Nine Components of Fitness

« « Fitness - Total Fitness | Fitness Routines |

Wednesday, February 6th, 2008 Subscribe To Our Feed

What Exactly Are the Nine Components of Fitness?

When we talk about the nine components of fitness, we use these to define how good a persons health actually is.

These attributes or nine components of fitness only state how fit a person is in a specific area but all of these points combined link to achieve top physical fitness. Some people are divided on how many of these components there actually are.

Strength is the component of physical fitness which judges the extent in which the muscles and body can exert force while being resisted.
Power is the way we exert maximum amounts of energy in quick movements like making a running start.
Agility is how well a person can perform a lot of power movements in succession although in opposite directions.
Balance records how well a person can control their position while they are either moving or stationary.
Flexibility is the way we can move our bodies in certain ways without impediment by stiff muscles or even fat.
Body composition is how the amount of fat and lean muscle in the body is assessed. A person’s body weight may not coincide with how fit they really are so it is important to learn how much body fat a person should have and how they can improve it.

The remaining 3 of the nine components of fitness assess the endurance levels of various areas, are as follows:

Local muscle endurance is the ability of a particular isolated muscle to perform repeated actions requiring energy or force.
Cardiovascular endurance judges how well a person’s heart can deliver blood to the muscles in the body as well as the ability to use it.
Strength endurance is the muscle’s ability to effectively perform an action using maximum power over a sustained period of time.

There is however one more component that should really be included within the nine components of fitness, and that is:

Co-ordination is the ability to effectively combine other nine components of fitness to perform tasks.

The Importance of the nine components of fitness

All of the nine components of fitness are important in their own unique way; however, cardiovascular and cardio respiratory endurance are exceptionally significant as it is the areas that most affect how well the other components perform.

Without fuel, physical activity is not possible so it is imperative that this area of fitness is the top priority in a fitness regime. Activities that keep the heart rate elevated for a sustained length of time such as walking or swimming can improve cardiovascular endurance. The exercise does not have to be overly exertive; rather it is more effective if built up slowly to a more powerful pace.

This can help to build up muscular strength especially when combined with weight lifting. The more that muscle endurance is built up, the greater the amount of time they can be exerted with fatigue.

Flexibility is related to the range in which a joint can move; generally the better the flexibility, the less chance there is of injuries occurring.

So you can see from this, that all of the nine components of fitness are important for well being and fitness. Each one of us need to strive to achieve maximum fitness in all of the components as outlined.