Health-Related Components of Fitness

You already know that benefits come when you prioritize physical fitness. The trick is understanding what, exactly, “fitness” is and how you can go about achieving it. Leena Doshi will explain in this article

There are top five components of physical fitness that you need to consider:

MUSCULAR STRENGTH :This is the “power” that helps you to lift your dumbbells. Without muscular strength, your body would be weak and unable to keep up with the demands we place on it. The way to increase strength is to train with heavy weights, working in the 4 – 6 or 6 – 12 rep ranges. The heavier the weight, the fewer reps you should perform! Keep adding some weight every few weeks to improve your strength.

MUSCULAR ENDURANCE:Endurance is the ability of your muscles to perform contractions for extended periods of time. Rather than just lifting or carrying something for a few seconds, the muscles are used for minutes. The way to increase your muscular endurance is to train with light weights, working in the 20 – 25 rep range. Working with lighter weight will train the muscle fibers needed for muscular endurance, and the higher rep range leads to a longer period of exercise.

CARDIOVASCULAR ENDURANCE :Cardiovascular endurance is your body’s ability to keep up with exercise like running, jogging, swimming, cycling, and anything that forces your cardiovascular system (lungs, heart, blood vessels) to work for extended periods of time. Interval training, stair climbing and training for a half marathon are all good ways to improve your cardiovascular endurance.

BODY COMPOSITION :Body composition refers to the amount of fat on your body. For example, a 100 kg person with a 25% body fat composition will have a lean body mass of 75kgs.To qualify as fit:Men must have a body fat composition lower than 17 percent. Women must have a body fat composition lower than 24 percent.

RANGE OF MOTION: is one of the most important, yet often overlooked, components of physical fitness. Without flexibility, the muscles and joints would grow stiff and movement would be limited. Flexibility training ensures that your body can move through its entire range of motion without pain or stiffness.

Those with good flexibility will usually be able to touch their toes, while those with limited flexibility will not. The sit and reach test (sitting on the floor and reaching toward your toes) is another good way to assess your flexibility which we often check in Gym’s fitness test. The more flexible you are, the closer you will come to touching your toes and beyond. Try and see if you can touch your toes, drop a comment if you can.

By

Leena Doshi

INFS & ESA Certified

Fitness & Nutrition Consultant

FITTR Coach