Maintaining physical fitness is an important part of promoting optimal general health. “Madam.net” informs the readers about the elements of physical fitness and its importance in the following lines:
Elements of fitness and its importance
There are four essential components of physical fitness: cardio-respiratory endurance, muscular strength, flexibility, and maintaining a healthy body composition. Incorporating a range of activities into your regular routine helps balance the four elements.
1. Heart and lung stamina
Cardio-respiratory endurance is built with aerobic exercise, which includes activities that increase heart rate and breathing such as walking, jogging or cycling. Moderate and regular aerobic activity—about thirty minutes five days a week—helps the body deliver oxygen more efficiently, strengthening the heart and lungs and reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease. Strengthening the heart muscle and increasing the volume of blood it pumps enhances the ability to supply the body’s cells with oxygen and nutrients to remove carbon dioxide and metabolic waste. It is also an excellent way to maintain a healthy weight.
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2. Muscle strength
Muscle strength is developed and maintained by weight or resistance exercises (anaerobic exercise). Anaerobic exercise consists of short-term, high-intensity movements that rely on energy sources and little oxygen. Building muscle strength and endurance is not an exclusive goal for athletes and bodybuilders, but rather important for everyone of all ages.
Strength training involves the use of resistance machines, resistance bands, free weights, or other tools. You can use homemade weights, such as plastic bottles filled with sand, or use your body weight and perform push-ups, leg squats, abdominal exercises and other muscle-building exercises. Doing strength training exercises at least twice a week helps improve muscle strength and increase bone strength. As well as managing health conditions such as diabetes, arthritis, dementia, high blood pressure and many more. Strength training can also help maintain muscle mass during a weight loss program.
3. Flexibility
Flexibility is the range of motion available to joints. Yoga, Pilates and stretching improve the component of fitness. Stretching not only improves your range of motion but also promotes better posture and helps you perform activities that may require more flexibility, such as housework. In addition to working on flexibility, seniors should include balance exercises in their regular routine. The ability to balance declines with age, which can lead to falls and fractures.
Read more: The importance of resistance exercises for women
4. Healthy body composition
Body composition is the percentage of fat and lean mass (which includes bones, muscles, and organs). A healthy and fit person has more muscle and less fat than a lowly fit person of the same weight. Although regular physical activity can promote a healthier body, other factors such as age, genetics, and diet contribute to an individual’s body composition.
The benefits of physical activity
Regular physical activity plays a role in promoting optimal overall health. People who get 150 minutes of physical activity a week have a 33% lower risk of dying early than people who are inactive.
A note from “Madam.net”: Before applying this recipe or this treatment, consult a specialist doctor.
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