Doctor's Life Magazine, Tampa Bay Doctor's Life Tampa Bay Vol. 2 Issue 1, 2014 | Page 14

Fit Corner

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Six Components
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of Physical Fitness

erobic capacity is the first component and is your
cardiovascular system’s ability to transport oxygen to
working muscles to serve as fuel for energy. Aerobic capacity
improves with cardiovascular exercises, like walking, running,
bicycling, jumping rope, swimming and dancing. Performing any
of these types of activities at an intensity of approximately 60-80%
of your total maximum heart rate (220 minus your age) for 30-60
minutes daily will provide you with the first element of fitness.

The second component of fitness
is body structure. This is your overall
posture, looking for any misalignments
of the arms, legs and trunk. Even a small
imbalance in the way you regularly
stand or sit may lead to pain or injury.
Ideal posture aligns your ears over your
shoulders, shoulders over your hips, equal
leg lengths, pelvic symmetry and neutral
joints throughout the body, creating equal
pressure on both feet. Any deviations
from good posture need to be corrected
with the proper stretching, strengthening
and muscle releasing exercises.
Body composition is the third
component of fitness. This is the ratio
of body fat to lean body mass (bones
and muscles). Weight alone does not
tell us about body composition. Body
composition measurements are taken with
calipers at specific parts of the body to
determine the percent of total body fat.
There are also scales and devices that
measure body fat. In general, the ideal
range of body fat is 10-15 percent of total
body mass for males and 15-22 percent
for females.
Balance makes up the fourth
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component of total body fitness. There
are simple balance tests that can be
administered to determine your balance
level. Even minor balance problems place
you at risk for injuries like ankle sprains,
muscle strains, falls and fractures.
The