ym term paper on personal fitnessPhysical 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 bodys organs. A persons 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 persons 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 persons 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 ones heart should beat per minute when exercising. This is between 60- and 90-percent of ones 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 minutesDay 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 minutesDay 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 toreduce time on each occasion)Cool-down (10 minutes)Total time spent: 40 minutesAnother 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 Press4 sets: 1 warm-up set of lowweight, 3 sets of 6-8 repsat high weightBack Lat Pulldowns4 sets: 1 warm-up set of lowweight, 3 sets of 6-8 repsat high weightLower Body Workout: Quads Leg Extension4 sets: 1 warm-up set of lowweight, 3 sets of 6-8 repsat high weightCalves Calf Raise4 sets: 1 warm-up set of lowweight, 3 sets of 6-8reps at high weightA 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, 2.5 cups of fruits, 3 cups of milk, 7 ounces of meats and beans, .
