Physical Fitness Definition, Components & Exercises

Physical Fitness Definition, Components & Exercises

"the ability of your body systems to work together efficiently, or with the least effort possible, to allow you to be healthy and perform activities of daily living."

"one's ability to execute daily activities with optimal performance, endurance, and strength with the management of disease, fatigue, and stress and reduced sedentary behavior."

​According to Medical News Today:

What is Physical Fitness?

​According to Human Kinetics:

In short, physical fitness is essential as it is the ability to execute daily activities with ease. It is essentially a way to improve and maintain the quality of everyday life and good health and longevity. Once maintained, physical fitness has been found to be correlated with stress, and anxiety reduction, mood improvement, prevention, and management of diseases, including type 2 diabetes mellitus, hypertension, or high blood pressure, coronary heart diseases, and even help with slowing the progression of neurodegenerative disorders, such as Alzheimer's Disease.

What is Physical Fitness? (cont.)

Multiple Select

Physical fitness has been found to help with which of the following?

• Stress

• High blood pressure

• Slowing the progression of Alzheimer's

• Anxiety reduction

Aerobic Excercise

Aerobic exercise is the practice of activity that increases the body's demand for oxygen, resulting in a marked temporary increase in respiration and heart rate. Aerobic activities usually take more time from low to moderate intensity. Common examples include running, dancing, biking, swimming, and jump-roping. Habitual aerobic exercise will improve the physical fitness component of cardiorespiratory endurance and aid in pumping more blood in less heart beats.

Multiple Select

Choose all that describe aerobic exercise.

• A type of exercise that uses oxygen to meet energy demands.

• Improves cardiovascular endurance.

• A type of exercise that doesn't use oxygen.

• Improves muscle endurance.

Anaerobic Excercise

Anaerobic exercise is the activity that results in the body incurring an oxygen debt which includes a wide range of exercises, such as pilates, resistance or weight training, and high-intensity interval training (HIIT). Continuous anaerobic exercise will improve the physical fitness component of muscle endurance. This type of exercise will also improve bone mineral density, which is good for preventing or reversing the effects of a progressive bone disease called osteoporosis.

Multiple Select

Choose all that describe anaerobic exercise.

• A type of exercise that uses oxygen to meet energy demands.

• Improves cardiovascular endurance.

• A type of exercise that doesn't use oxygen.

• Improves muscle endurance.

What is exercise? According to Britannica Encyclopedia, exercise is: "the training of the body to improve its function and enhance its fitness." It is a structured type of body training, and the different kinds of exercise develop different components of physical fitness. The types of exercise include aerobic, anaerobic, and stretching. Therefore, the overall physical fitness of an individual is highly unlikely to be developed with the practice of just one type of exercise.

It can be said that physical fitness is attained and maintained if exercise is performed regularly. In order to have overall physical fitness, all types of exercise should be included in the exercise habits of an individual.

Different Types of Exercise & Fitness

Multiple Choice

Finish the following statement:

In order to have overall physical fitness, ...

• ... all types of exercise should be included in the exercise habits of an individual.

• ... only aerobic exercise should be included in the exercise habits of an individual.

• ... only anaerobic exercise should be included in the exercise habits of an individual.

• ... only stretching should be included in the exercise habits of an individual.

5 Components of Physical Fitness:

​1. Cardiorespiratory Endurance

This component is the capacity for the body's heart, lungs, muscles, and tissues to expend energy by using oxygen to function and expelling carbon dioxide without tiring. This oxygen and carbon dioxide exchange occur in the cardiorespiratory system, or the heart and the lungs. This activity at maximal oxygen intake measures cardiorespiratory endurance. By some, this term is used interchangeably with physical or aerobic fitness. It is needed to be able to travel by foot between locations, dance, and run.

Multiple Select

Select all of the following that describe cardiorespiratory endurance.

• The capacity for the body's heart, lungs, muscles, and tissues to expend energy by using oxygen to function and expelling carbon dioxide without tiring.

• This oxygen and carbon dioxide exchange occur in the excretory system, or the kidneys and bladder.

• The capacity for the body's skeletal system to expend energy by using oxygen to function and expelling carbon dioxide without tiring.

• This oxygen and carbon dioxide exchange occur in the cardiorespiratory system, or the heart and the lungs.

5 Components of Physical Fitness:

​2. Muscle Strength

Skeletal muscles in the body help maintain good posture, prevent injuries, and provides the strength needed to perform anything from routine tasks, such as carrying grocery bags or sitting up from a chair to carrying or lifting weighty objects. The more muscular strength an individual has, the greater the physical capacity will be to lift or move heavier objects. Limitations in muscular strength will be noticeable in daily life since it impacts every movement.

Multiple Select

Select all of the following that describe muscular strength.

• Helps maintain good posture

• Prevents injuries

• Provides the strength needed to perform anything from routine tasks.

  (E.g., carrying grocery bags, sitting up from a chair, carrying/lifting weighty objects, etc.)

• Improves endurance for how long you can exercise for.

5 Components of Physical Fitness:

​3. Muscle Endurance

Muscular endurance is described as: "the ability of a muscle or group of muscles to exert force for extended periods of time." Cardiorespiratory and muscular components of physical fitness can be measured by endurance. It is essentially the ability to perform without tiring or giving up.

Multiple Choice

Describe muscular endurance.

• The ability of a muscle or group of muscles to exert force for extended periods of time.

• The ability of a muscle or group of muscles to exert force for short periods of time.

• The ability of your heart to pump blood oxygen to the lungs.

• The ability to hold your breath for extended periods of time.

5 Components of Physical Fitness:

​4. Flexibility

This is described as the range of motion available by the joints in the body. This key fitness component will protect against spontaneous injuries and joint or muscular pain. A lack of flexibility will also limit performance and affect the quality of everyday life.

Multiple Select

Choose the correct descriptions of flexibility.

• The ability for joints to move through a range of motion.

• Can decrease the risk of injury.

• The ability for muscles to move through a range of motion.

• Can increase the risk of injury.

5 Components of Physical Fitness:

​5. Body Composition

In the world of physical fitness, body composition is the term that defines the ratio between total body fat and total fat-free mass in the body. Fat-free mass in the body includes bone, organs, tendons, ligaments, and muscle mass. It is a characteristic that reflects the individual's level of physical fitness. Body composition is affected by exercise habits and is also affected by diet. A lack of physical fitness and exercising will ultimately lead to a body composition that reflects a ratio of higher body fat to fat-free mass. An increase in fat occurs when muscle atrophies due to the lack of exercise, while an increase in fat-free mass occurs when muscle hypertrophies due to continuous resistance training.

Multiple Select

Fat-free mass includes which of the following?

• Organs

• Bones

• Tendons & ligaments

• Adipose tissue

5 Components of Physical Fitness:

​5. Body Composition (cont.)

Both aerobic and anaerobic exercises will improve body composition, decreasing the ratio of fat to fat-free mass. Because aerobic exercise will expend more energy, caloric deficits will decrease the amount of fat in the body. Continuous aerobic exercise may also affect physiologic traits, such as younger-looking skin. Anaerobic exercises, such as resistance training, will increase the amount of fat-free mass, or in this case, muscle, and decrease the ratio that way.

Multiple Choice

Choose the best definition of body composition.

• The proportion of fat versus fat-free mass.

• The amount of fat in the body.

• The amount of muscle in the body.

• Your weight.

Lesson Summary

Physical fitness is the ability to carry out daily tasks and routine physical activities without fatigue. It is essential to a good quality of life and can be developed and maintained through the continuous habit of frequent and multi-faceted exercise. Physical fitness has different components: cardiorespiratory endurance, muscle endurance, and flexibility. Each of these can be targeted with specific types of exercise. The best type of exercise to improve cardiorespiratory endurance is aerobic exercise. The best exercise to improve muscle endurance, or the ability of a muscle or group of muscles to exert force for extended periods, is anaerobic exercise. The best exercise to improve flexibility to reduce future risks of injury and improve range of motion is stretching. Overall physical fitness, maintained by exercising, and a healthy diet, will improve body composition. Body composition is the proportion, or ratio, of fat versus fat-free mass. A lower ratio will indicate less fat than fat-free mass and healthier physical fitness.

Multiple Choice

Which is NOT a component of physical fitness?

• Height & weight

• Flexibility

• Muscle strength

• Cardiovascular endurance