LOVE. TRUTH. LIGHT: Fitness: Key To A Healthier Life

Introduction

Ask a couple of persons what they wish to achieve from working out, and the first word to roll off their lips will be “to be fit”. That’s not a surprise, as everyone will agree that fitness is synonymous with being healthy. There’s some truth to that claim as research has shown that those who have a high level of fitness are less likely to develop chronic cardiac conditions, and are better when it comes to coping with disease conditions. Also, they have a higher chance of being healthier as they advance in age.

To put this in simple terms, our body performs at a higher level when we are fit. Fitness isn’t something that is described by physical looks. It’s important to note that there is no singular way to be fit; a ballet dancer can be said to be fit and a body builder can say to be fit too, same can be said about a sprinter and a footballer. A person’s physical appearance can’t necessarily tell you if the person is fit or not.

What is Fitness?

Fitness has been defined in a number of ways over the years. For a start, according to the Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans as developed by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Sciences (H.H.S), physical fitness is made up of five components;

Cardiorespiratory fitness: This is your body’s ability to uptake oxygen and utilize it.
Musculoskeletal fitness: This includes muscle strength, endurance, and power
Flexibility: This is concerned with the range of motion in your joints.
Balance: This is your ability to stay on your feet and be steady.
Speed: This is how fast you move.
Body Composition: This is the amount of fat on the body compared to other tissues of the body such as muscles, bones, and skin.

In some quarters, physical fitness is defined as a set of attributes that people have or achieve that determines their ability to carry out daily tasks with vigor and alertness, without undue fatigue. A simpler definition states fitness as function exists, and says that fitness is simply your ability to perform daily activities without feeling like you are under strain.

Types of Fitness

There are commonly known types of fitness, but we focus on the 3 most widely known type of fitness for the sake of this article

Types of fitness include;

Aerobic fitness: Aerobic fitness exercises are designed to strengthen both the heart and lungs. The intent of a good aerobic exercise is to increase the amount of oxygen uptake and making sure there’s an increased amount available to the muscles. A beneficial aerobic exercise raises heart rate and keeps it elevated over a period of time, for over twenty minutes or more. At the end, the heart and lung’s ability to provide more oxygen significantly improves.
Muscle Strengthening: Stronger muscles can help you in two different ways; it can help you lift heavier weights or have higher endurance for lifting. The endurance part means you have the ability to remain active for longer period of time. To achieve, muscular fitness, you should engage in more muscle strengthening exercises. Exercises that improve muscle strengthening include weight lifting, resistance training, or simple exercises such as push-ups or sit-ups.
Flexibility: This is how far a muscle group can be moved from a joint without pain or risk of injury. Increased flexibility is achieved by stretching the muscles of the body.

It’s important to note that you have to be well rounded in all types of fitness before you can claim to be fully fit. So, its ideal to carry out exercises that focuses on improving on all components of fitness to ensure you physically fit

The Role of Rest and Sleep in Fitness

To achieve peak physical fitness, you need to build rest and sleep days into your routine. Rest and sleep can help your muscles recover from the exertion and damage done to it during exercises. Exercise, by its very nature, puts stress on the body and muscles. The repair that occurs after each exercise is how you get fitter and stronger. However, for that to occur, you will have to give yourself adequate time to rest and heal.

You can either opt for a rest day that is comprised of no activity or one which is an active day but with low-intensity, low-impact form of exercise. The idea is to keep yourself from going over limits and doing extensive damage to your body.

Health Benefits of Being Fit

The health benefits of being fit are plentiful, and keeping them in mind can help you achieve your goals of staying healthy. Some of these health benefits are that being fit help to prevent certain kind of diseases such as heart diseases, or some type of cancers. Health of benefits of being fit include;

Being fit helps to improve your mood.
Being fit helps you to sleep better
Being fit helps to promote long-term health
Being fit helps to better manage chronic diseases
Being fit helps to improve relationships

Conclusion

In conclusion, fitness is something that should be sought after if one wants to live a healthier life. Being fit helps to drastically improve your quality of life as it helps to improve your body image and perception of self. It should be noted that in trying to get fit, you shouldn’t seek a quick route to getting fit. Rather, a slow and structured approach is best as you slowly work up your fitness levels. It’s best you start from the minimum requirements before building from there.

You should also note that you aren’t in competition with anyone, and that physical fitness isn’t solely dependent on physical appearance. Let your exercises be at a pace you are comfortable with, and don’t forget your rest days, as they are important as the exercise routines, themselves. Fitness is the ability to function, and as long as you can do the simple things while still feeling light and not under strain, then you are on the right track to being fit.

References

Resistance Training for Health and Fitness. American College of Sports Medicine. 2013.
Kerksick CM, Arent S, Schoenfeld BJ, et al. International Society of Sports Nutrition Position Stand: Nutrient Timing. Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition. August 29, 2017.
Powers MB, Asmundson GJG, and Smits JAJ. Exercise for Mood and Anxiety Disorders: The State-of-the-Science. Cognitive Behaviour Therapy. 2015.
Schuch FB and Stubbs B. The Role of Exercise in Preventing and Treating Depression. Current Sports Medicine Reports. August 2019.
Dolezal BA, Neufeld EV, Boland DM, et al. Interrelationship Between Sleep and Exercise: a Systematic Review. Advanced in Preventive Medicine. March 26, 2017.