What Is Physical Fitness

What does fitness means?

Fitness is not about being thin, having a small waist, or having bulging muscles. It is a combination of qualities that enable us to be at our full potential in performing vigorous physical activities. It also means having the energy and strength to feel as good as possible. Getting more fit, even a little bit, can improve your health.

You don't have to be an athlete to be fit. Athletes reach a very high level of fitness. And people who take brisk half-hour walks every day reach a good level of fitness. Even people who can't do that much can work toward some level of fitness that helps them feel better and have more energy.

Physical Fitness involves the performance of the heart, lungs, and the muscles of the body. Specifically, it takes into account our Cardio Respiratory Endurance, Muscular Strength, Muscular Endurance, and Flexibility. To some extent, Fitness also influences our mental and emotional development since what we do with our bodies also affects what we can do with our minds.

Although Physical Fitness and good health influences each other, they are not the same. Healthy people could be physically unfit due to lack of exercise. On the other hand, Physically Fit people perform their everyday tasks effortlessly.

What are the benefits of fitness?

Fitness helps you feel better and have more energy for work and leisure time. You'll feel more able to do things like playing with your kids, gardening, dancing, or biking. Children and teens who are fit may have more energy and better focus at school.

When you stay active and fit, you burn more calories, even when you're at rest. Being fit lets you do more physical activity. And it lets you exercise harder without as much work. It can also help manage weight.

Fitness is good for your heart, lungs, bones, and joints. And it lowers your risk for heart attack, diabetes, high blood pressure, and some cancers. It also can help you to sleep better, handle stress better, and keep your mind sharp.
How much physical activity do you need for health-related fitness?

To improve your health, it’s important to make physical activity part of your daily life.

One way is to get moderate activity, like brisk walking, for at least 2½ hours a week.

Or you can do vigorous exercise, like running, for at least 1¼ hours a week. This activity makes you breathe harder and have a much faster heartbeat than at rest.

Experts recommend that teens and children (starting at age 6) do moderate to vigorous activity at least 1 hour every day.

Here’s how you can tell if an activity or exercise is making you work hard enough.

If you can't talk while you do it, you're working too hard. You're at the right level if you can talk but not sing during the activity.
What types of physical activity improve fitness?

The activities you choose depend on which kind of fitness you want to improve. There are three different kinds of fitness:

• Flexibility is the ability to move your joints and muscles through their full range of motion. Stretching is an exercise that helps you to be more flexible.
• Aerobic fitness means increasing how well your body uses oxygen. This depends on the condition of your heart, lungs, and muscles. Any activity that raises your heart rate, such as walking or running, can improve aerobic fitness.
• Muscle fitness means building stronger muscles and increasing how long you can use them (called endurance). Activities like weight lifting or push-ups can improve your muscular fitness.

(extracted from webmd.com)