hi fitness trainer
intro to fitness
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Since physiologically all human beings are built the same way, there is not a single category of people who would not require all 5 aspects of fitness. Improved performance in all 5 aspects of fitness leading to an enhanced quality of life should be the universal fitness goal of all the above categories of people.
Ageing through degeneration (which is accelerated due to disuse) reduces a human's performance in all 5 aspects of fitness and hence the only anti ageing tactic is to place equal emphasis on all the aspects of fitness. An athlete of any discipline (Marathon running, power lifting, gymnastics, boxing, sprinting, football, tennis, squash, etc.), to succeed in improving performance in his chosen sport, needs to again address all 5 aspects of fitness in his conditioning workouts.
Fitness professionals need to understand that whichever category of people (House wife, actor,corporate executive, athlete, teenager, geriatric [senior citizen], etc.) come to them, their programming must include specific group of exercises for all 5 aspects of fitness.
Fitness professionals specializing in certain forms of exercise (Yoga, pilates , swiss ball core training, weight training, spinning, dance aerobics, etc.) need to avoid one major pitfall. The pitfall is thinking that the form of exercise that he specializes in is the only one needed to achieve complete general fitness. They need to understand the importance of specificity. There is a separate exercise form for every aspect of fitness. All those forms need to be incorporated into a sound exercise program to improve general fitness.
The 5 components of fitness
Components of Fitness and Their Impact on Performance
1. Cardiovascular Endurance
Respiratory - Lungs
Endurance - Ability to Endure (Stamina)
‣ Cycling
2. Muscular Endurance
· ability of skeletal muscles to contract sub maximally for a prolonged period without getting fatigued.
- Muscular Endurance is activity specific.
· Tool for Improvement: Specific Cardio Exercises.
· Examples:
‣ Jogging to improve endurance in jogging
‣ Cycling to improve endurance in Cycling
‣ Swimming to improve endurance in Swimming Etc.
3. Musculoskeletal Strength
· Muscular Strength: It refers to the amount of force skeletal muscles can produce with single maximal contraction.
· Musculoskeletal Strength: It is the combined intrinsic strength of muscles, bones, tendons and ligaments.
· Tool for Improvement: This can be developed through intense weight training.
4. Flexibility
Definition: It is the ability of the soft tissues
(muscles, tendons, ligaments and fascia) to lengthen passively through full range of motion.
It depends on two properties of muscles:
1. Extensibility: Ability to extend or stretch.
2. Elasticity: Ability to return to original length from a stretched position.
Mobility: It is the ability of a joint to move actively and freely through full range of motion without any pain or discomfort.
Tool for improvement: Stretching
Benefit of stretching
- Improvement in range of motion.
- Helps maintain normal posture.
- Decreased risk of injuries.
A decrease in this component makes tasks like climbing
several floors at a time, walking, jogging. running and swimming fairly long
distances, lasting through a game of tennis, squash, football or lasting
through 9 rounds of competitive boxing, training intensely till the last set of
a strength training workout very difficult. Very compromised cardiovascular
endurance may even cause a cardiac arrest during the above mentioned activities
A decrease in this component of fitness causes problems in
the same activities as enumerated for cardiovascular endurance. However, the
source of early onset of fatigue in the body is due to the musculoskeletal
system and not the cardio respiratory system. A human who lacks muscular
endurance, experiences great discomfort while running due to a high rise in
lactic acid build up in the skeletal muscles being used for that specific
activity. For instance lack of muscular endurance in the quadriceps, hamstrings,
gluteal muscles and calves will cause a person to stop climbing stairs despite
having a heart rate that is not excessively elevated.
A decrease in this component of fitness leads the body to
early degeneration, causing the body to experience degenerative conditions such
as osteo-arthritis, spondylosis, etc. Weakness of the musculoskeletal system
also exposes the body to a high risk of injuries while performing any task
involving force against resistance. Athletes of all sports today require speed
and power along with skill. No athlete in any discipline, no matter how
skilled, will be successful if the musculoskeletal system weakens. It also
increases the risk of injury while playing the sport. Extreme weakness of the
musculoskeletal system could even lead to loss of ambulatory capacity.
Adequate flexibility is necessary to prevent injuries. A
stiff muscle that has lost its elasticity is. more likely to tear in the event
of a movement trying to go through full range of motion around a joint. Ideal
neutral posture of the body is maintained only if the body is flexible. An
example of lack of flexibility causing postural problems is hamstring
inflexibility, causing a loss of the normal lordotic curvature in the lumbar
spine, via a posterior tilt of the hip bucket. This abnormal posture in turn
leads to lower back aches and pains, and could also lead to more serious
problems like. prolapsed intervertebral disc while performing simple tasks like
picking up an object from the floor thereby greatly diminishing the
individual's functionality.
Ideal Body
Composition
This being the ratio of fat to lean mass, it is important to
know the differences between the two tissues. Lean mass has tone and shape,
whereas fat is untoned and shapeless. Thus an increase in lean mass causes the
body to be in shape and stay firm and toned. An increase in fat causes the body
to get out of shape and lose tone. Lean mass is metabolically active whereas
fat does not directly contribute to energy expenditure, due to its metabolic
inactivity. However, it acts as an energy store in the human body, which is
utilized during periods of sustained negative calorie deficits. Thus an
increase in lean mass leads to an elevation of the basal metabolic rate
(BMR),i.e. the rate at which the body burns calories at relative rest. A
decrease in lean mass leads to a slowing of the BMR causing the body to store
more fat. An increase in lean mass increases the strength of the
musculoskeletal system, whereas an increase in fat leads to an increase in
cardiovascular disease risk factors.
Understanding the interdependence between the 5 components of fitness
Cardiovascular Endurance
Without cardiovascular endurance, muscular endurance cannot be challenged or utilized. For Instance, if a person has great muscular endurance in his legs, he still will not be able to run for a long period without cardiovascular endurance. Once cardiovascular fatigue sets in, it is impossible to use the body's musculoskeletal strength. For instance, no matter how muscularly strong and fast a boxer is, he cannot use his strength to punch hard once cardiovascular fatigue sets in.
Muscular Endurance
Without muscular endurance, cardiovascular endurance cannot be challenged or utilized. For Instance, if a person has great cardiovascular endurance but does not have good muscular endurance in his legs, he will not be able to run long distances. A tennis player with great cardiovascular endurance but lacking in muscular endurance is not going to be able to hit the ball hard consistently over the long duration of an entire match, even if he is not cardiovascularly tired.
Musculoskeletal Strength
When this component of fitness is lacking, then even an event that requires great cardiovascular and muscular endurance, such as marathon running is not possible, as the body will not be able to handle the stress of running on a tar road for 42 Kms. It is safe to say that to run a marathon without hurting your knees, ankles or lower back is not possible without great musculoskeletal strength. Great flexibility without strength has no benefit in increasing performance.
Flexibility
Lack of this component of fitness would result in injuries while performing endurance type events and also while performing tasks requiring explosive strength. For instance, a person with stiff calves and hamstrings will sustain knee and lower back injuries while running. A person will not be able to put his body in the right posture needed to execute any weight training exercise with correct form and technique if his flexibility is compromised. For instance, stiff hamstrings will always cause a person to round his lumbar during squats leading to an injury.
Ideal Body Composition
When the ideal body composition is lost with an increase in the adipose tissue above 15% for males and above 20% for females, all aspects of fitness performance parameters are affected. For instance, a person with great musculoskeletal strength should be able to lift his bodyweight over a wall utilizing the combined strength of his lattissimus dorsi, trapezius, posterior deltoids, biceps brachii and forearm flexors and extensors. If this individual carries an excessively high percentage of unwanted, unproductive fat, then despite having good strength, he may not be able to lift his bodyweight up. A person with great endurance (both cardiovascular and muscular) should be able to climb 10 floors without any problems. However if this individual carries excessive adipose tissue then, despite having great endurance he is bound to get very fatigued as it is similar to a person with great endurance and an ideal body composition who is climbing 10 floors while carrying two heavy bags (representing unproductive fat weight.). A person with very supple and elastic skeletal muscle should never have compromised range of motion around joints. However, a person with excess adipose tissue over his belly will not be able to tie his shoe laces despite having supple muscles as his belly will obstruct a full range of motion at the hip joint. So a lack of ideal body composition affects flexibility aswell.
The above section makes it perfectly clear that no component of fitness can stand alone to contribute to general fitness and an increase in performance. If even one component of fitness goes down, it will not allow the body to perform at peak levels even if all the other 4 components of fitness are on a high. To improve quality of life, fight the ageing process and do well in all competitive sports the approach is the same. Attack all components of fitness by incorporating them all in your fitness programme. All 5 should be given equal emphasis.
How to achieve improvements in the 5 components of fitness
Cardiovascular Endurance
This component of fitness is enhanced by doing low intensity exercises over a long duration without stopping, Such exercises are asrobic in nature, which involves low intensity muscular activities for more than 3 minutes in which ATP (Adenosine triphosphate) is re-synthesised in the presence of oxygen. These are typically called as cardiovascular exercises or aerobic exercises and they include walking, jogging, running, swimming, skipping, cycling, using cardio machines that simulate climbing stairs (stepper, stair mill), running without impact (elliptical trainers), rowing machines, etc. The intensity should be low enough to allow a person to continuously do the activity for at least 20 mins. Once a person can do the same activity for about 60 mins comfortably. the intensity should be increased either by increasing speed, inclination or resistance. Games such as tennis and squash are erroneously considered to provide the player with more cardiovascular endurance. These are stop and start activities that cannot improve cardiovascular endurance but rather require cardiovascular endurance to play a long match well. A person engaging in such sports will perform better if he works out regularly using cardio exercises
Muscular Endurance
The method to achieving an improvement in this component of fitness is hugely misunderstood. Some fitness experts erroneously believe that it is achieved by doing resistance strength training using lighter weights that allow for higher repetitions. Muscular endurance is challenged only in endurance type activities that are done for a minimum of 20 mins at the least and involve to the tune of 100s to 1000s of repetitions of the muscles used in the activity. In resistance training even if we were to take an extremely high volume of repetitions, the intensity could never be low enough to allow more than approximately 50 to 70 repetitions. This in no way would equip the person with the muscular endurance needed in an endurance type event. Muscular endurance develops along with cardiovascular endurance by doing cardio (acrobic) exercises. However, unlike cardiovascular endurance which is general to the whole body, muscular endurance is achieved locally in only those muscles that are used in that cardio (aerobic) activity. For intance running would improve CV endurance in general and Muscular endurance only in the Inwer body So to achieve uniforın muscular endurance all through out the body, recommends CROSS TRAINING. This is where the modalities of doing canlio are constantly changed to include both the upper body & the lower body equally. An example would be to devote the 3 days a work of cardio to different activities (Running on a treadmill on Monday, Swinuming on Wednesday & Spinning on Friday) This will ensure that all parts of the body get conditioned with muscular endurance. Beurs, Tennis players, Sepuash players all require both Mascular strength & Muscular endurance. They should not make the mistake of wasting time with High repetition resistance training as they will pet neither muscular strength nor endurance. They should do low repetition high Intensity resistance training for muscular strength. Their on court practice will build the muscular endurance that they nood. A tennis player will develop good muscular endurance in his upper body by doing forehand & back hand shots against a ball throwing machine continuously for a long duration of time. A boxer will develop pod muscular endurance by working the spood lag & the heavy bag for lung continuous durations.
Musculoskeletal Strength
This component of fitness timproves by doing high intenally weight training with heavy weights, that don't allow more than 6-8 repetitions to failure. This 6-8 repetition max most be used noly with advanced trainers who have regularly been weight training for at least 3 years. So as to allow the body to benefit functionally from the addod strength derived from this kind of weight training. It is very Important that the cholce of mercises be correct. recommends the incorporation of unsupported compound and power movements done with free weights in your weight training program to gain maximum functional strvogth (Strength that can be utilied in day to day life.)
Flexibility
This component of fitness improves by doing stretches. recommends performing static passive stretches. The stretches must be done with at least 10 ascund holds in mild discomdart aiming for a greater range with every workout. Stretches must be done every workout day and must be done at the end of every workout for maximum safety and effectiveness.
Ideal Body Composition
This component of fitness is achieved by addressing all other 4 components of fitness with their specific esercise forms and then complementing these efforts with sound scientific nutrition based on the tenets of Sports nutrition (Nutrition for the active individual.) All exercises stress and break down the musculoskeletal system in a hid to cmate a need in the body to build more muscles. This Increases the need for the muscle building nutrient PROTEIN. So no increase in ban tissue is possible through worcise if adequate levels of protein nol met (1.5 grams to 3 grams por k body weight depending on the intensity of trainingi. At least 10% of calories must come from MUFA and PUFA oils that provide the body with essential fatty acids that aid in maintaining an ideal metabolism. Carbohydrates must be primarily comples carbohydrates that don't spike insulin (Spikes in insulin through the intake of simple sugars promotes a build up of fat.) The quantity of carbohydrates depends on the somatotype of the individual. The ectomorphs will require larges quantities for a protein sparing effect and the endomorphs will require curtalling the quantity lo force the body to burn fat stored in the body. In a nutshell exercise coupled with correct nutrition gives the person an ideal body composition. So you see the formula to improve comprehensive general fitness is Cardiovascular (aerobic) activities including both Lower & upper body involvement (Cross Training) at least 3 times a week + Strength training mostly with unsupported compound & power movements not more than 4 times a week + Stretching (static passive stretches) daily at the end of both cardio & strength training workouts + Correct Sports nutrition Adequate rest & recovery IMPROVED GENERAL FITNESS.
Fundamentals of Fitness
Specificity
As the name suggests, each component of fitness has a specific activity that promotes it. No one activity or exercise form can promote all components of fitness. For example, stretching can only give rise to flexibility and will not improve any other component of fitness. Cardiovascular training cannot give rise to musculoskeletal strength and Strength training cannot improve cardiovascular endurance.
Progression
Steady increase in workload, in proportion to gains that enhances overall fitness levels without the risk of injuries.
Overload
When the body is subjected to greater stress/overload than normally encountered during daily activity it improves the functional capacity of the working muscle.
Adaptation
When the body gets accustomed to a given workload it no longer promotes growth/gains to Increase one's fitness lovel (Aerobic and anaerobic). Eg. As a natural progression in weight training one has to increase poundage to see effective strength gains.
Intensity
Cardiovascular intensity can be measured as a % of Maximum Heart rate (MHK) as determined by the formule MHR-220-Age. A target heart rate for maximum effectiveness in a cardio workout can also be determined by using the Karvonen formula which is MHR- Resting Heart Rate(RHH) X % of desired intensity + KHR Target Heart Rate (THR). Intensity during resistance strength training is measured as Per Repetition Max (RM). The zenith of intensity is 1RM which means taking a weight with which you can achieve only 1 repetition. This maximum intensity is too much for the body to handle & recover from. So at the advanced level wu stick to 4-6 RM intensity.
Duration
Length of time spent on an actual workout. Far an aerobic activity, it is measured by the length of time spent on that activity within the target heart rate zone. Depending on the fitness level of the participant the duration can vary.
Reversibility
One cannot store fitness. Thus your cardiovascular efficiency and muscular strength would gradually decrease and REVERSE to pre exercise levels. Loss of muscles is known as strophy (roduction in size) which is the opposite of hypertrophy (Increase in size). An average strength loss occurs at half the rate of strength gain.
Improvement: Engage in low-intensity, long-duration(minimum 3 to 4 without stopping) aerobic exercises such as walking, jogging, swimming, or cycling. Gradually increase intensity as endurance improves.
Improvement: Perform high-intensity weight training with heavy weights for 6-8 repetitions. compound movements and power movements for functional strength.
Improvement: Combine all fitness components with proper nutrition. macro nutrients Focus on high protein intake, healthy fats, and complex carbohydrates. Ensure acceptable rest and recovery.
Interdependence of Fitness Components
Improving the 5 Components of Fitness :
Cardiovascular Endurance
Muscular Endurance
Musculoskeletal Strength
Flexibility
Ideal Body Composition
Fitness Fundamentals
Benefits of Exercise:
▪️ Better contractility of the myocardium.
▪️ Increased stock volume (SV) and exercise cardiac
output(Q).
▪️ Decreased RHR, increase RBC count.
▪️ Increased Neo capillarization.
▪️ Increase elasticity of blood vessels.
▪️ Increase mitochondrial density.
▪️ Increase resistance to fatigue.
▪️Increased cardiorespiratory endurance.
▪️The risk of having a heart attack is significantly reduced.
Exercise is essential for maintaining good health and improving
quality of life. A well-rounded exercise program enhances cardiovascular
health, muscular strength, flexibility, endurance, and ideal body composition.
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