The Three Elements Of Fitness

Fitness is the ability to perform physical activities without becoming excessively fatigued or breathless and is made up of three elements-strength, flexibility, and endurance. 

Strength-is the ability to lift, carry, push, or pull a heavy load.  There are about 400 muscles attached to your skeleton by tendons.  By contracting and relaxing, your muscles give you strength by controlling  the movements of your body.   Ideally, between one quarter and one half of your body weight should be made up of muscle tissue.  However, if your muscles are out of condition, routine lifting and carrying becomes problematic, resulting in leg aches, back aches, etc.

Flexibility-is the ability to bend, twist, and stretch and requires muscles, tendons, and joints to move easily.  Because physical exertion including sport activities frequently require agility and mobility, flexibility is important to avoid tight leg and back muscles that can cause pain and stiffness.  Elastic muscles usually can absorb the shock of sudden contractions, while tight ones may pull or tear resulting in injury and pain.

Endurance -is the ability to exercise continually without rest for a prolonged period of time.   Poor endurance leads to muscle fatigue, increasing your risk of injury.    

Your level of fitness is a reflection of how efficiently your heart and muscles can use oxygen and expend energy.  Efficiency is in turn, determined by your physical activity habits.  The type of activities and how vigorous you engage in them will determine what demands will be put on your strength, flexibility and endurance.  It's important to choose an exercise program that will benefit you the most in the pursuit of these activities.