10 Components of Fitness

Frequently you will hear marathon runners, triathletes, or cyclists coined as the "fittest" people on Earth.  Getting to the point, I disagree, simply because they have focused all of their training on only a few components of fitness, i.e., cardiovascular endurance, stamina, and, to some extent, flexibility.  However ask a world class triathlete to bench press or perform a vertical jump, and I can assure you that you won't be too impressed.  In fact they probably would be impressed by your performance.

I am not saying that performing marathons or triathlons is not good for you.  If it keeps you active, by all means, go for it.  However, if your goal is to improve your overall fitness, you need to consider all 10 aspects of fitness.  Keeping this post short and to the point, here is the list of the 10 aspects of fitness that you should include in your fitness training program:

1. Cardiovascular/respiratory endurance - The ability of body systems to gather, process, and deliver oxygen.
2. Stamina - The ability of body systems to process, deliver, store, and utilize energy.
3. Strength - The ability of a muscular unit, or combination of muscular units, to apply force.
4. Flexibility - the ability to maximize the range of motion at a given joint.
5. Power - The ability of a muscular unit, or combination of muscular units, to apply maximum force in minimum time.
6. Speed - The ability to minimize the time cycle of a repeated movement.
7. Coordination - The ability to combine several distinct movement patterns into a singular distinct movement.
8. Agility - The ability to minimize transition time from one movement pattern to another.
9. Balance - The ability to control the placement of the bodies center of gravity in relation to its support base.
10. Accuracy - The ability to control movement in a given direction or at a given intensity.