Fitness is more than just sweating at the gym or sculpting your muscles. It’s a way of life that can help you reduce your risk of chronic diseases.
Improved Fitness can also help you feel better about yourself and boost your mood. It’s a great feeling that can last all day! Contact Alta Climbing & Fitness now!
Strength is a common measure of fitness and can be improved by weight training, power exercises, and other types of strength-building exercise. Strength is a combination of movement skill, muscle mass, and neural firing rate (rate coding). Movement skill refers to the ability to perform a movement properly, such as lifting a heavy object. Muscle mass is the amount of muscle fibres you have, which directly impacts your strength. In untrained muscles, muscle fibres fire asynchronously and can be fatigued easily. Training causes them to fire in a coordinated manner, increasing their strength output.
Athletes train for strength by gradually increasing the amount of weight they lift over time. This is known as progressive overload, and it is the key to achieving muscular endurance and increasing your 1 rep max, or how much you can lift for one repetition.
Another important factor in improving strength is eating the right types of food before and during workouts. Carbohydrates and protein are both important for energy, and it is recommended to consume a meal with a good balance of them before your workout. Creatine supplements can also be helpful for increasing strength.
In addition to physical strength, fitness also includes mental strength and resilience. Studies show that people who regularly exercise are less likely to suffer from chronic diseases and enjoy higher levels of mental well-being. This is due to the fact that exercise improves the body’s metabolism, reduces stress, and promotes better sleep and bone density.
Endurance
Endurance is the ability to perform physical activity over an extended period of time, such as running a marathon or biking long distances. It’s also essential for sports like football, triathlons or rowing that require bursts of high-intensity exercise followed by active recovery and continuing movement.
Fitness experts say the best way to improve endurance is to gradually put forth more physical effort over time. To start, aim to train for 150 minutes per week of exercise that makes you breathe hard and sweat, or roughly five hours total. Then, gradually increase that time and effort by no more than 10% each week to prevent injury or burnout.
Increasing your endurance can help you finish that 10k run without feeling winded, dance at a wedding without losing your steps or play catch with your kids for longer periods of time. It’s important for achieving everyday tasks, too, such as climbing the stairs without getting out of breath or hauling a full laundry basket into the basement.
Fitness professionals recommend balancing low- and moderate-intensity workouts with HIIT to build endurance. F45 trainer Rilwan ‘Ril’ Anibaba says that doing this type of training helps you “push your limits beyond your known capacity, which will open your mind to other areas in your life where you can go farther or succeed more than you thought possible.” Cardiovascular endurance can be tested by measuring how far you can run in a certain amount of time, while muscular endurance can be tested with tests such as the maximum push-up test for upper body and sit-up test for core.
Flexibility
Flexibility is the ability of your joints and soft tissues, such as muscles, tendons, and ligaments, to move through a wide range of motion without restriction or pain. It’s important to be flexible because it helps prevent injury and makes it easier for you to perform everyday activities like tying your shoes and reaching for items on the top shelf.
Flexibility can be improved by performing regular stretches. During stretching exercises, you lengthen the muscles in your body by gently pulling them to increase their range of motion and decreasing tension. Stretching can also help you improve your posture and reduce muscle tightness, which can cause stiffness and discomfort during physical straining activities such as exercising or playing sports.
There are different types of flexibility training, including static stretching, dynamic stretching, and plyometrics. Dynamic stretching is when you move your body through a range of motion, increasing the heart rate and blood flow to the muscles before exercise. While it’s important to be flexible, it’s also important to not overdo it or you could become too flexible and lose the strength in your muscles.
A lack of flexibility can lead to poor posture, which can cause back pain. It’s important to incorporate a combination of flexibility, cardiovascular, and strength training into your fitness routine for optimal health. This is particularly true if you participate in athletics, have a sedentary lifestyle, or are over 40.
Coordination
Coordination is the ability to use different body parts together smoothly and efficiently. This skill is critical for both daily functions—think walking by putting one foot in front of the other—and athletic endeavors, from playing sports to learning new skills. Studies have found that coordination is related to mental agility, so training it may help you think more quickly and make decisions on the fly.
For instance, catching a tennis ball or kicking a soccer ball requires coordination between the eyes and hands or feet. To master these types of movements, you must consciously decide where to move each part of your body and then make the appropriate motions. In the gym, this might mean doing an overhead press with two dumbbells in a straight line rather than making a circle or swivels.
While some people are naturally more coordinated than others, it’s not something you need to focus on exclusively in the gym, says Edmonton-based exercise physiologist and C.S.C.S. Dean Somerset. In fact, he recommends working coordination drills into your existing strength, cardio and flexibility routine, because improving those other components will also improve your overall coordination. He suggests incorporating a few quick, easy-to-do coordination drills into your warm-up or cool-down as well as interspersing them throughout your workout. Aim to complete the drills without stopping or slowing down. This will help reduce the risk of injury as you learn to incorporate these new movements into your regular routine.
Balance
Balance is the ability to keep your body upright, and it’s something that can be improved at any age. It involves a complex system of eye muscles, inner ears, nerves and strong yet flexible muscle groups. It’s a good idea to add balance exercises to your routine, as they can help you stay active and reduce your risk of falls that can lead to serious injury.
To perform a simple balance exercise, stand with your feet about shoulder width apart and your back straight. Slowly lift one leg to the side of your body and hold it for 10 seconds while working to maintain your balance. Repeat with the other leg to complete a single set.
Fitness is a personal term, and it’s up to you to define what health and wellness look like for you. By staying active, eating smart and focusing on your mental health, you can create a balanced life that will allow you to live out your passions. Just make sure to talk with your doctor before starting any new exercise program.
Mental Health
Mental health is a key component of overall wellness, and while it can be difficult to know when it is time for professional help, a routine that includes self-care is often recommended. Self-care can include many activities that promote positive mood and healthy sleep habits, including exercise.
Research suggests that psychiatric patients benefit from regular physical activity, and it can aid in attenuating certain psychotic symptoms as well as treating medical comorbidities such as obesity and diabetes in addition to improving their quality of life. Additionally, many people who suffer from mental illness find that exercising boosts their mood, improves their ability to sleep and reduces negative thoughts.
The benefits of fitness are vast and regularly discussed, from boosting heart strength to increasing muscle mass. However, the emotional benefits of exercise are equally important, as evidenced by a connection between mental health and fitness that has been discovered through methodologically sound research. Exercise can help to reduce symptoms of depression, anxiety and stress, improve sleep, increase confidence and even provide a sense of purpose. People who exercise regularly feel more energized throughout the day, have better relationships and are generally happier with their lives. Exercise can also enhance memory and help you to manage your emotions in a more positive way. Mars Girolimon ’21 is a writer and student at Southern New Hampshire University, where she is pursuing a master’s in English and creative writing.
