Personal Fitness merit badge

Complete as much of the following as possible. It is required you do #7.

1. Do the following:
a. Before completing requirements 2 through 9, have your
health-care practitioner give you a physical examination,
using the Scout medical examination form. Describe the
examination. Tell what questions the doctor asked about
your health. Tell what health or medical recommendations
the doctor made and report what you have done in
response to the recommendations. Explain the following:
(1) Why physical exams are important
(2) Why preventive habits (such as exercising regularly)
are important in maintaining good health, and how
the use of tobacco products, alcohol, and other
harmful substances can negatively affect your
personal fitness
(3) Diseases that can be prevented and how
(4) The seven warning signs of cancer
(5) The youth risk factors that affect cardiovascular
fitness in adulthood
Note: If meeting any of the requirements for this merit
badge is against the Scout?s religious convictions, the
requirement does not have to be done if the Scout?s parents
and the proper religious advisers state in writing
that to do so would be against religious convictions. The
Scout?s parents must also accept full responsibility for
anything that might happen because of this exemption.
PERSONAL FITNESS 3
b. Have a dental examination. Get a statement
saying that your teeth have been
checked and cared for. Tell how to care
for your teeth.

2. Explain to your merit badge counselor
verbally or in writing what personal fitness
means to you, including
a. Components of personal fitness.
b. Reasons for being fit in all components.
c. What it means to be mentally healthy.
d. What it means to be physically healthy
and fit.
e. What it means to be socially healthy. Discuss your
activity in the areas of healthy social fitness.
f. What you can do to prevent social, emotional, or
mental problems.

3. With your counselor, answer and discuss the
following questions:
a. Are you free from all curable diseases? Are you living
in such a way that your risk of preventable diseases
is minimized?
b. Are you immunized and vaccinated according to the
advice of your health-care provider?
c. Do you understand the meaning of a nutritious diet and
know why it is important for you? Does your
diet include foods from all food groups?
d. Are your body weight and composition what you would
like them to be, and do you know how to modify them
safely through exercise, diet, and lifestyle?
e. Do you carry out daily activities without noticeable
effort? Do you have extra energy for other activities?
f. Are you free from habits relating to poor nutrition and
the use of alcohol, tobacco, drugs, and other practices
that could be harmful to your health?
g. Do you participate in a regular exercise program or
recreational activities?
4 PERSONAL FITNESS
h. Do you sleep well at night and wake up feeling ready to
start the new day?
i. Are you actively involved in the religious organization of
your choice, and do you participate in its youth activities?
j. Do you spend quality time with your family and friends
in social and recreational activities?
k. Do you support family activities and efforts to maintain
a good home life?

4. Explain the following about physical fitness:
a. The components of physical fitness
b. Your weakest and strongest component of physical fitness
c. The need to have a balance in all four components of
physical fitness
d. How the components of personal fitness relate to the
Scout Law and Scout Oath

5. Explain the following about nutrition:
a. The importance of good nutrition
b. What good nutrition means to you
c. How good nutrition is related to the other components
of personal fitness
d. The three components of a sound weight (fat)
control program

6. Before doing requirements 7 and 8, complete the aerobic
fitness, flexibility, and muscular strength tests, along with the
body composition evaluation as described in the Personal
Fitness merit badge pamphlet. Record your results and identify
those areas where you feel you need to improve.

7. Outline a comprehensive 12-week physical fitness program
using the results of your fitness tests. Be sure your program
incorporates the endurance, intensity, and warm-up guidelines
discussed in the Personal Fitness merit badge pamphlet. Before
beginning your exercises, have the program approved by your
counselor and parents.

8. Complete the physical fitness program you outlined in
requirement 7. Keep a log of your fitness program activity
(how long you exercised; how far you ran, swam, or biked;
how many exercise repetitions you completed; your exercise
heart rate; etc.). Repeat the aerobic fitness, muscular
strength, and flexibility tests every two weeks and record
your results. After the 12th week, repeat all of the required
activities in each of the three test categories, record your
results, and show improvement in each one. For the body
composition evaluation, compare and analyze your preprogram
and postprogram body composition measurements.
Discuss the meaning and benefit of your experience, and
describe your long-term plans regarding your
personal fitness.

9. Find out about three career opportunities in personal fitness.
Pick one and find out the education, training, and experience
required for this profession. Discuss what you learned
with your counselor, and explain why this profession
might interest you.