Just like the cockpit of a plane, your body is made up of components.
Image source Vision Aerie
In the previous post we discussed titled “What is Fitness?” we established that, in general terms, somebody to be fit means that a person is suitably qualified to fulfil a task that is related to their environment or lifestyle, and that fitness is a means of identifying how suitable a person is at fulfilling a given task.
In exercise specific terms fitness is sub divided into two groups:
1. Health related
2. Skill related
This post will describe in greater detail the 5 main components of health related fitness.
1. Muscular strength:
defined as the maximum force that can be generated within a muscle or group of muscles during a single maximal contraction. Strength is required to some degree in all sporting and lifestyle actions. Sports most associated with strength are gymnastics and weightlifting. These types of activities are anaerobic (do not require oxygen) in nature and of a high intensity.
2. Muscular endurance:
the ability of muscles to work for a prolonged period of time and avoid fatigue. The type of actions that test muscular endurance are usually of a whole body nature or at least a muscle group performed at a medium or high intensity for up to 5 minutes duration. A good example is that of a boxer training against a sparring partner in the ring, he/she uses their lower body and upper body muscles for balance and power generation. Also known as strength endurance.
3. Aerobic endurance:
the ability of the body to perform exercise for an extended period of time using oxygen to release energy to the muscles. The types of sporting activities where this fitness component is important are typified by their low intensity and extended duration, for example, marathons, long distance cycling and the triathlon. Aerobic endurance is also known as cardiovascular endurance.
4. Body composition:
is a term used to describe the physical make up of the body. This often means the amount of fat mass compared to fat free mass. Fat free mass comprises of bone, muscle, and connective tissue such as tendons and ligaments. It is an important component of fitness simply because different sports require different body compositions. A boxer is usually very muscular for strength purposes whereas an endurance athlete does not require muscle mass since this requires a greater body mass to carry over long running distances.
5. Flexibility:
is simply the range of movement at a joint. Flexibility is limited or determined by the elastic potential of the ligaments and tendons at the joint, the strength and volume of surrounding muscles and the shape of the bones at the joint. The type of joints also determines the range of movement as some joints are designed for stability and others for mobility.
The 5 components of fitness are very important in determining how to exercise for a specific sport. This is because each sport requires a different proportion from each of the components. As mentioned earlier a boxer is a completely different animal to a marathon runner that is different again to a swimmer.
The components should be considered in a continuous loop:
No single component is discrete, meaning that a boxer is not simply high with respect to muscular strength, he/she will require muscular endurance, a specific body composition, aerobic endurance, and flexibility in order to compete successfully.
