Most experts agree that the four basic components of fitness are:
1. Cardiorespiratory or Aerobic Endurance
The ability to do moderately strenuous activity over a period of time. It reflects how well your heart and lungs work together to supply oxygen to your body during exertion and exercise. Also called aerobic fitness.
2. Muscular Endurance
The ability to hold a particular position for a sustained period of time or repeat a movement many times. This could be the capability required to hold a two-pound weight above your head for five minutes or the effort required to lift that weight 20 consecutive times.
3. Muscular Strength
The ability to exert maximum force, such as lifting the heaviest weight you can budge, one time. It is possible to have muscular strength in one area, say your arms, while lacking strength in another area such as your legs.
4. Flexibility
The ability to move a joint through its full range of motion; the elasticity of the muscle. This is how limber or supple you are.
Fitness Summary
Keeping fit and healthy through exercise means you have:
- STRENGTH to push, pull and lift loads without straining yourself
- STAMINA to sustain any daily activity you do
- SUPPLENESS OR FLEXIBILITY to help you bend, stretch and twist in your daily work without hurting yourself.
Your own exercise guide
Always begin with lighter exercises and build up intensity over time. If you are very overweight, have not exercised for a long time or have a medical condition, consult a doctor first. If you are fairly fit, use the formula as your guide.
| F | FREQUENCY Exercise 3-5 times a week, evenly spaced out. | |||
| I | INTENSITY Exercise till you sweat and breathe deeply without discomfort or until you reach 65% of your maximum heart rate (MHR). This is your ‘target heart rate’ or ‘maximum heart rate’. | |||
| T | TYPE OF EXERCISE Do both aerobic and flexibility exercises. | |||
| T | TIME | |||
| Warm-up/ Flexibility | 3-5 minutes | |||
| Aerobic exercises | 20-60 minutes | |||
| Cool down/ Flexibility | 3-5 minutes | |||
Summary data for Max Heart Rate during exercise
World Health Organisation = HR max = (220 – age) x 65%.
Target intensity for health benefits = 63% HR max
Target intensity for aerobic fitness = 75-88% HR max
Target intensity for elite training = >92% HR max
To estimate your maximum heart rate, subtract your age from 220, (e.g. if you are 35 years, your MHR is 220-35 beats per minute (bpm) = 185bpm). Then exercise at a percentage of that number – elite fitness levels are set at 92% of that number, for unfit people starting exercise take 60% of the resulting number. See below for summary data:
TABLE FOR MONITORING MAX HEART RATES
| Age (Years) | (Predicted) MHR (bpm) | 60-90% MHR (bpm) (Target rate) |
| 20 | 200 | 120-180 |
| 30 | 190 | 115-170 |
| 40 | 180 | 110-160 |
| 50 | 170 | 100-155 |
| 60 | 160 | 95-145 |
During exercise, count your pulse for 15 seconds and multiply by 4. If your pulse is below your target rate, continue to exercise a little harder and retake your pulse later. If it is above, exercise a little easier. If it is within the target rate, you’re doing fine. One way of controlling your heart rate is to change the way you breathe. Breathe in through your mouth and your pulse tends to slow, and breathe in through your nose and it tends to speed up…..so keep your pace the same and either breathe through your nose or mouth to modify heart rate.
Recommended exercise
Aerobic Exercise
This is any exercise that makes you move your large muscles rhythmically. It moves you fairly continuously and makes you sweat and breathe deeply. Aerobic exercises help improve heart and lung fitness. They also improve stamina and reduce fat. Building strength and endurance requires pushing past our comfort zones and experiencing discomfort. It takes time before the obvious benefits kick in, and most of us quit before that ever occurs. Remember – behaviour change requires 3-6 months before it becomes an everyday part of your lifestyle.Interval training is made up of short, intense bursts of activity followed by short rests of low activity. The best known interval training is using street lights – slow jog for two poles, one pole at moderate levels and one of high exertion. Continue this sequence for desired time. Interval training involves short-to-moderate periods of exertion with short-to-moderate periods of recovery or rest. Interval training is a means by which to build more energy capacity and to tolerate more stress, but also to teach the body to recover more efficiently.
Walking, jogging, swimming, cycling, rope skipping, roller skating, aerobic dancing, folk dancing, stair climbing, ball games, racket games, table tennis.
Choose an exercise that you enjoy.
Walking
An excellent exercise for people of all ages, for the not-so-fit and those who want to begin exercising. Walking is especially good for those who lack time and wish to include exercise in their daily routine. It gives you the same benefits as more vigorous types of exercise.
- Walk as briskly as you can.
- Swing your arms while walking.
- Wear comfortable light shoes.
If you have heart disease, high blood pressure, or other health problems consult your doctor first. Walking can help you back to better health.
Jogging
Jogging is an ideal aerobic exercise. Stretching exercises to both warm-up and cool-down should be included. Great for heart-lung fitness and losing fat!
- Wear comfortable, well-cushioned shoes.
- Wear light coloured clothes or a reflecting band in the dark.
- Always go at a comfortable pace where you should still be able to talk or whistle.
- Don’t jog when you’re ill. Start again only when fully recovered.
- Face oncoming traffic.
- Stop unhealthy habits (e.g. smoking) for full benefit.
Dancing
Dancing is great fun for all ages. It improves flexibility, strength and stamina by using many groups of muscles. You can enjoy good music and company. There are three categories of intensity:
| Low intensity | slow waltz, fox trot, slow folk. |
| Medium intensity | quick waltz, folk dance, slow disco. |
| High intensity | disco, aerobic dancing, rock and roll, ballet, jazz dancing. |
Swimming
An excellent exercise involving almost every muscle in your body without taxing your joints. It is especially recommended for those with leg problems, chronic backache and the very overweight. To build up your fitness level you will need to swim laps. If you need to, go for a refresher or beginner’s course. Don’t be embarrassed to learn. Others are learning too.
Your Favourite Activities and their Benefits
| ACTIVITY | AEROBIC FITNESS | MUSCLE FITNESS | FLEXIBILITY | WEIGHT CONTROL |
| Aerobic dance | ★★★★ | ★★★ | ★★★★ | ★★★ |
| Badminton | ★★★★ | ★★★ | ★★★★ | ★★★★ |
| Basketball | ★★★★ | ★★★ | ★★★★ | ★★★★ |
| Body-building | ★ | ★★★★ | ★★ | ★★ |
| Bowling | ★ | ★ | ★ | ★ |
| Cycling | ★★★★ | ★★★ | ★★★ | ★★★ |
| Golf (18 holes) | ★ | ★ | ★★ | ★★ |
| Jogging | ★★★★ | ★★★★ | ★ | ★★★★ |
| Martial Arts | ★★★ | ★★★★ | ★★★★ | ★★★ |
| Netball | ★★★ | ★★★ | ★★★ | ★★★ |
| Rhythmic exercise | ★★★ | ★★★ | ★★★★ | ★★★ |
| Soccer | ★★★★ | ★★★★ | ★★★★ | ★★★★ |
| Squash | ★★★ | ★★★ | ★★★★ | ★★★★ |
| Swimming | ★★★★ | ★★★★ | ★★★ | ★★★ |
| Table tennis | ★★★ | ★★★ | ★★★ | ★★ |
| Tennis | ★★★ | ★★★ | ★★★ | ★★★ |
| Walking | ★★★ | ★★ | ★ | ★★ |
| ★★★★ Excellent | ★★★ Good | ★★ Fair | ★ Minimal | |
Research has shown that even low levels of activity are better than no activity at all in the prevention and management of heart disease. Because of the many benefits of exercise one is especially encouraged to find ways throughout the day of becoming more physically active.
These strategies include the following:
- Choose the stairs rather than the elevator whenever possible.
- Park your car toward the rear of a parking lot to increase your walking distance to the office, mall entrance or school.
- When taking a bus, taxi or subway, exit one stop or one block early and walk the rest of the way.
- Rather than going out to lunch, pack a heart-healthy lunch and use your break times to take short walks.
- Take your dog for longer walks. It will help both your hearts!
- Take up gardening or fix-it-yourself projects that require movement and light lifting.
- Turn off the TV and discover activity-based hobbies.
Other exercise strategies range from high intensity aerobics to gentle Tai Chi.
With so many fitness possibilities, we only need
1) clearance from our physician
2) qualified trainer to teach us how to exercise safely in order to get started.
Remember, never begin an exercise programme without your physician’s approval.