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Physical activity is known to be important for good health.You are suggested to start with daily steps, lift weights and not sit too much. However, it is difficult to understand how it relates to health and what health actually means.
This can come in handy with the five health-related fitness components. Dividing fitness into five categories will help you better develop a health-promoting training program.
This article outlines everything you need to know about the five health-related elements of fitness, why they’re important, and how to incorporate them into your workouts.
I explained the basics of fitness that I shared on Pinterest
You may be aware of the many benefits of physical activity, such as reducing the risk of chronic disease, improving mental health, and improving quality of life, but what is physical health, really? You might be wondering if that means.
The Five Components of Health-Related Fitness is a guide to help you achieve and improve your fitness. Here are five areas to focus on in your fitness journey to ensure a balanced and active lifestyle.
Five areas of fitness related to health: 1 Trusted Source, 2 Trusted Source:
• Cardiovascular Endurance: The ability to perform exercise for long periods of time at moderate to high intensity.
• Strength – how strong your muscles can be or how much weight you can lift.
• Muscular Endurance: The ability of a muscle to endure stress over a period of time.
• Flexibility: the ability to move muscles and joints through all ranges of motion.
• Body composition: The ratio of body fat mass to lean mass such as muscle and bone.
Why are they important?
Exercise offers many benefits and keeps you healthy.
Some benefits, such as mood, sleep, insulin sensitivity, and improved blood pressure, are immediate. Other benefits, such as increased muscle mass, strength, flexibility, and lung capacity, become noticeable after a few months.
Physical activity can also contribute to healthy aging and prolong a healthy and active year. For example, strength training in late adulthood helps maintain lean body mass, an important predictor of falls and quality of life (1, 8, 9).
Ultimately, staying active, regardless of age, is important for maintaining overall health.
Cardio Endurance
Cardio or cardio training refers to your physical ability to withstand physical activity for a long time. It is also known as cardiopulmonary endurance or aerobic endurance.
Because the heart and lungs can deliver oxygen and nutrients to the working muscles, good aerobic exercise allows you to perform a variety of activities longer.
Examples of activities that benefit from good aerobic exercise include walking, running, swimming, cycling, and other sports that require constant movement.
Weekly, 150-300 minutes of moderate intensity exercise, 75-150 minutes of intense intensity exercise, or a combination of both is recommended.
Moderate intensity exercise may take longer than high intensity exercise, but the exact time depends on the individual and their fitness level.
A good way to make sure you are exercising at a reasonable intensity is to take a speech test. If you can speak but not sing, it’s probably moderate strength. If you can’t even speak without holding your breath, you’re probably at high intensity.
Medium intensity for one person may be energetic for another. Therefore, it is best to set goals based on your current fitness level.
If you get tired or short of breath quickly, reduce the intensity or duration of your training and start exercising. Increasing aerobic exercise is beneficial, so set a realistic goal that works best for you.
Strength
Strength is the ability of a group of muscles to exert force and lift and hold weight. The stronger the muscles, the more weight you can lift and move .
Muscle strength depends on the muscle group. For example, the gluteal and quadriceps muscles may be strong, but the biceps brachii muscles may be weak.
To ensure overall strength, it is important to prioritize strength training for all major muscle groups, including legs, arms, cores, shoulders, back, and hips.
To measure muscle strength, you can see the maximum weight in a single iteration, which is the maximum weight you can lift in a single iteration.
However, it’s not just a one-time iteration to determine if you’re getting stronger. Progressive overload, defined as a gradual increase in weight, quantity, training frequency, or intensity over time, is another excellent way to measure progress.
In addition to building strength, you can target muscle hypertrophy and muscle hypertrophy. To do this, aim for 8-12 iterations per set. If you can easily complete 12 iterations, gain weight. This indicates that it is getting stronger (10, 12).
If you want to increase the maximum value for one iteration, focus on maximum strength. To do this, include heavy weights and low repetitive exercises, usually 2-6 times. Practice appropriate techniques to reduce the risk of injury (10, 12).
Ideally, try to add strength training to your training program at least 2-3 times a week.
Unlike muscle strength, which measures how much weight you can lift and move, muscle endurance measures how long your muscles can withstand an exercise (12).
In addition to strength training, add the following muscle endurance exercises to your routine:
• Bodybuilding. Instead of aiming for a low rep range, try lifting lighter weights with a higher rep range (20 or more reps, for example) until your muscles get tired.
• Isometric exercises. This includes keeping your body in the same position for an extended period of time. For example, hold the plank for as long as possible.
• Longer training. Long-term use of muscles such as cycling, running, swimming, and climbing stairs depends on how strong your muscles are to keep exercising. The more you train, the longer your muscles will work before fatigue.
If you’re looking to improve your overall endurance, low-intensity weight lifting is a good starting point. Pilates, yoga, stair climbing, and long-distance activities, for example, are all good choices.
If you want to improve your athletic performance, consider incorporating strength training and specific athletic training to increase muscle endurance.
Flexibility
Flexibility is defined as the range of motion of a joint or group of joints without pain or difficulty (1 reliable source).
Being flexible is important in everyday life. For example, it’s easy to balance, reach for the top shelf of a closet, or bend over to pick something up from the floor.
In addition, some activities, such as gymnastics, dance, and martial arts, require more flexibility than others.
While the benefits of reducing pain and injury risk are controversial, stretching can increase flexibility and improve performance in activities that need to be more flexible (13, 14).
The purpose of stretching is to remain calm and limit the risk of injury. Try not to strain your muscles to the point of extreme discomfort or pain. Try to stretch at least 2-3 days a week.
There are three types of stretches that can be used to improve flexibility.
Static stretch
This includes stretching and holding the muscles for 10-30 seconds.
With this stretch, the brain relaxes the muscles that support the joints.
While it helps with flexibility, it can increase your risk of injury before activities that rely on joint support, such as strength training and high-intensity sports. Thus, this type of stretch is usually best for the relaxation phase of your workout.
Dynamic or active stretching
These are active movements that move the muscles and joints with each movement.
This can usually be done during a warm-up or on your own, such as during a stretch break at work.
Examples include shoulder rotation, leg swing, step, and torso twist.
Dynamic exercise
This includes exercises that stretch and stretch your muscles during your workout, such as Pilates, yoga, tai chi, and ballet.
Unlike static stretching, the muscles are not held in one position for an extended period of time. The purpose of dynamic movements is to wake up the muscles needed for the next exercise.
It’s great to incorporate dynamic stretching into your warm-up program before strength and resistance training to prepare for physical activity.
Endurance exercises that benefit from dynamic movement include cycling, running, swimming, as well as sporting activities such as basketball, football, and volleyball.
Body composition
Body composition is the last element of health-related fitness. Explain the ratio of fat to lean body mass (2).
Fat is essential for human health. However, excessive intake, especially in the area of the stomach, is associated with poor health and an increased risk of chronic diseases such as heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and some types of cancer (15, 16).
On the other hand, the more muscle and bone mass you have, the better your health and the lower your risk of chronic illness (17).
Keep in mind that health looks different from person to person. The following parameters will help you understand your body composition (18, 19, 20, 21).
• Waist circumference. Larger waist circumference (> 35 inches or 85 cm for women,> 40 inches or 101.6 cm for men) indicates high abdominal fat and is associated with an increased risk of chronic disease.
• Waist to hip ratio. Higher rates (> 0.80 for women and> 0.95 for men) are associated with an increased risk of chronic disease.
• Bio electrical impedance analysis (BIA). Convenient but inaccurate measurement of body fat percentage. You can find these machines at some gyms or buy a BIA home scale.
• Dual energy X-ray absorption measurement method (DEXA). Performed in the clinical setting, DEXA measures bone mineral density, muscle mass, and fat mass. This will give you a more accurate picture of your body composition. However, it is not very widely available and can be expensive.
• Seafloor hydrostatic pressure measurement. This method uses an underwater scale to weigh on land and in water. This method is commonly used for research purposes.
• Air replacement telephotography (ADP) or Bod Pod. Bod Pods in a specialized clinic measures total weight, fat and muscle mass. It is much easier to perform than underwater hydro static pressure weighing.
You can also use the Body Mass Index (BMI) to get a general idea of body composition. But it’s not very specific and rarely gives you a true picture of your health.
Body composition is an important element of fitness, but it’s not the only one. By focusing on the other four fitness areas (cardiovascular endurance, flexibility, muscular strength, and endurance), you can achieve a healthy body composition.
Develop a training program using health-related fitness components
When developing a training program, it is important to consider your current fitness level, goals, schedule, and preferences.
Ideally, you’ll achieve physical activity recommendations, including (one reliable source).
• Weekly 150-300 minutes of moderate intensity exercise, 75-150 minutes of intense intensity exercise, or a combination of both.
• 2-3 days a week of strength and endurance training.
• Stretch and flexibility training for at least 2-3 days a week.
You can assign each component to a specific day of the week or include each aspect in your workout.
For example, you can do strength training on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, aerobic exercises on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays, and stretch a few days a week.
Alternatively, you can focus on exercises that include strength and aerobic exercise, such as high-intensity interval training and boot camps.
Ultimately, your goal is to incorporate all your fitness components into your training program in a way that suits you. Through trial and error, you will be able to find the training program you like and help you achieve the results you want.
Revenue
Five health-related components of fitness serve as a useful guide to fitness.
Factors such as aerobic exercise, strength and endurance, flexibility, and body composition are associated with improved overall fitness and health.
Your training plan depends on your fitness goals, but it’s a good idea to incorporate different training methods into your daily routine. This may include aerobic exercise, strength and strength training, stretching or dynamic movements.
Each area is important to your overall health and fitness, so consider them all when designing your training program.
