Physical Fitness and Exercise p1...The 5 Components of Physical FitnessBelieve it or not, there is an objective standard that can be used to determine overall physical fitness, and it’s broader than whether you can put a basketball in a hoop or sport a great six pack. While athletic ability or a lean physique may be outward signs of physical fitness, they alone aren’t enough to qualify a person as physically fit. To determine true fitness, you need to evaluate that person (as well as yourself) against the five recognized components of physical fitness. Physical fitness is broken down into five fundamental components:
While you may not have heard physical fitness broke down this neatly in the past, these are the main components of physical fitness, and should be at the core of any discussion around exercise, athletic performance and general health and fitness. In order to be considered truly fit, you’ll need to exhibit certain characteristics within each of these components. Practically speaking, having a good understanding of these components of physical fitness can also help you make sure that your training and exercise routine (as well as your diet) supports improved fitness levels. 1. Cardiovascular EnduranceCardiovascular endurance (also known as cardio-respiratory endurance) basically refers to ability of the lungs to transfer oxygen to the blood and to the heart’s ability to pump that oxygen-rich blood to your muscles and tissues. This is a critical component of physical fitness, since without that oxygen-rich blood, your body and muscles won’t be able to effectively perform work. But cardiovascular endurance isn’t just about providing the oxygen you need to power your workouts or daily activities. It also has a wide range of health benefits. As cardiovascular endurance improves, your resting heart rate decreases — putting less stress on the heart even when performing light activity. This is one of the reasons that doctors almost always prescribe light cardiovascular exercise as preventative treatment for heart disease or high blood pressure. Even if your goal is to train for muscle mass (for instance, if you are a bodybuilder), improving your cardiovascular endurance can help increase your stamina during weight training, reduce fatigue and even allow you to lift more weight or perform more reps. 2. Muscular EnduranceMuscular endurance is the second key component of physical fitness. Muscular endurance is the ability to hold a particular position (muscle contraction) for a sustained period of time, or to repeat a movement many times without excessive fatigue. This could be the capability required to hold a two-pound weight above your head for five minutes or the effort required to lift that weight 20 consecutive times. In both cases, muscular endurance is involves the extended contraction of muscles against less-than-maximum weight. Muscular endurance is important because it allows the muscle to work longer without fatigue, which is critical during for sports and recreational or daily activities. Without muscular endurance, you would be unable to run more than a few hundred yards, stand for long-periods of time, or participate in sports like biking, swimming or cross-country skiing. 3. Muscular StrengthThe third component of physical fitness is muscular strength. Muscular strength is the ability to exert maximum force, such as lifting the heaviest weight you can move, one time. It’s typically expressed as your One Rep Max (1RM) — or the amount of resistance you can move in a single rep. Muscular strength may be localized to certain muscle groups, for instance you could have muscular strength in your legs, but not in your arms. Overall, you should aim for muscular strength across all muscle groups, especially your core (your torso, which includes back, abs and chest), since your torso is heavily involved in supporting and assisting in nearly all movement and activities. Imbalances in muscular strength between opposing muscle groups (for example lower back and abdominal muscles) can increase the risk of acute and chronic injuries, including muscle pulls and tears and strains to connective tissue. Muscular strength is important, because without it, you would be unable to participate in recreational sports, support your own body weight, or even lift yourself out of a chair. Improving muscular strength also has broader health benefits, including:
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