Physical Fitness
The term “physical fitness” is the most commonly discussed term in the health and fitness domain. However, it is important for health-conscious people to understand the meaning in the context of their physiological health.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) defines “physical fitness” as our body’s physical ability to perform daily activities with vigor and alertness, without undue fatigue, and with enough energy to enjoy leisure-time pursuits and respond to emergencies.
Physical fitness is a broad term that encompasses many factors. For example, fitness level generally includes the physical strength of our body, ability in terms of duration and intensity of the activity, body composition, flexibility, endurance, and energy level.
In this article, we will discuss what physical fitness is all about, five important components of fitness, factors that affect the fitness level of a person and how to improve it.
What Is Physical Fitness ?
Physical fitness is defined as a person’s ability, bone and muscle strength, and endurance to perform physical activity for specified intensity and duration without major discomfort or physical stress to their body.
The World Health Organization (WHO) defines physical activity as any bodily movement produced by skeletal muscles that requires energy expenditure.
Physical activity refers to all the movements that a normal person would perform during their daily routine. The daily routine activities include professional work, sports and physical exercise, and other physical activities necessary to lead a normal life.
Physical fitness is said to be the ability of your body systems to work together efficiently, which allows a person to perform the activities needed for the job.
For example, a normal person’s physical fitness requirements could be different than those of an athlete, body builder, or any other sportsman.
A normal person has to manage the fitness level necessary to lead a healthy life and perform daily activities. Most people can achieve this fitness level with a healthy lifestyle and regular workout schedule.
Whereas, an athlete has to achieve a much higher level of physical fitness in order to support the physical performance in terms of physical health, stamina, and endurance.
Health Benefits Of Physical Fitness
Physical fitness depends upon the physical health of a person, and physical health depends upon the physiological health of a person. When the physical health of a person improves, that translates into an improved physical fitness level.
Leading a healthy lifestyle is a crucial factor in maintaining good physical fitness. Physical fitness helps to lead to a better quality of life and overall longevity for a person. It also helps to protect a person from diseases like high blood pressure, heart disease, stroke, Type 2 diabetes, and other lifestyle diseases.
Components Of Physical Fitness
The physical fitness of a person depends upon many factors. However, the holistic physical fitness can be grouped into five major components. The performance of each component is crucial to achieve optimal physical fitness. The five major components of the physical fitness are as under.
- Cardiovascular Endurance.
- Body Composition.
- Flexibility Of The Body.
- Muscular Strength.
- Muscular Endurance.
Physical fitness is said to be the ability of your body systems to work together efficiently, which allows a person to perform the activities needed for the job.
For example, a normal person’s physical fitness requirements could be different than those of an athlete, body builder, or any other sportsman.
A normal person has to manage the fitness level necessary to lead a healthy life and perform daily activities. Most people can achieve this fitness level with a healthy lifestyle and regular workout schedule.
Whereas, an athlete has to achieve a much higher level of physical fitness in order to support the physical performance in terms of physical health, stamina, and endurance.
Cardiovascular Endurance
The cardiovascular system of our body essentially deals with heart function and the blood circulation system. Cardiovascular endurance is a measure of our bodies’ ability to sustain physical activity, its duration, and intercity.
It is the cardiovascular endurance that allows the body to deliver the necessary performance of the various organs of the body necessary to support the intense physical activity.
Cardiovascular endurance depends upon not only the heart but also the performance of our lungs, blood circulation, and muscle strength. Cardiovascular fitness affects our body’s ability to pump oxygenated blood through the blood vessels during intense and prolonged physical activity.
Body Composition
The term body composition generally refers to the relative percentage of various constituents such as muscle, bone, essential and non-essential fat and other contents present in the human bodies.
However, the body fat endures a negative reputation despite the crucial role of the fats and lipids in the functioning of digestion and energy metabolism. Fat is the body’s energy fuel that provide and works as energy reserve, which helps the body maintain a constant temperature.
The excess fat present in the body can adversely affect the physical fitness since a fat person would need more energy to perform the same activity.
Flexibility Of The Body
The flexibility of the body is another crucial component of physical fitness. The flexibility of the body allows the free movement of our body parts without any resistance, discomfort and pain.
The lack of exercise and body movements can affect the flexibility of the body that also affects the physical fitness. Regular yoga can help to improve the body flexibility in addition to other health benefits.
Maintaining the flexibility of the body is crucial for independent and healthy lifestyle especially for the senior citizens.
Muscular Strength And Endurance
Muscular strength and endurance are two important components that define our body’s ability to apply the required force and power to lift, move, or perform any such activity.
Muscular strength is the amount of force that your body can produce and apply to perform any job that requires considerable physical exertion, such as lifting weights, running, cycling, climbing and swimming.
Whereas the muscular endurance defines the intensity and the duration of the activity without getting tired, body fatigued and exhausted. Muscular strength and endurance together play an important role in the physical fitness of a person.
The easiest way to improve muscular strength and endurance is to eat a healthy high protein diet, especially one that helps to build the muscles and regular exercise such as strength training, weight training, or weight lifting.