assessments for conscripted officers and soldiers. Participants can schedule appointments online and then undergo physical fitness testing at our university. The test items are the same as those of the Ministry of Education's physical fitness test.

Technological Physical Fitness Test: This includes body composition analysis, sit-and-reach, grip strength, and progressive knee lifts in place.

Ministry of Education Physical Fitness Test (Ages 10-23): The test consists of sit and reach, standing long jump, one-minute curl-ups, and 800/1600-meter run tests. In the 2024 fall semester, the one-minute curl-ups have been replaced by sit-ups, and the 800/1600-meter run tests have been replaced by the Progressive Aerobic Cardiovascular Endurance Run (PACER) test.

National Physical Fitness Test (Ages 23-64): Includes a 3-minute step test, sit and reach, and one-minute curl-ups.

Senior Physical Fitness Test (Ages 65 and above) comprises the following exercises: 2-minute stationary knee lifts, chair sit and reach, arm curl, 30-second bicep curl, 30-second chair stand, one-legged standing with eyes open, and a 2.44-meter chair stand-and-reach.

Human Performance Assessment evaluates lower limb power, upper limb strength, core strength, flexibility, agility, balance, and endurance.