PHYSICAL FITNESS
- THE MISSING LINK
A recent poll indicated that 96% of
all adult males and 99% of all adult
females would change something about
their physical appearance. The leading
concern was weight loss.
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Experts suggest that movies, television
and magazines have created an obsession
with weight loss among many adults.
It is ironic; these activities have
also contributed to a sedentary lifestyle,
which leads to weight gain.
Because of a misplaced concern on weight
loss among a large number of people,
the emphasis should be on fat loss
for good health. When properly executed,
fat control can be safe and effective
with an introduction to physical fitness.
Physical fitness is the body’s
ability to function efficiently and
effectively and consists of health-related
skills and skill-related physical fitness,
which has 11 different components, each
contributing to quality of life.
It is associated with a person’s
ability to work effectively, enjoy leisure
time, be healthy, meet emergencies and
resist hypokinetic diseases. A hypokinetic
disease or condition is one associated
with lack of physical activity or too
little regular exercise. Examples of
such conditions include heart disease,
adult-onset diabetes and obesity.
Although the development of it is the
result of many things, optimal fitness
is not possible without regular exercise.
There is a necessary commitment to reaching
a particular level of fitness; however,
there are many activities that will
pay significant dividends that can be
incorporated into one’s lifestyle.
We will discuss the five health-related
skill applications in this article.
Health-Related
Physical Fitness Components
There are five major
components, they are:
In order for a person to improve their
overall level of fitness, each of these
areas must be addressed. We will spend
some time now explaining each area and
their associated benefits.
CARDIORESPIRATORY
ENDURANCE
Cardiorespiratory endurance is also
referred to as aerobic fitness or cardiorespiratory
fitness. This is the key component to
overall health.
It is the measure of the heart’s
ability to pump oxygen-rich blood to
the working muscles during exercise.
It is also the measure of the muscle
to take-up and use the delivered oxygen
to produce the energy necessary to continue
exercising.
In practical terms, cardiorespiratory
endurance is the ability to perform
endurance-type exercises (distance running,
cycling, swimming, etc.). An individual
who has achieved a high measure of cardiorespiratory
endurance is generally able to complete
30 to 60 minutes of vigorous exercise
without undue fatigue.
Cardiorespiratory endurance is extremely
important in an active daily living
regime. One needs to develop good cardiorespiratory
endurance if they live on the fifth
floor in an apartment building and there
is no elevator available.
Another example is taking your dog
for a walk, who walks who? If your pooch
is not well trained, your walk will
be at a higher activity level, producing
a need for an increased level of cardiorespiratory
fitness. So, there are some advantages
of having a poorly trained pooch!
MUSCULAR STRENGTH
Muscular strength is the maximal ability
of a muscle to generate force. It is
evaluated by how much force a muscle
or muscle group can generate during
a singular maximal contraction. Practically,
that means how much weight can an
individual lift during one maximal effort.
Muscular strength is important in almost
all activities associated with active
daily living. For example, lifting a
bag of groceries, shoveling snow and
moving furniture, require muscular strength.
Weight training (also called strength
training) results in an increase in
the size and strength of muscles.
MUSCULAR ENDURANCE
Muscular endurance is defined as the
ability of a muscle or muscle group
to generate force over and over again.
Although muscular strength and muscular
endurance are related, they are not
the same.
These two terms can be distinguished
by examples. An excellent example of
muscular strength is a person lifting
a heavy barbell during one maximal effort.
In contrast, a weight lifter performing
multiple lifts or repetitions of a light
weight illustrates muscular endurance.
Muscular endurance is important in daily
living activities, too. Examples would
be, waxing your car or raking leaves.
FLEXIBILITY
Flexibility is the ability to move
joints freely through their full range
of motion (ROM). Flexible individuals
can bend and twist at their joints with
ease.
Flexibility is different from warm-up
stretching, because flexibility develops
over a period of time. Stretching routines
performed prior to physical activity;
prepare the muscle groups of the body
for the upcoming activity.
However, incorporating a stretch routine
into daily life will aid in the increased
flexibility of the subject. Without
routine stretching, muscles and tendons
shorten and become tight; this can retard
the range of motion around joints and
impair flexibility.
When warming-up for an activity, stretches
are held anywhere from 6-15 seconds.
When working on improving flexibility,
the body part is held in the stretched
position for several minutes.
Flexibility needs for individuals are
not equal. Wrestlers, gymnasts and divers
need to develop a high level of flexibility
in order to accomplish complex movements.
The average person requires less flexibility
than an athlete does; however, everyone
needs some flexibility to perform activities
of daily living. Research indicates
that flexibility is useful in preventing
some types of muscle-tendon injuries
and may be useful in reducing back pain.
BODY COMPOSITION
The term body composition refers to
the relative amounts of fat and lean
body tissue (muscle, organs and
bones) found in your body.
The rationale for having body composition
as a component of fitness is that having
a high percentage of body fat (a condition
called obesity) is associated with increased
health risk (coronary heart disease,
diabetes, etc.). In general, being “over-fat”
elevates the risk of medical problems.
Research indicates a lack of physical
activity plays a major role in gaining
body fat. Conversely, regular exercise
is an important factor in promoting
the loss of body fat.
July 2002, Medifast, Healthy Ways
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