Fitness

Physical fitness! For an overview of Definitions see Health, Fitness, and Physical Activity at the President’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports website.

One widely published definition is "a set of attributes that people have or achieve that relates to the ability to perform physical activity" (USDHHS, 1996). In other words, it is more than being able to run a long distance or lift a lot of weight at the gym. Being fit is not defined only by what kind of activity you do, how long you do it, or at what level of intensity. While these are important measures of fitness, they only address single areas.

Overall, fitness has five main components:

Cardiorespiratory endurance
This is attained mainly through aerobic exercise or physical activities that cause a faster heart beat, deeper and more rapid breathing, and sweating. Examples are brisk walking, jogging, and dancing

Muscular strength
Strength training against increasing resistance

Muscular endurance
Repeated movements against a lower resistance

Body composition
Attained through aerobic exercise, strength training or muscular endurance often combined with a change in diet

Flexibility
This is attained through activities that stretch the joints through their widest range of movement, such as yoga and Pilates.

For more information on fitness see the Centers For Disease Control and Prevention page on physical fitness, and the American College of Sports Medicine site and physical activity posting at this website.