Chapter 2: Physical and Motor Fitness
Test it, set a goal, beat it — fitness you can measure, and the food and habits that change it.
Original notes — ready CBSE (NCERT, English Medium) • Class 8 • Physical Education • Book: Khel Yatra
Physical and Motor Fitness — EG's own notes, in simple words
Book: Khel Yatra (CBSE, Class 8) | Chapter 2 | Medium: English
Diagram (labels are printed on the image): Students in a team relay on the school ground. A general picture about fitness games, not a book scene.
Students playing a team game together. A general picture about teamwork and fitness.
What the chapter is about
This unit links physical activity with personal development: improving fitness, building mental toughness, fostering teamwork and understanding safety guidelines. Pupils build motivation, courage and self-discipline by taking on physical challenges, monitoring their growth and staying dedicated to personal improvement. It also teaches the classification of obesity and how to measure the body mass index (BMI).
As in Unit 1, each activity has a warm-up, the activity, a cool-down and a circle time — and the circle-time topic is the real lesson: time management, perception, introspection, muscle involvement, gravity, inclusiveness, cooperation, or BMI and goal-setting.
The nine activities at a glance
| Activity | Main lesson (circle time) |
|---|---|
| Crawl to the Front (MF-1) | Time management in a relay |
| Rock-Paper Championship Run (MF-2) | Perception and quick decision-making |
| Modified Triathlon Activity (MF-3) | Introspection — find the stage to improve |
| Pass, Sit, and Score (MF-4) | Muscle involvement |
| Crab Crawl Ball Relay (MF-5) | Effect of gravity; core muscles |
| Hitting Running Target Game (MF-6) | Inclusiveness and personal goals |
| Kick Volleyball (MF-7) | Techniques, strategies and challenges |
| Ropeless Tug of War (MF-8) | Cooperation; social loafing and social facilitation |
| Swasthya Daud (MF-9) | Body mass index and goal-setting; metabolism |
Speed, decisions and self-knowledge
Crawl to the Front is a relay for teams of ten. Standing a line, feet apart and wide enough to crawl through, the last pupil crouches and crawls under teammates' legs to the front, stands and shouts "Next!", and the sequence repeats until the whole team has crossed the finish line. Circle time is about time management: which ways of crawling and standing cut the time taken.
In the Rock-Paper Championship Run, hoops or markers are laid in a line or zig-zag, with a different-coloured hoop second-from-last at each end. Two teams line up on opposite sides; the first pupil from each side enters the first hoop and plays rock-paper-scissors. The winner advances a hoop, the loser returns to the back of their team's line, and the next teammate challenges. Reaching the opponent's second-to-last hoop scores a point, then both teams reset. Circle time asks which factors in the game affect the outcome — perception, choice and speed all matter, not luck alone.
The Modified Triathlon Activity tests agility, balance and coordination in three stages: dribbling a football along a 10-metre zig-zag course; balancing an object (cardboard, rough copy or school bag) on the head back towards the start, replacing it if it falls; then balancing the object on the back while crawling to the finish, dropping it, picking up the football and running back to pass it to a teammate. The fastest team wins. Circle time is introspection: pick your best of the three stages, name one activity to improve, and notice the happy feeling of giving your best effort with precision.
Pass, Sit, and Score uses teams of six. A passer in front of a line throws to each pupil in turn; each catcher returns the ball and immediately sits down. When the last pupil has returned it, the passer turns and kicks towards the goal. Everyone gets a turn as passer, and the team with the most goals wins. The teacher helps pupils feel and name the major muscles responsible for each movement.
Core strength, gravity and fair play for all
The Crab Crawl Ball Relay (teams of ten) is done entirely in the crab position — hands and feet on the ground, belly facing upwards. The last pupil rolls the ball underneath the line to the next teammate, and so on; when it reaches the front pupil, that pupil gets up, runs to the back, returns to crab position, and the relay continues until the first starter returns to their starting place. The teacher's notes name the core muscles involved: rectus abdominis, external oblique, internal oblique, quadratus lumborum and multifidus. Circle time discusses gravity's role: holding the crab position means working against gravity the whole time.
The Hitting Running Target Game builds coordination, object manipulation and anticipation. A roller rolls a large target ball between two parallel lines, calling "gool-gool" (going-going), while pupils 5–10 metres away throw tennis balls to hit the moving target; a fielder retrieves it, and nobody collects thrown balls until the "OK" signal — a strict safety rule. The game is adapted for children with disabilities: a ball that makes noise for pupils with limited vision, and rolling or underhand throwing for pupils with limited grip strength. Circle time reflects on how adaptations made the game inclusive, and on personal goals for future sessions.
Kick Volleyball is volleyball played with feet instead of hands, over a net or divider 2–3 feet high, in teams of 5–6, with up to three touches before sending the ball over. Play runs 10–15 minutes, alternating teams every 5 minutes for fairness. Safety guidance is explicit: keep kicks controlled and learn proper kicking technique to avoid injuries.
Ropeless Tug of War has no rope: two evenly matched teams (similar height, weight and numbers) stand about a foot apart on either side of a centre line, each holding the waist of the teammate in front, the two front pupils holding each other's elbows. On the whistle they pull with legs and body weight — never with jerks, and never straining the arms — until one side pulls the other past the centre line; breaking the chain loses the game. Circle time is cooperation: whose full effort helped the team, and how did anyone not giving their best affect success?
Social loafing is putting in less effort in a group than alone; social facilitation is performing better when others are present. The book's pop-up asks pupils to feel the difference — for example, pushing a wall versus holding a water bottle horizontally for a minute — and to spot both effects in team games like Ropeless Tug of War.
Food, exercise and metabolism — Swasthya Daud
Swasthya Daud makes metabolism visible. A large circle of cones is split into a playing zone and an exercise zone (with an "exercise" cone). Denner 1 represents unhealthy food and tags in the playing zone; Denner 2 represents the will to avoid exercise and tags in the exercise zone. Everyone starts running, symbolising high metabolism. Tagged once by Denner 2, a pupil returns to the playing zone but may only jog (moderate metabolism); tagged again, only walk (low metabolism). Touching the exercise cone without being tagged by Denner 2 restores running — improved metabolism. Denners change every ten minutes so everyone plays each role.
Its circle time turns to measurement: calculate your BMI with BMI = weight (kg) ÷ [height (m)]², compare it with the classification table, and plan the next month towards a healthy lifestyle.
| Classification | BMI range (kg/m²) |
|---|---|
| Underweight | Below 18.5 |
| Normal | 18.5 – 24.9 |
| Overweight | 25 – 29.9 |
| Obese Class I | 30 – 34.9 |
| Obese Class II | 35 – 39.9 |
| Obese Class III | Above 40 |
The fitness assessment — baseline, goal, retest
The unit ends with a fitness assessment with a fixed method: (1) perform each test and record the baseline result, (2) set a goal for improvement, (3) retest and compare progress. Teachers set up the testing environment, and procedures are given in the book's annexure.
| Area | Test | Goal suggested in the book |
|---|---|---|
| Agility | T-Test | Improve by 1–2 seconds |
| Cardiovascular endurance | 600-m run/walk, or 3-minute step test | 10–20 seconds faster, or lower heart rate over time |
| Strength and muscular endurance | Push-ups (max in 1 min) | Increase by 3–5 reps |
| Strength and muscular endurance | Squats (max in 1 min) | Increase by 5–10 reps |
| Strength and muscular endurance | Plank hold | Hold 10–15 seconds longer |
| Flexibility | Sit-and-reach (inches past toes) | Improve by 1–2 inches |
| Speed | 50-metre sprint | Improve by 0.2–0.5 seconds |
| Balance | Stork balance | Set your own goal and beat it |
Reflection closes the assessment: which area improved the most, what was the biggest challenge, and how can you improve further?
Key Terms
- Physical fitness — The body's capacity for activity, covering agility, endurance, strength, flexibility, speed and balance.
- Motor fitness — Skill-related fitness: coordination, balance, agility, speed and reaction in movement.
- Core muscles — Deep trunk muscles including rectus abdominis, obliques, quadratus lumborum and multifidus.
- Metabolism — How the body uses energy; shown in Swasthya Daud as running, jogging or walking.
- BMI — Body mass index = weight (kg) ÷ [height (m)]², classified from underweight to obese classes I–III.
- Baseline and goal — Your first measured result, and the improvement target you set before retesting.
- Social loafing — Putting in less effort in a group than when working alone.
- Social facilitation — Performing better when others are present.
Remember
- Fitness is measured, not guessed: baseline → goal → retest.
- Normal BMI is 18.5–24.9; 25–29.9 is overweight; 30 and above is obese (Classes I–III).
- Unhealthy food and avoiding exercise lower the "metabolism level" in Swasthya Daud; reaching the exercise cone restores it.
- Crab position works core muscles against gravity the whole time.
- In the target game, never collect balls before the "OK" signal.
- Ropeless Tug of War: pull with legs and body weight, no jerks, chain never broken.
- Inclusiveness is built in: noise balls and rolling/underhand throws adapt the game for all pupils.
- Full effort in a team is cooperation; hiding in a group is social loafing.
This unit is full of testable numbers: BMI bands, the 10-metre triathlon course, the 2–3 feet kick-volleyball net, the 5–10 metre throwing distance, and every assessment goal. Quote them exactly, with units.
Fitness is a set of measurable qualities — agility, endurance, strength, flexibility, speed and balance — improved by setting a baseline, a goal and a retest. Food and exercise choices move your metabolism up or down, BMI turns weight and height into one comparable number, and team games reveal character: full effort, fair play, and games adapted so everyone can play.
Practice set — try it yourself
- Write the BMI formula and the normal range.
Hint: Weight in kg divided by height in metres squared; normal starts at 18.5. - In Swasthya Daud, what happens after a pupil is tagged by Denner 2 for the first time, and for the second time?
Hint: Running becomes jogging, then walking. - Name the three stages of the Modified Triathlon Activity in order.
Hint: Dribble, balance on the head, crawl with the object on the back. - Why must nobody collect thrown balls in the Hitting Running Target Game before the "OK" signal?
Hint: Think about safety while others are still throwing. - What is the difference between social loafing and social facilitation?
Hint: One is less effort in a group, the other is better performance with others present.
Questions with Answers
- What is the method of the fitness assessment in this unit?
Perform each test and record the baseline result, set a goal for improvement, then retest and compare progress. The teacher sets up the testing environment and the book's annexure gives each test's procedure. - Calculate and classify: a pupil weighs 45 kg and is 1.5 m tall. What is their BMI?
BMI = 45 ÷ (1.5 × 1.5) = 45 ÷ 2.25 = 20. That falls in 18.5–24.9, so the classification is Normal. - How does Swasthya Daud show the effect of unhealthy food and lack of exercise on metabolism?
Running stands for high metabolism. Being tagged by the "avoid exercise" denner drops the pupil to jogging (moderate metabolism), and a second tagging drops them to walking (low metabolism). Reaching the exercise cone untagged restores running — exercise improves metabolism again. - Which muscles does the Crab Crawl Ball Relay develop, and why is gravity central to it?
It develops the core muscles — rectus abdominis, external and internal obliques, quadratus lumborum and multifidus. Holding the belly-up crab position for the whole relay means working against gravity continuously, which is why circle time is "Effect of gravity". - How is the Hitting Running Target Game made inclusive?
By adapting, not excluding: a ball that makes noise for pupils with limited vision, and rolling or underhand throwing for pupils with limited grip strength. Circle time asks pupils to share how those adaptations made the game inclusive for all.
Questions with Answers — Extension
- (Match) Match: T-Test — agility; 600-m run/walk — cardiovascular endurance; sit-and-reach — flexibility; stork balance — balance; 50-m sprint — speed.
- (Numbers) A pupil's T-Test baseline is 14 seconds and their push-up baseline is 20 reps in a minute. What goals does the book suggest? — T-Test: 12–13 seconds (improve by 1–2 seconds); push-ups: 23–25 reps (increase by 3–5).
- (Reason) Why does Ropeless Tug of War insist on evenly matched teams and no jerk movements? — Even matching keeps the contest fair and safe, and jerks strain arms and backs; the book says to pull with legs and body weight instead.
- (Apply) In Kick Volleyball, why alternate teams every 5 minutes in a 10–15 minute game? — For fairness: both teams get equal turns in each role and no team is stuck defending or serving for the whole game.
- (Distinguish) How does Pass, Sit, and Score test teamwork differently from Crawl to the Front? — Crawl to the Front is a speed relay where everyone does the same crawl; Pass, Sit, and Score needs a passer plus catchers who sit in sequence, so timing, passing accuracy and taking turns as passer all matter.
- (Sequence) Put the Modified Triathlon stages in order: crawl with object on back, dribble zig-zag, balance object on head. — Dribble zig-zag, balance on head, crawl with object on back, then run back with the football to the next teammate.
- (True / False) A BMI of 32 is classified as overweight. — False. 32 falls in 30–34.9, which is Obese Class I; overweight is 25–29.9.
- (Reflect) After retesting, a pupil improved most in flexibility but least in strength. What should their next goal be, by the unit's method? — Keep a maintenance goal for flexibility and set a fresh, specific strength goal (for example, push-ups +3–5 reps), then retest again — the method is a cycle, not a one-time test.
How to use this page: Read the summary, say the Key Terms in your own words, then try the practice set without looking. Use the Questions with Answers to check yourself afterwards. Ask your teacher or parent to check your answers.