Fitness

Photo of balance ball and weights





What is physical fitness?

Fitness is defined as the  body’s ability to perform physical activity without distress or injury.   There are four main components to physical fitness: cardiovasular endurance, muscular strength, flexibility and body composition.

Note though that each of these four areas must be trained to obtain optimal physical fitness.

We have included webpages linked above to provide you with practical information for you on these four areas.  But first, some definitions...

Cardiovascular Endurance:

This can also be referred to as Aerobic Fitness and describes how well the cardiorespiratory system (heart and lungs) function to deliver oxygen to exercising muscles.  The better the cardiovasucular endurance of an individual, the more efficient the system is able to work. 

Examples of activities that build cardiovascular endurance are running, cycling, walking and swimming.

Muscular Strength:

This is the maximum amount of force that a muscle can exert during a contraction.  Muscular endurance is the number of repeated contractions that the muscle (or muscle group) can make against resistance before fatigue.  As we age, our muscle mass declines - so it is important to work on this.  And since decreased muscle mass means a slower metabolism (as fat does not burn calories but muscles do), working on maintaining and building your muscles will help slow or halt this process.

Training with weight machines, flexibility bands, dumbells and even against your own body weight will help to develop this. 

Flexibility:

Flexibility describes the range of motion around a joint. 

Flexibility is necessary for any activity that requires bending, twisting and reaching.  Keeping an appropriate range of motion around our joints help us to live our day to day lives pain free.

Activities such as yoga, pilates and simple stretching routines help to maintain good posture, relieve stress, and reduce the risk of pain and injury.

Body Composition:

Body composition describes the ratio of body fat and fat free weight that encompass an individual's weight.

Percent body fat represents the percentage of total body weight carried as fat. 

Fat free weight is comprised of muscle, bones, blood, organs and fluids.

Generally, a fit male should aim for a body fat percentage of 14% -17 % while a fit female should have a body fat percentage between 21% to 24%.

 


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