The components of physical fitness are the essential parts that a general physical fitness program should include. Physical fitness is a hard term to define, so instead of giving a straight out definition, health experts rely on these components.
In truth, there are several components, and they are categorized into 4 different types. First, there’s the physiological fitness, which includes metabolic, morphological, bone integrity, and others. Second, there are skill-related components, which includes agility, balance, coordination, speed, reaction time, power, and so on. Third, there are sports-related components, such as team sport, individual sport, lifetime sport, and so on.
However, for the general purpose of being physically healthy, the focus is on health-related components, which are the following.
The Five Components of General-Purpose Physical Fitness
- Cardiovascular Fitness
- Muscular Endurance
- Strength Training or Muscular Strength
- Flexibility Training
- Body Composition
1. Cardiovascular Fitness
The cardiovascular system is the lifeblood of the body, and almost literally too. This system is what enables the heart to pump oxygen and nutrients and the arteries to deliver these to the tissues and organs in the body as well as ensure that all wastes in the blood are removed. Cardiovascular fitness refers to this ability to make this very important transport throughout the body.
A person cannot be physically fit if his cardiovascular system is compromised in any way. Cardiovascular diseases may have sudden effects, while some diseases compromise the body gradually, such as clogging in the arteries, which develop over time.
Cardiovascular fitness is an important component especially in terms of preventing diseases, performing the various functions of the different organs in the body, and maintaining optimal weight and body appearance.
Several exercises can be used to improve cardiovascular fitness, such as jogging, swimming, and cycling.
2. Muscular Endurance
Muscular endurance pertains to the muscle groups in the body. This refers to a person’s ability to conduct continuous muscle movements for a specific period of time without falling prey to fatigue. If the muscles are not healthy or are unable to sustain movement, a person will not be able to conduct movement too. This is an important component in a person’s performance of his or her daily activities and tasks.
The best exercise for muscle endurance are cycling, sit ups, and step machines. Sit ups are also used to determine a person’s muscular endurance.
3. Strength Training or Muscular Strength
Strength training or muscular strength refers to the level of strength or force that a person can exert in general. This can be measured by the amount of force that a person’s muscles can produce with just a single cobtraction. It is usually tested using push ups.
Strength training exercises include the bicep curl, the leg press, and the bench press.
4. Flexibility Training
The next is flexibility training, the ability of a person’s joint to move through its range of motion. To maximize the flexibility of the body and ensure that the joints can move freely, flexibility exercises such as stretching are important. In order to determine flexibility, a person can be asked to do the sit-and-reach test.
5. Body Composition
Lastly, there’s body composition, which determines what the body is made up of: lean muscle mass, organs, bones, and fat. It determines the percentage of each part of the body. The most important use of this component is to measure what percentage of the body’s overall mass is made up of body fat.
Body composition measurements are often done using bioelectrical impedance, underwater weighing, and skinfold readings, with underwater weighing being the standard measurement technique. However, it should be noted that underwater weighing is not often done due to the lack of the necessary expensive equipment to conduct the said test.
General Skill Training – An Integral Part of An Active Lifestyle
The five components enumerated above are those that are important to maintain the body’s optimal functions and activity. However, if a person wants to live a more active lifestyle and engage in sports or other physical-related occupation, a general skill training should be part of his or her physical fitness training.
This training will try to improve the person’s ability to move from one point to another, to change directions quickly, to maintain an upright posture at rest or in motion, to use hands and feet with proper coordination, to move or respond quickly, and to do forceful work at a fast pace.
These are known as the skill-related components of physical fitness.