subject: The 5 core components of fitness and what it means to be in great shape [print this page] The 5 core components of fitness and what it means to be in great shape
Listed below are the 5 components of fitness. While each person has a different definition of being physically fit, I believe that in order to be truly "fit" you cannot neglect one in spite of another.
Cardiovascular Stamina: Cardio is Greek for heart; vascular refers to vessels that channel blood to and from the heart. This system equates to the hearts ability to transport fresh blood to and from the rest of the body. To some, cardiovascular stamina might mean being able to walk up a flight of stairs without being winded, to others it might mean running a marathon under 3 hours. Typical exercises that relate to cardio include: burpies, jumping jacks, body shapers, suicides and mountain climbers. To be in good' cardiovascular shape, you have to complete all three sets of these exercises without stopping and do all the reps with the count.
Muscle Strength: Muscular Strength refers to your ability to lift something once. To some, being able to do one full push up is an acceptable test of strength. Someone else might have a goal of bench pressing 300 lbs. Resistance training is needed in order to build muscular strength. Over loading the muscle with heavy weight but keeping the number of reps down to a minimum (generally no more than 10) is the best way to increase muscular strength.
Muscle Endurance: Muscular Endurance is your ability to do something over and over again. Running, biking, walking, and even resistance training are good examples of muscle endurance. In order to increase muscle endurance, one must increase the number of reps for an exercise.
Body Composition: This is the measurement of the amount of fat on your body compared to your body weight. A 200 lb. male with 10% body fat has 20 lbs of fat on his body. A healthy number for a woman is about 24%, while a man should have about 16%. Anything over these numbers is considered excess fat and can cause undue stress on the body. Body fat that is too low is considered dangerous for many reasons to include lack of ability to fight off infections and sickness.
Flexibility: This is the ability of the body's joints to move throughout their full range of motion. The less flexible one is, the greater the chance of injury. Being flexible allows the muscles to move around a joint the way they are supposed to. This decreases the chance of injury due to sudden unexpected movements such as a car accident or during a fall because of ice or wet floors.
Becoming Truly Fit
If you want to consider yourself truly "fit" than you must budget enough time working on each of these areas in your fitness program. If you workout daily, this should be easier to achieve. However if you workout less than 5 days per week, it is even more important to avoid skipping workouts to achieve the best results possible.
