The Right Fitness for You

Fitness is the simplest and most effective way to keep in a healthy shape.  Fitness, as defined, is a set of attribution that people have or achieve that relates to the ability to perform physical activity. (USDHHS, 1996) As defined, it is made up of components that will determine the right physical activity that can greatly develop the person’s physical ability. Fitness is made up of five major components that can contribute to your overall fitness. 

That means you would have to work all five components to ensure that you achieve optimal fitness. These components are the cardiovascular endurance, muscular strength, body composition, and flexibility. All of these have specific workout or exercises that will deal with improving these components. The cardiovascular endurance is the ability of the body’s circulatory and respiratory systems to supply fuel during sustained physical activity. These activities refer to exercises that will keep your heart rate elevated at a safe level. 

Muscular strength focuses on the ability of the muscle to continue to perform without causing fatigue. You can work them against resistance, through weight or gravity. Body composition is the relative amount of muscle, fat, bone, and other vital parts of the body. Most often, people have the wrong concept of getting their body composition. This is not assessed by your bathroom scales but you need this in order to determine the appropriate management of your health. Lastly, flexibility is the range of motion around a joint. Being flexible prevents you from getting injured and this can go on all the stages of your life. You can acquire this by regularly stretching your body before and most especially, after workouts.

Fitness and physical activity

One of the misconceptions about fitness is most people think that it is about having strenuous activity. Some would get lazy over the idea of working out. To redefine fitness, it is actually about being active. Survey shows that only thirty percent of the adult population in the United States only gets the recommended thirty minutes physical activity, while twenty-five percent are not active at all. Inactivity is the key reason for the surge of type-2 diabetes in America because it promotes insulin resistance and other factors that trigger other disease. 

The problem is instead of moving around, we tend to get so attached with sitting down and let the machine do most of the moving chores. It usually boils down to our preferences. Elevators are preferred rather than taking the stairs. Riding cars instead of using the bicycle or just walk a couple of blocks. The secret here is to just move around. Walk, run, jog, go up and down with the stairs, swim, play…these are the stuffs that are also called physical activities. It is not about lifting weights or signing up into gym memberships. There are more practical ways into getting physically fit and stay active.

Appropriate fitness plan

Although it has been known to all of us that fitness is for everybody, no age limit, whether your underweight or overweight, or for men or women. Fitness is very vital for overall wellness and being. But, it has restrictions too. Before doing any physical activity or deciding to your own exercise plan, always make sure that you set an appointment with your doctor. If you have any cardiac factors, the doctor may conduct stress test to establish a set of safety level of exercise. 

For example, patients with diabetic retinopathy, weight lifting, jogging, or high impact aerobics is risky because it can cause further damage to blood vessels and possible retinal detachment. If ever you feel that any physical activity makes you physically challenged, refer to an exercise physiologist who can design a program that is right for your fitness.