Physical fitness can most aptly be defined as the body”s ability to complete daily activities without becoming too sore, without becoming too fatigued, and without getting out of breath. The concept of physical fitness involves three distinct factors, which are: cardiovascular fitness, muscular strength, and nutrition. It is imperative for one to allot an ample amount of time to each of these factors, as well as following a program specially suited to his or her needs. A major component of physical wellness is cardiovascular fitness.
Cardiovascular fitness is the ability of the circulatory system to provide oxygen-rich blood for energy to the body’s organs. A person’s pulse is the throbbing of arteries produced by the contractions of the heart. One may read his or her pulse at either the wrist or the neck. A person’s resting heart rate is his or her heart rate at rest. To calculate this, one may simply count the beats of the heart per minute. A person’s maximum heart rate is the maximum number of times his or her heart can beat in one minute. To calculate this, one may simply subtract his or her age from 220.
The target heart rate is the number of times one’s heart should beat per minute when exercising. This is between 60- and 90-percent of one’s maximum heart rate. To increase cardiovascular fitness, one should develop a program that follows the principles of “FIT” training. For frequency, one should do an exercise between 3 and 5 times per week. For intensity, one should base how hard he or she exercises on the target heart rate. For time, one should start slowly, but gradually increase to approximately 45 to 60 minutes per day.
Before engaging in this type of program, one should stretch and loosen up his or her muscles, and he or she should allow the muscles to cool down after an exercise, mostly by walking until he or she is near the resting heart rate. An example of a good cardiovascular fitness program that I would follow is: Day 1 at track: Warm-up 5 minutes Slow jog 20 minutes Walk 5 minutes Slow jog 20 minutes Cool-down 5 minutes Total time spent: 55 minutes Day 2 at pool: Warm-up 5 minutes Slow swim 15 minutes Rest 5 minutes Intense swim 15 minutes Cool-down 10 minutes Total time spent: 50 minutes
Day 3 at track: Warm-up 5 minutes 2-lap warm-up jog 5 minutes Walk 5 minutes 2 mile run Start at 14 minutes, would seek to reduce time on each occasion Cool-down 10 minutes Total time spent: 40 minutes Another major component of physical wellness is muscular strength. Muscular strength is the ability of your body to lift a certain amount of weight at a given time. When working on muscular strength, one should know what “sets” and “repetitions” are. A set is a number of repetitions for which one performs a certain exercise. A repetition is the act of lifting and lowering a weight once.
A maximum lift is the most amount of weight one can lift for one repetition. When beginning a weight training program, one should always start slowly, to get the body used to performing strenuous exercises. Moreover, a spotter should always be used when performing exercises. Lastly, before lifting, one should stretch the muscles he or she is about to work. An example of a strength training program that I would follow is: Upper Body Workout: Chest – Bench Press 4 sets: 1 warm-up set of low weight, 3 sets of 6-8 reps at high weight Back – Lat Pulldowns 4 sets: 1 warm-up set of low weight, 3 sets of 6-8 reps at high weight
Lower Body Workout: Quads – Leg Extension 4 sets: 1 warm-up set of low weight, 3 sets of 6-8 reps at high weight Calves – Calf Raise 4 sets: 1 warm-up set of low weight, 3 sets of 6-8 reps at high weight A final major component of physical wellness is nutrition. A simple way of eating properly is to follow the food pyramid. The six areas of the pyramid are: grains, vegetables, fruits, fats and oils, milk and dairy products, and meat/beans/fish/nuts. For someone following the routines mentioned above, he should have 10 ounces of grains, 3. 5 cups of vegetables, 2. cups of fruits, 3 cups of milk, 7 ounces of meats and beans, and 8 teaspoons of oils daily. Not eating properly could lead to several eating disorders. Obesity is an eating disorder where one becomes excessively fat. This disorder could lead to carious diseases, including cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and sleep apnea. Another eating disorder is anorexia, which is excessive starvation. A final eating disorder is bulimia, which is when one engages in binge eating, followed by vomiting, abusing laxatives, or excessive exercising. All of these diseases more than often lead to death.
To avoid nutritional diseases, one should have a balanced diet. A final part of nutrition is body fat. For young males, it is considered healthy to have between 10 and 25 percent body fat. For young females, it is considered health to have between 20 and 35 percent body fat. Physical wellness can be described as the ability to perform daily activities without soreness, fatigue, or loss of breath. To ensure of this, one should tailor a physical wellness program to his needs. This program should include the three areas of cardiovascular fitness, muscular strength, and nutrition.
