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Okay, September has arrived and we're back
from our vacations, back to work, school and oh yes, back to the gym I
hope. Since we're getting back into our routines, let's gear up this
week for exercise by first discussing our fitness level. We'll begin
by reviewing the components of fitness so that we can decide which
areas we need to improve and focus on most. Then we can set about designing a
well rounded routine. But what exactly does being fit mean? Fitness has several
components, and when we increase our fitness, let's not forget that we
increase our health too!
The Components of Fitness:
Cardiovascular Fitness:
This can be estimated by a submaximal-stress test at our local gym, or
measured by a stress test in a doctors office. It determines how efficiently our
lungs and heart deliver oxygen to the cells of our body. The higher the
efficiency, the more workload we can produce. Example, we can walk up a flight
of stairs without losing our breath, or without our legs getting tired? Can't?
Most likely, if we can't, our fitness level isn't as high as someone who can.
Another indicator is having a low resting heart rate, and normal blood pressure.
Usually after participating in an aerobic exercise program regularly, we can
more easily walk up stairs, and our resting heart rate and blood pressure
lowers.
Body Composition: This
correlates to healthy lean weight vs. unhealthy fatty tissue weight. How much
body fat do we have versus lean mass. Dieticians use another measurement to
determine the fat/health connection called BMI. Most of us already know that the
higher our weight goes above the desired range, the higher our "risk for
disease" connection becomes.
Strength: How strong are
we? Strength is an important component to our health also. Strong muscles not
only help us in our daily activities, but they help us to keep our bones and
joints functioning without pain and injury. Our strength levels are usually
measured by how much resistance or weight can we lift. Another type of strength
that is a component of fitness is muscular endurance. It
is equally important to be able to lift our bag of groceries, as it is to be
able to carry them for a few blocks (at least a block or up a
flight of those stairs?). Muscular endurance is our body's ability to
produce workload. Not just a single effort.
Flexibility: How
flexible are we? While we shouldn't expect to bring our toes of one leg to our
ears while standing like a ballerina, it is important to be able to bend and
lift an object without straining our back and hamstrings and other body parts.
Each joint of our body along with its muscles has a "range of
motion" which allows us to move the way our bodies are meant to, pain and
injury free, that is.
These are the major components of fitness. They each have an important
connection to our health and healthy living aside from just being in shape. They
are all an important part of an exercise program.
Do we see any area of fitness that needs more of our attention? Now's the
time to review our needs and pick a place to begin! And what could be a better
time to start than now, with a new season beginning.
Here's to being fit and healthy!
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