Components of Physical Fitness

component of fitness
Table of Contents

Physical fitness is amongst the core conditions of health that ensures the entire body system works well. The vital components of fitness are social, physical, mental and emotional health which aids in performing the daily work activities smoothly.

Keeping the components of physical fitness in mind will help one reach fitness goals. At Skale Fitness, the experts aid you to learn different skills by implementing the health-related fitness components effectively without feeling tired.

What is Physical Fitness?

Physical fitness is the condition which makes us feel, look, and do our best. It pertains to the efficient working of the entire body system, which allows us to remain healthy and perform our daily chores perfectly. Efficient, here refers to performing the daily activities with the least effort using the components of physical fitness.

In other words, physical fitness somewhat influences our emotional stability and mental alertness. We need to take measures like improving our diet, engaging in physical activities, and performing daily dose of exercise to remain physically fit. 

Types of Physical Fitness

The components of physical fitness depend upon its type. There are two types of physical fitness which are categorized as mentioned below:

  • Health-based physical fitness – These aspects prepare the body to work energetically on a daily basis like cardiorespiratory endurance, muscular strength, body fat composition, muscular endurance, and flexibility. 
  • Skill-related physical fitness – It helps one perform well in sports and other physical activities including agility, accuracy, power, reaction time and speed.

Health-Related Components of Physical Fitness

Building on specific components of physical fitness and wellness are vital for optimum performance in any activities like sports. The health-based physical fitness includes 

Cardiovascular Endurance

Cardiovascular endurance is one of the effective components of physical fitness to keep up active with exercises like jogging, swimming, cycling, running, and anything that forces the cardiovascular system to work for longer periods of time. 

Together, both the heart and lungs fuel your body with the required oxygen to make sure the muscles get the required oxygen for the work they are doing. The Cooper Run is a test which is commonly used to assess cardiovascular endurance, but most of the trainers use the Step Test. Both of these components of physical fitness are accurate measures of a subject’s cardiovascular endurance.

Body Fat Composition

Body fat composition is one of the most crucial components of physical fitness. The ratio of lean mass to the amount of fat on your body is considered here where lean mass to the total body mass of muscles, bones, and organs. 

These health-related fitness components of physical fitness are known as the Body Mass Index or the BMI to analyse your physical fitness. The average man tends to have about 18 – 24% body fat while the average woman has about 25 – 31% body fat. Also, high composition of fat will increase the risk of heart disease and other heart related complications. 

Muscular Strength

Muscular strength is one of the best components of physical fitness because it counts the maximum amount of force a muscle can produce. It is also known as the power to aid you in carrying or lifting heavy objects in a single go. Some of the resistance training like weightlifting, bodyweight exercises and resistance band exercises help improve muscle strength.

Cycling, climbing hills and running are also better ways to enhance muscle strength in these health-related components of physical fitness. You can test your muscular strength in max one rep because without muscular strength, your body may become weak and also you need it to improve muscle strength to burn fat or calories and promote physical fitness.

Muscular Endurance

Muscular endurance is the ability of the muscles to help them perform activities for extended periods of time without feeling fatigued. These components of physical fitness involve multiple repetitions of any exercise be it the resistance training, enhancing cardiovascular endurance and weight training.

Here in these health-related components of physical fitness, rather than just carrying or lifting something for a few seconds, the muscles are used for minutes because it can gradually train the muscle fibres from working with lighter weight to train the muscle fibres for higher rep ranges leading to a longer period of exercise.

Flexibility

Flexibility is amongst the most overlooked components of physical fitness. Without flexibility, the joints and muscles would grow stiff and the chance of movement would be limited. Flexibility training makes sure that your body can move without pain or stiffness through its entire range of motion. 

To test this vital parameter and components of physical fitness, lean forward and try touching your toes. A good flexibility creates you a possibility to touch the toes, while a limited flexibility will not allow you to touch it. The sit and reach test are an alternate way to assess your flexibility, help your body to move to the fullest and reduce the risk of injury and improve athletic performance to directly impact your fitness.

Skill-related Components of Physical fitness

These skill-related components of physical fitness are considered to be the fitness modules relating to specific tasks, like sports and it also helps the athletes to improve in different areas like speed in football, balance in gymnastics, etc.

Agility 

These skill related components of physical fitness have the capacity to change direction quickly and effectively while maintaining body posture. It also helps you to acquire the skill of moving limbs, turning and pivoting quickly besides improving balance, enhancing mind-body coordination and flexibility besides recovery time.

Accuracy

Accuracy is the ability of the body to direct the body muscles and force it towards a particular direction. Both accuracy and agility are effective skill related components of physical fitness which help to enhance performances in jumping and throwing events like long jump, high jump and javelin throw. Concentration, meditation and consistent practice improves accuracy.

Power

Power is both the physical and skill-based components of physical fitness. It forces a muscle group to the maximum to apply in the shortest period. Also, power is the muscle’s ability to exert optimum force within a short span of time like running or swimming besides contributing directly to cardiovascular endurance.

Reaction Time

Reaction time being the skill-based components of physical fitness is referred to as the time taken to respond to an external stimulus. If the reaction time is lower, the skill would be better. Running on a treadmill at a full speed are some ways to improve reaction time.

Speed

Speed is one of the best skill-related components of physical fitness that directly links to agility. It refers to the movement of lower and upper limbs on the ground fast, like grabbing, throwing, or pulling objects. The speed training exercise can be vital for athletes and for people who handle heavy objects.

However, Skale Fitness will aid you to reach your fitness goals by keeping these components of physical fitness in mind. All you have to do is incorporate these skills into your daily fitness routine to boost your physical and mental health. Moreover, you can also learn these different skills effectively without feeling exhausted.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the 5 major components of physical fitness?

The five components of physical fitness are:
1. Cardiovascular endurance 
2. Muscular strength
3. Muscular endurance 
4. Flexibility 
5. Body composition
These components work together to improve overall health and physical fitness involving the heart and lung health, supports functional movement and injury prevention besides increasing the range of motion and reduces risk of injury. 

What are the 12 different fitness components? 

The 12 different components of physical fitness are:

1. Agility
2. Balance
3. Coordination
4. Power
5. Reaction time
6. Speed
7. Cardiovascular endurance
8. Muscular endurance
9. Muscular strength
10. Flexibility
11. Body composition
12. Accuracy

These components are used in various sports and activities, and can be developed through targeted training. You can ask your physical trainer for a customized physical fitness program that comprises these components for your health.

What is the meaning of physical fitness and its components? 

Physical fitness refers to the ability to perform daily tasks and activities without undue fatigue. The components of physical fitness include cardiovascular endurance, muscular strength and endurance, flexibility, body composition, and other elements like agility, coordination, power, and speed. These components work together to improve overall health and wellness.

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