To ensure well-rounded muscular strength, it’s important to prioritize muscular strength training of all major muscle groups like legs, arms, core, shoulders, back, and hips. For example, you may have strong glutes and quads but weaker biceps. Muscular strength can vary between different muscle groups. The stronger your muscles, the heavier weight you can lift and move ( 10). Muscular strength is the ability of a muscle group to exert force or lift and carry weight. SummaryĬardiovascular endurance, or cardio, is important for strengthening your heart and lungs, which help to deliver oxygen and nutrients throughout your body. Any increase in cardio exercise is beneficial, so make realistic goals that work best for you. If you become fatigued or out of breath quickly, decrease the intensity or duration of your exercise and build up from there. Therefore, it’s best to make goals based on your current fitness level ( 1). What is moderate intensity for one person may be vigorous for another. If you can’t even talk without pausing for a breath, you’re likely at a vigorous intensity ( 1). If you can talk but not sing, you’re likely at moderate intensity. Moderate-intensity exercise can be sustained for longer than vigorous-intensity exercise, though exactly how long varies between individuals and their fitness levels ( 1).Ī good way to test if you’re exercising at moderate intensity is to do the talk test. It’s recommended that you get 150–300 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise, 75–150 minutes of vigorous-intensity exercise, or a combination of both each week ( 1). Good cardio fitness allows you to perform different activities for longer because your heart and lungs are able to deliver oxygen and nutrients to your working muscles.Įxamples of activities that benefit from good cardio endurance include walking, jogging, swimming, cycling, and other sports that require continuous movement. It’s also known as cardiorespiratory endurance or aerobic fitness. For instance, it can reduce the risk of chronic disease, improve your mental wellbeing, and support healthy aging.Ĭardiovascular, or cardio, fitness refers to your body’s ability to sustain exercise for longer. SummaryĪ well-rounded exercise program has been shown to improve your health in many areas. Ultimately, living an active lifestyle no matter your age is important for supporting good overall health. For example, strength training into late adulthood can help preserve lean muscle mass, which is a major predictor of falls and quality of life ( 1, 8, 9). Other benefits are noticeable after a few months, like increased muscle mass, strength, flexibility, and lung capacity ( 1).įurther, numerous studies have found that being physically fit protects against many diseases and health issues - including heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes, osteoporosis, depression, dementia, and certain types of cancer, just to name a few ( 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7).īeing physically active can also support healthy aging and increase how many healthy, active years you have. Some benefits are immediate, like improved mood, sleep, insulin sensitivity, and blood pressure. The five health-related components of physical fitness are cardiovascular endurance, muscular strength, muscular endurance, flexibility, and body composition.Įxercise provides many benefits and supports your health. Body composition: your body’s ratio of fat mass to fat-free mass like muscle and bone.Flexibility: the ability to move muscles and joints through a full range of motion.Muscular endurance: the ability of your muscles to sustain exercise for a period of time.Muscular strength: how much force your muscles can exert or how heavy weights they can lift. Cardiovascular endurance: the ability to perform exercises at moderate-to-vigorous intensities for a prolonged period of time.The five areas of health-related fitness are ( 1, 2): They describe five areas to focus on in your fitness journey to ensure a well-rounded, active lifestyle. The five health-related components of physical fitness can be a useful guide to help you achieve physical fitness and promote good health. While you may know the many benefits of being physically active - like a reduced risk of chronic disease, improved mental health, and better quality of life - you may wonder what being physically fit really means. The basic components of physical fitness, explained
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