Physical health is more than just exercising. If you can achieve physical fitness and maintain it, you’ll benefit in many ways.
Physical fitness refers to your body’s ability to move efficiently so that you can perform your daily activities. When we say efficiently, it means that you can do the activities using the least amount of effort.
You are physically fit if you can do your daily chores or activities and still have enough energy for leisure and other hobbies during the day. You are also physically fit if you can respond to emergencies quickly, like running or moving fast to prevent or stop an injury.
Therefore, physical fitness is about movement, not just about exercise. It’s not about how many reps you can do or how many minutes you spend working out. It’s about being able to move freely and unrestrained and enjoying moving without pain.
It’s just so important to maintain physical fitness for improved health and longevity, and here are some of the benefits:
- Increased energy levels to sustain you throughout the day.
- Improved cardiovascular health.
- Strong bones and muscles, and prevents bone and muscle loss.
- Improved mood and self-esteem.
- Better mental and emotional health.
Different Parts of Physical Health and Fitness
Physical fitness can be divided into health-related and skills-related fitness:
Components of Health-Related Fitness
Health-related physical fitness is important in helping you prevent chronic illnesses, perform your daily activities effectively, and maintain overall wellness. Here are the components of health-related physical fitness explained.
- Cardiorespiratory endurance – This refers to your body’s ability to move or exercise for an extended time without stopping.
- Strength – This refers to how much force your muscles can exert or resist, such as lifting heavy objects.
- Muscular endurance – This refers to your ability to use your muscles repeatedly without becoming exhausted.
- Flexibility – This refers to your range of motion and using your joints without injuring yourself.
- Body composition – This refers to the different types of tissues making up the body.
- Power – This is your ability to use your strength quickly.
Components of Skill-Related Fitness
Skill-related physical fitness is all about your motor skills. They are important if you are into sports and other activities, but are also beneficial and even essential for daily operative function. You may not be good in all the skill-related physical fitness sections, and that’s okay. Here are some components of skill-related physical fitness explained:
- Balance – This, of course, refers to your ability to stay upright when standing or moving. Having good balance prevents falls too.
- Coordination – This refers to how you can use your body when doing tasks. Think of catching a ball. You need to have good eye and hand coordination to be able to catch the ball.
- Speed – This is your ability to perform activities quickly. Move your fingers fast to complete a Rubik’s cube… now that’s skill-related fitness!
- Reaction time – This refers to the amount of time it takes for you to move in response to an action.
- Agility – This is about how you can change your body’s position quickly and your ability to control your movements.
Physical Fitness is Important for a Healthy Life
Physical fitness is essential for everyone, whether a child, an adult, or the elderly. It promotes good health, helping to maintain a lower risk of developing lifestyle diseases such as type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, cancer, and other chronic diseases.
Physical fitness also helps you avoid injuries while you perform your everyday activities effectively. More than that, it allows you to enjoy the movement with less pain and discomfort than you otherwise would have.
In Closing
It is important to incorporate physical fitness into your daily routine. Fitness is defined by the state of your body rather than the exercise routines that you do. It’s more about your ability to do your activities with enough energy and no fatigue. It’s about living and using a healthy body!
So make physical fitness not just a goal but a priority. It is an important goal that you can achieve and maintain in your life, and your older self will thank you in the future!
