Who is physically fit?
Health-related physical fitness refers to a person’s ability to perform everyday tasks and activities with energy, vigor, and alertness. This is an important part of good health, and being fit can help protect against many diseases and other health problems, including heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes, osteoporosis, depression, dementia, and certain types of cancer.
The five components of health-related physical fitness include cardiorespiratory endurance, muscular strength, muscular endurance, flexibility, and body composition.
Cardiorespiratory endurance (also called aerobic capacity) is the ability of the heart and lungs to supply oxygen and fuel to the body during prolonged activity. Examples of cardiovascular endurance exercises include jogging, running, swimming and cycling.
Muscular strength refers to the amount of force or heavy weights a person can exert. It can be measured with a bench press or sprint test, for example.
Increasing muscle strength can increase your ability to do daily tasks and activities, which can help you maintain healthy weight and reduce your risk of chronic disease. It can also increase your ability to participate in sports and other activities, which can also improve your quality of life.
Stretching is a type of exercise that involves moving a joint through its full range of motion. It can be used to help relieve back pain and reduce muscle soreness.
Body composition is the percentage of the body composed of lean tissue, like muscle, bone and fluids, versus fat tissue. It can be affected by changes in body weight, diet, and other factors, such as how much physical activity a person does.