With the holidays upon us, it’s very easy to over indulge, some may even think it’s an obligation to do so. But holidays aside, how would you rate your overall fitness, and by what measure would you rate it? The truth is, fitness may mean different things to different people, what you consider physically fit, others may not. Running a7 minute mile is a big achievement for some, but a disappointment for others, and while one person may strain to lift 200lbs on the bench press, another may use it as a warm up.
There’s more to fitness than just exercise and weight control, in fact there’s a combination of 5 factors that determine overall physical fitness.
1. Cardiovascular Endurance: which is the ability of the heart and lungs to work together to provide the needed oxygen to fuel the body during activity.
2. Muscular Strength: is the amount of force a muscle or muscle group can produce.
3. Muscular Endurance: is the ability of the muscles to perform continuously without fatiguing.
4. Flexibility: the ability to move the joints or any group of joints through an entire, normal range of motion.
5. Body Composition: the percentage of body fat a person has in comparison to his or her total body mass.
Improving the first three components of fitness listed above will have a positive impact on body composition and will result in less fat. Excessive body fat detracts from the other fitness components, reduces performance, detracts from appearance, and negatively affects your health.
Now that you know the 5 components of physical fitness, it’s imperative that all these components of fitness are addressed in a well rounded fitness program that will result in better overall health. There are of course limiting factors that prevent us from achieving these goals such as, joint disease, back pain, old sports injuries etc. So it’s essential that if you suffer from any thing that impedes your ability to work on the 5 components, that you see your healthcare profession. In our Physical Therapy office, we have comprehensive programs that treat a wide variety of musculoskeletal problems that’ll get you back in the game of life. Don’t delay; come in for a free consultation today. No prescription required.
