Do You Know the 5 Key Components of Fitness?

I believe everyone knows the 5 components of fitness, but it’s not something most people readily think about.

Knowing these elements can help us understand how to improve our health and quality of life through fitness if we don’t know where to start or want to know what to improve upon.

These 5 components of fitness complement each other, and work together to better our well-being.

1.) Cardiovascular Endurance

This refers to the ability of the heart, lungs, and circulatory system to deliver oxygen-rich blood to working muscles during physical activity. Good blood flow is needed to deliver oxygen to muscles to help with repeated contractions.

Simply, how hard are you breathing, and how hard is your heart pumping?

The slower our breathing and lower our heartrate are during and after our “cardio”, the better cardiovascular endurance we have.

Some popular examples include, but not limited to, the following:

swimming
running
cycling
walking
dancing

We can see these activities are usually sustained for extended periods of time. We can’t just hop one time and walk off the dancefloor for cardio — we got to dance the whole Cha Cha Slide.

They’re also performed at moderate to high intensities, but this is different for everyone. For example, walking could be light for someone but could be moderate or high for others.

It’s about knowing our levels (i.e., beginner, intermediate, or expert) and going from there.

2.) Muscular Strength

This component of fitness refers to the capacity of a muscle, or group of muscles, to exert maximal force against a resistance.

Simply, how much can you lift?

The more weight we can lift, the better muscular strength we have.

We can build and maintain this area through resistance training, which includes lifting weights or doing bodyweight exercises.

Side note, people usually test their muscular strength through 1-repitition max testing, or 1-RMs.

For example, a person will do a 1-RM in the squat to test his or her strength in the leg muscles. This requires the lifter to do 1 complete rep of his or her maximum weight after warming up properly.

It’s important to have at least one qualified spotter when doing 1-RMs. Safety is always a priority!

3.) Muscular Endurance

If muscular strength involves maximal effort that muscles can exert, muscular endurance refers to the muscles’ ability to exert force through repeated contractions or an extended period of time.

Simply, how many times can you lift or hold a position before you get tired?

The more times we can lift an object or hold a position, the better muscular endurance we have.

As with muscular strength, we can develop muscular endurance with resistance training. The difference is less repetitions in strength, and more repetitions in endurance.

We can include isometric (i.e., holding) exercises like the plank to build endurance as well as some pilates and yoga poses.

4.) Flexibility

This refers to the ability of muscles to move a joint through their full range of motion.

Simply, how much can we stretch our muscles without it hurting and injuring ourselves?

The more we can stretch in a direction without pain, the more flexibility we have for that muscle.

We can build our flexibility through static stretching, or holding a stretch for an extended period of time (no more than 30 seconds). Yoga and mobility exercises can help, too!

On that note, we can work on flexibility daily without any issues. It doesn’t need to be for a long period of time, and 5 to 10 minutes would be great!

5.) Body Composition

The last component of fitness refers to the relationship between fat mass (e.g., fat tissue) and fat-free mass (e.g., bones, muscles, and organs). Body composition considers the ratio of body weight that is made of up between these two factors.

Simply, what is the percentage of fat tissue to everything else in the body?

The lower the percentage of fat tissue to everything else, the healthier body composition we have.

However, this isn’t to say we need a low body fat percentage to be healthy. On the contrary, we need a healthy amount of fat in our bodies to protect our organs and keep us warm when it’s cold.

Having a well-balanced diet and engaging in regular physical activity can help with establishing and maintaining healthy body composition.

In the end, it’s about finding a balance that works for us. We may not need to measure or determine our exact body composition, but we can always strive to be healthier versions of ourselves!

Summary

Like I said, I think everyone knows or have heard these components before, but it’s not something people think about daily.

Knowing these components of fitness can give us an idea of how to improve our health and quality of living. Each have their own benefits, and each work together to promote a healthy lifestyle.

It’d be important to try to incorporate and/or consider them in our lives.

Side note, the 5 best exercises for fitness I mention in another post can help muscular strength, muscular endurance, and body composition. They can work on 3 of the 5 components of fitness, which another reason they’re great! (not sponsored by Frosted Flakes)

The definitions for the components were received from the physical activity guidelines. Feel free to check out the source for more information; they details for each age group as well.

Remember to check with a medical provider before starting a new exercise program and/or making life-changing decisions on health and fitness.

I hope this was helpful!

— Alex, M.S.

Source

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (2018). 2018 Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans. 2nd ed. Washington, DC: U.S. Dept of Health and Human Services.