5 Fitness Components

Flexibility

  • Definition: The ability to move a joint through a complete range of motion
  • Importance: Injury prevention, relieves stress on body
  • Fitness Tests to Measure your Flexibility: Shoulder Test and Sit n Reach
  • Activities That Promote: Stretching, Yoga, Warm up/Cool Down

Cardiovascular Endurance

  • Definition:the ability of the heart and lungs to deliver oxygen to the working muscles for an extended period of time.
  • Importance: The more fit the heart and the lungs the better suited they are to not only delivery oxygen to muscles as you exercise, thus you can exercise longer, but also the stronger the heart the less it has to work at rest to deliver oxygen to your body. Thus, saving wear and tear on the heart muscle.
  • Fitness Tests to Measure your Cardiovascular Endurance: PACER/Mile
  • Activities That Promote: any activity that gets your heart rate elevated (Exercise Heart Rate) for at least 30 minutes. Just a few examples would be, jogging, swimming, biking, cross country skiing.

Muscular Endurance

  • Definition:The ability of muscle/muscle group to produce submaximal force over an extended period of time.
  • Importance:You will be able to perform everyday tasks with less fatigue. Thus, having more energy throughout the day and at the end of your day for leisure activities or spending time with your family.
  • Fitness Tests to Measure your Muscular Endurance: Plank
  • Activities That Promote: Weight training activities that focus on more repetitions with less weight, yoga.

Muscular Strength

  • Definition:The ability of a muscle/muscle group to produce maximum force.
  • Importance:The more muscular strength you have the better equipped you are for athletic/leisure activity performance.
  • Fitness Tests to Measure your Muscular Strength: Flex Arm Hang and Push Ups
  • Activities That Promote: Strength training that focuses on performing fewer repetitions with heavier weight.

Body Composition

  • Definition:The ratio of lean body mass compared to body fat.
  • Importance: As percent body fat increases so does the likelihood for some diseases such as heart disease and diabetes. Also, the leaner muscle mass a person has the more calories they burn not only while exercising but at rest too.
  • Fitness Tests to Measure your Body Composition: Body % Fat Measurement
  • Activities That Promote: Healthy eating along with an active lifestyle that includes an exercise program and/or leisure activity that get you up and moving.