Discover 9 Components of Physical Fitness and Health Tips

Sustaining physical fitness is the need of time, especially when staying healthy has become challenging. To stay fit you at least have to engage in physical activities concerned with daily energy expenditure. Physical activities can be in the form of occupational, household, and sports activities. However, it is through proper exercising that physical fitness can be maintained. Know more about what is physical fitness, its components, and more from the article. 

What is physical fitness?

Physical fitness is the maximum utility of your body’s energy in the form of performing physical skills, exercises, or other engagements. Having physical fitness is similar to fine-tuning a machine body. So, you can perform any task with maximum potential when you have physical fitness. 

Having such fitness involves the coordinated performance of the lungs, heart, muscles, and entire body. Now that you know what is physical fitness, check out the physical fitness components too. 

9 Components of Physical Fitness

It’s not easy to define and test fitness. Maybe if you know what components of physical fitness can help to understand the concept clearly. Remember all these 8 components of physical fitness have different criteria for assessment and unique training methods. These eight components are further subdivided into health and skill-related physical fitness. 

1. Cardiovascular Endurance 

When you wish to test someone on how fit they are, the first thing that pops even in a layman’s mind is cardio endurance. It is believed that cardiovascular fitness in a way determines the overall fitness of an individual. However, such claims can be debatable because such endurance only comprises nearly 10-12% of fitness. 

To improve in this area of the physical fitness components, you have to run regularly for long distances. In a gym, at least a 2 km time run will help to build fitness. 

2. Muscle Strength 

The next in physical fitness and its components row would include the test of muscle strength. By Muscle strength, one measures the maximum amount of force a muscle can produce while performing a task. When you think of lifting a bulky item in a single go, then your muscle strength is aptly tested. Muscle strength among the physical fitness components can be built by resistance training in the form of weightlifting exercises. 

That does not mean it is only through bodyweight exercises that improve muscle strength. Other types of workouts or exercises like cycling, rock climbing, etc are excellent means for muscle fitness. 

3. Strength Endurance 

If anyone asks what physical fitness composition is regarding strength-building then it’s not complete without endurance. Though similar to strength, it also involves the ability of the muscle to contract the muscle for a prolonged time. His or her strength endurance is measured in a soccer match for example when he continuously tries to tackle the ball from reaching the goal. 

Try grouping exercises like Met-Con workouts or supersets for testing strength endurance. 

4. Muscle Endurance 

Unlike, muscle strength building where a lot of the important part includes improving the muscle strength capacity. In the case of muscular endurance, your muscles don’t feel fatigued after heavy exercises and workouts. So, to improve your endurance ability, you have to practice multi-repeating exercises and cardiovascular-enhancing exercises.

5. Flexibility 

Flexibility at most times gets ignored but is one of the most significant components of physical fitness. Why flexibility, because rigid or inflexible joints resist one from swift movement. When you train your body with flexible workouts, your body gets enabled to outperform any activity in the fullest motion without any pain. 

Your flexibility has reached its maximum point when you can reach the extended range of motion without any damage to the tissues. To stay flexible, try to perform exercises that lengthen your muscles through dynamic stretches and myofascial release. The best exercise is the sit-and-reach exercise. 

6. Power 

You have the needed power when you can carry out any activity that requires strength but with more speed. So, to technically put in power as one of the components of physical fitness is the ability to exert max muscular contraction with frequent movements. 

To have power, all you need is to work out on the fast-twitch muscle fibers,  in such a way that contracts muscle with force. You require maximal power in long jumps or for barbell clean and jerk. 

7. Balance 

What are physical fitness components truly are with lack of balance? When you have the right balance of both a moving and static posture, you are capable of any activity. To achieve excellence in balancing, take challenging exercises such as single-leg deadlifts to free the stabilizing muscles. Balancing workouts is simple but helps a lot in managing between stationary and moving exercises. While hitting the gym, attempt different levels of squats using the Bosu ball. 

8. Agility 

Agility is measured while performing extreme power movements repeatedly in opposite directions. The most accurate example of knowing agility as a major physical fitness component can be side-stepping during rugby or soccer turn-ins. You can perform exercises like suicide drills to improve your agility. Being pro at agility means strengthening the muscles around your hip joints and knee so you can perfectly perform the band walks. If you are a regular visitor at the gym, practice the T-Test there. 

9. Coordination 

You may be muscular and hold a lot of strength but that does not mean you are good in all components of physical fitness. It’s about the coordination of all your senses while performing motor activities. Like while tackling a rugby ball keeping the senses of hearing and sight on. To assess your coordination, do the alternate hand wall toss test. 

What are the Key Components of Fitness? 

Other than skill and health-related components which will be discussed below, mental fitness or metabolic fitness also determines overall healthiness. Metabolic components of physical fitness include- 

1. Blood Pressure

For assessing physical fitness, recording the heartbeat, and blood volume level free from obstruction determines fitness. In this case, use the sphygmomanometer and stethoscope to record the BP. The normal range is 120/80.

2. Blood Insulin

A blood insulin test is essential to check the blood glucose level. The normal glucose level while fasting is 5 to 20 ml. If it falls below the range, you may have type 1 diabetes and more than that type 2 diabetes. 

3. Pulse rate

Keeping a record of the pulse rate is equally essential as keeping a record of the pulse rate. It is the number of thriving sensations over the peripheral artery at the time the heart beats. The normal pulse rate range includes 60-100 pulses per sixty seconds.

Health-Related Components of Physical Fitness 

Now that you know, how many components of physical fitness are there, learn about the health components. 

There are five essential health-related components including flexibility; muscle strength; muscle endurance; cardiorespiratory endurance and body composition. Body composition is determined by calculating the percentages of fat, water, and bone in an individual body. The key to maintaining health-related components is actively performing aerobic activities. 

What are aerobic activities? 

Aerobic exercises are those strength and stretching exercises that help in burning calories and achieving healthy body composition. Aerobic exercises should be performed for 10 minutes straight regularly for a week. An adult should begin those exercises from a moderate to vigorous level. 

The Moderate intensity aerobic activities include- 

• Playing tennis or badminton. 
• Water aerobics 
• Botanics or gardening. 
• Bicycling. 

The vigorous intensity aerobic exercises include- 

• jumping rope 
• Swimming laps 
• Aerobic dancing etc. 

Other exercises for health-related components of physical fitness are: hiking up hills with a backpack, stretching for 10-20 minutes straight, etc. 

Skill-Related Fitness Components

While the health-related components of physical fitness concern more concerned with staying healthy. The skill-related fitness components are about skill enhancement while performing in a sports event. 

What are the Key Components of Fitness for Skill Enhancement? 

• Agility often is a kind of reflexive reaction which is also the ability to control or alter the position of the body within a constant rapid motion. When hitting a soccer ball, then a sudden change in direction
• Coordination is the collective response of the senses and the body parts while in any movement. For instance, tackling a soccer ball or basketball dribbling.
• Balance is a way of establishing the body when an individual is moving or standing. Like in-line skating. It is a way of balancing between static or moving exercises.
• Power is a much-needed factor requiring maximum strength of the muscles when moving the body parts for any heavy activity. When a player in a volleyball match gets up to the net by lifting their body higher into the air. 
• Speed is your body’s ability to move any part swiftly as soon as possible. Often a player through skill enhancement through extra speed gets the brownie point over heavy strengthful actions in a football or basketball tournament. 
• Reaction Time is the skillful ability to respond quickly to what is happening near you. Based on momentary time, the reflexive action of a player is determined in a match. For example, a player runs with a block and handles another player in a relay race. 

Tips for Health and Related Physical Fitness Exercises 

While health-related fitness exercises mainly focus on muscle strengthening, skill-related exercises are mastering motor exercises. Follow the significant tips- 

• Strength training must be at least twenty minutes daily and thrice weekly to overcome fatigue.
• Practice from low-intensity to vigorous workouts. It is important to perform low-intensity physical activities like walking and cardio before weight lifting.
• Warm up and then cool down for efficient exercises. First, do careful warm-ups and cool down through light exercises. 
• Work on your concentration ability. For better coordination or to lessen the reactive time, you must have better concentration. 
• Repeat a skill over and over. When you dribble a ball, consistently perform the task with better results than the earlier one.

Conclusion 

In the above article, what is physical fitness, its 8 components, and types of physical fitness are discussed. To achieve better fitness, you should participate in different sports and regular exercises. As said correctly, a physically fit body will soon reflect and contribute to mental well-being.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) On 9 Components of Physical Fitness