Breaking Down The Five Components Of Fitness

There’s so much information regarding health and fitness out there, it’s easy even for the most die hard members of the fitness world to get a bit off track now and then. There are five main components to fitness, and we decided to break them down for you here.

1. Flexibility 

Flexibility is the most often overlooked aspect of fitness until it’s too late and injury occurs. Stop that! As little as ten minutes of stretching can work wonders for your overall health and fitness. Did you know that achieving and maintaining flexibility can increase your strength and help your body withstand more physical stress? It also decreases pain and improves posture and balance. It’s not recommended to stretch at the beginning of a workout. A cold muscle is a weak, endangered muscle. Make sure to warm up a bit with some light cardio exercise, or stretch after the workout.

Now, did you know there were multiple types of stretching? The most popular are dynamic, static, and ballistic. Dynamic stretching is an active movement, where the muscle and joint go through a complete range of motion. Examples would be jump squats, knee to chests moves, and high kicks.

Static stretching is a more traditional type of stretching to most. Static stretching involves stretching a muscle to its furthest  point and holding the stretch for 10+ seconds. Examples of static stretches are the seated butterfly stretch, overhead tricep stretch, and cobra pose.

1. Cardiovascular Endurance

Cardiovascular Endurance measures the ability of the heart and lungs to work together to provide oxygenated blood to the body and brain. It’s more basic than stamina, which is the ability to perform an activity without getting tired. The basic need to have our hearts and lungs work together efficiently is why cardiovascular endurance is so important, regardless of your athletic or aesthetic goals.

The great news is the wealth of different ways to increase both your cardiovascular endurance and your stamina. Biking, running, kickboxing and dance fitness are just a few options. Did you know that weight lifting within a specified heart rate range can also increase cardiovascular endurance and stamina? You don’t need to spend hours on the treadmill (unless that’s your thing).

1. Muscular Strength

Muscular Strength is measured by the amount of force that a muscle or group of muscles can generate. Strength training is important for bone health and injury prevention. Strength training increases coordination, thereby reducing falls that could lead to injury. It also increases bone density. 

Did you know that muscle also burns fat, helping your body burn more calories even at rest? After age 30, we begin to lose muscle if we are not engaging our muscles in weight bearing exercise. It’s the primary reason for weight gain as we age. Regular strength training can literally slow our body’s aging process. It’s recommended to strength train at least 2-3 days a week for at least 30 minutes. Make sure to give each muscle group 48-72 hours of rest between sessions. For example, schedule weight training days on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday if you are doing whole body sessions. If you are breaking your sessions into smaller muscle groups, alternate your muscle groups. Recovery is just as important as the exercise itself.

1. Muscular Endurance

Muscular Endurance is the ability of muscles to perform continuously without fatiguing. Muscular endurance is utilized in day to day life. Sustained walking, carrying a child, and lifting groceries are all examples of how a healthy level of muscular endurance is needed in everyday life. 

Examples of athletic and fitness activities requiring muscular endurance are sustained running, walking, rope climbing. A few of the exercises that develop muscular endurance (and stretch our sanity at times) are planks, pullups, pushups, walking lunges and squats.

1. Body Composition

And last but not certainly not least..Body Composition describes the amount of body fat in relation to the total body mass of  fat, bone, water, and muscle. 

Knowing your body composition is your starting point to your health and fitness journey. You’ve probably known someone who is very thin but gets winded going up a flight of stairs. Or maybe you’ve known someone whose actual weight is outside of the standard norm, but is quite lean and fit. A good number of body builders and other athletes, for example, may be over their recommended BMI (height/weight ratio, 25 being the upper limit). The reason that they might be healthy is because their body fat level is low in relation to the total body mass. The opposite would be true of the very thin but out of shape person. The scale may say they are healthy, but their level of body fat could be high compared to their total body mass. The ideal level of body fat can differ according to sex, age, and activity level (athlete vs average fit person).

Total fitness is the subtotal of these five categories is important to your overall health and well being. If even one category is ignored, you are at higher risk for injury. If you’d like to know your overall body composition or level of total fitness, we’d love to help you. Nothing makes us happier than making you healthier.

written by Leigh Miller Agency