

Strength training is an important way to improve mobility and overall functioning, particularly as you get older. “As you age, you lose muscle mass, which can have a significant impact on the quality of life. Also called cardiovascular exercise or cardio, this type of physical activity increases your heart rate and breathing rate, which improves your cardiorespiratory fitness, according to the American Heart Association.Īerobic exercise includes activities like brisk walking, running, cycling, swimming, aerobic fitness classes (like kickboxing), tennis, dancing, yard work, tennis, and jumping rope, per the Physical Activity Guidelines.

(It’s worth noting that many definitions of fitness include other components as well, such as endurance, muscular endurance, power, speed, balance, and agility - as mentioned above.)Īerobic exercise is the foundation of every fitness program - and for good reason. Below, you will find the ones included in the Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans, which HHS highlights as the components that should be included in weekly exercise. There are a few main components of fitness, all of which are important for building a well-rounded exercise routine. For example, can you carry your groceries or walk up the stairs without getting winded? Can you run around the backyard with your kids? Can you climb the stairs? In the real world, fitness translates to function, says Dr. Cardiorespiratory endurance, muscular endurance, muscular strength, body composition, and flexibility are components that can be used to measure fitness, also according to that paper.

It’s your body’s ability to uptake and utilize oxygen (which feeds all of your tissues), something that is directly related to your health and quality of life, says Abbie Smith-Ryan, PhD, professor and director of the Applied Physiology Laboratory at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill. Cardiorespiratory Fitness Your VO2 max is a commonly used measure of this.Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), there are five components of physical fitness: According to the Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans set forth by the U.S.
