Health: The Benefits of Maintaining Physical Fitness

Research PaperHealth

There are two kinds of students: those who enjoy gym class and those who will do anything just to get out of it. It does not matter if one is in middle school or high school – the division of students when it comes to coming to the gym class is crystal clear. Even if there are students who are looking forward to gym class, it is rare for a student to say that he likes going to gym class because he is aiming to be physically fit. What students do not realize is the true importance of physical fitness and how important it is to have a good teacher teach the subject. This essay will be all about physical fitness and the benefits that come with being physically fit.

How to be physically fit easily?

What is physical fitness?

The term physical fitness refers to the ability of one’s body to efficiently execute daily activities and incorporate optimal performance and endurance for each activity. Being physically fit allows an individual to be healthy. At the same time, a physically fit person is able to perform the usual day-to-day activities with some energy left for leisurely activities and creative hobbies at the end of the day. Being physically fit enables a person to do tasks efficiently and effectively even if he uses the least amount of energy in finishing the activities.

Physical fitness enables a person to respond in the most efficient way possible in normal – and even emergency – life situations. Physical fitness can be achieved by an individual through regular physical activity, particularly, exercising. Exercising regularly strengthens the muscles and increases bone density which makes the body more flexible and stable. Exercising regularly is also linked to a reduced risk of catching an illness, being fatigued, and experiencing sedentary behavior.

However, it must be kept in mind that not everyone has a natural ability or is naturally inclined towards strenuous activities. Because of that, not everyone is willing to partake in the task of keeping themselves physically fit, no matter what good it would do to their body and health. But there are also people who are having difficulty setting aside time for their physical fitness. This is due to being mentally drained and physically exhausted from academic or work-related activities.

Which should all the more be a reason why that person should get into being physically fit. Physical fitness reduces stress and improves a person’s ability to cope with activities that require movement and expends energy. What an individual can do is slowly incorporate the habit of exercising into their daily routine. One may start with exercising for 10 minutes a day to exercising up to the recommended amount of time-based on their age and health status. There are four main exercises that will improve a person’s health, some choose to focus on only one but it is more typical for people to combine two or more exercises.

It is important to know and do the right exercises that will most improve the individual’s body and is most suited to their age and health condition. The first exercise involves strengthening one’s endurance. Exercises related to endurance increase one’s heart rate and pace of breathing. This keeps the heart, lungs, and the circulatory system healthy. Endurance exercises are also known as aerobic activities and cardiovascular-focused activities like jogging, swimming, jumping jacks, biking, etc.

The second type of exercise is one that involves improving strength. Exercises like these are focused on making a person’s muscles stronger. This exercise is the most common thing people tend to think about when it comes to exercising but this is just an option for them or an exercise to do eventually after they have improved in the other exercises. This exercise involves using resistance bands or lifting weights as these can stretch the muscles and make them stronger.

Balance is the third type of exercise that individuals engage in. Sometimes, this is taken with endurance exercises or before focusing on strength exercises as having balance helps in lifting heavy weights. Having balance is important to physical fitness as this prevents a person from tripping or falling when walking or standing o uneven surfaces. Doing tai chi or yoga helps improves one’s balance. Simple exercises like standing on one leg and eventually trying to do handstands are also examples of balancing exercises.

Flexibility exercises stretch an individual’s muscles. These exercises increase the ability of a person to move more freely as the person becomes nimbler and more agile. Doing various stretches, especially yoga poses. Will definitely help in making a person more flexible as time passes by. Being flexible is extremely important as this gives the person the ability to move quickly and dodge.

When starting to get into physical fitness, a person may feel obligated to buy fancy equipment like barbells, resistance bands, ankle weights, kettle weights, and others. However, expensive equipment is not necessary in achieving physical fitness. A person may be involved in doing physical activities in a typical daily activity. Walking, running errands, pushing the shopping cart, going up and down the stairs, and cleaning the house may count as physical activity.

If a person wants to be more focused on exercise to achieve physical fitness, rest assured that expensive equipment is barely needed especially when one is just starting on their journey towards physical fitness. There are exercises that do not involve the use of equipment such as push-ups, planking, burpees, jumping jacks, and running. If one would ever want to lift weights, a water container or any other similar heavy object may be used as an alternative.

Having a goal is essential when a person is attaining to be physically fit. The physical fitness goal may be the desired weight, the development of particular muscles, being able to do a certain exercise or the desired waistline. Whatever the physical fitness goal may be, it is imperative that one fixes their eyes on the prize and change it once they have achieved it to continue progress. Also, doing exercises that are enjoyable proves to be helpful in integrating exercising into a person’s daily routine.

Health Advantages Brought by Physical Fitness

Health-related physical fitness promotes good health – as the name implies. Apart from that, it can also reduce an individual’s risk of getting a chronic disease or having a vulnerable immune system. Having a physically fit body can be evident in one’s power, which is one’s ability to exert a combination of movements at the strongest and fastest speed that one can. Health-related physical fitness activities that improve power and strengthen bone density, and are recommended for children and teens to do.

Health-related physical fitness does not only help a person stay healthy, it also helps a person perform well in physical activities. Health-related physical fitness activities include strengthening an individual’s cardiorespiratory endurance, strength, muscular endurance, flexibility, power, and body composition.

  1. Cardiorespiratory endurance.  This is the ability of an individual to do exercises or activities that are sustained for a period of time. This physical fitness activity strengthens the heart, lungs, and circulatory system as these are the ones responsible for supplying oxygen to the muscles that are being used in the exercise.
  2. Strength. Strength is defined as the amount of force that a person can muster. Doing strength-related exercises strengthens or tones the muscles being used. Strength can be measured by how much weight a person can lift or how much resistance a person can manage.
  3. Muscular endurance. This is measured by how long a person can withstand doing exercises or physical activities without tiring. This is the ability of an individual’s muscles to consistently and repetitively do the same actions for a period of time.
  4. Flexibility. Flexibility is the ability of a person to make full use of their movements and exert their joint without the risk of injury. Flexibility allows a person to move freely and free of pain. Apart from muscles, training joints and ligaments are key factors in achieving maximum flexibility.
  5. Power. Power is the amount of force combined with speed that a person can manage. This is sometimes called explosive strength. This physical fitness activity is one of the things most people tend to focus on when they are aiming to be physically fit.
  6. Body composition. This is usually measured by finding an individual’s body mass index, getting body measurements, and fat-to-muscle ratio. These measurements typically focus on a person’s overall body composition which consists of measuring the ratio of a part in relation to the whole body of muscles, fat, bones, and organs.

Skills Related to Physical Fitness

Skill-related physical fitness also helps improves one’s health too but not as much as health-related physical fitness activities. Skill-related physical fitness activities lean towards helping a person do well in exercises or sports. These activities are driven to improve a person’s movement and performance not only in sports but also in everyday activities. Skill-related physical fitness activities include body coordination, speed, balance, agility, and reaction time.

  1. Body coordination.  Body coordination is the ability of a person to use multiple body parts simultaneously without disrupting the intended movement. This does not only involve one’s extremities but also their senses.
  2. Speed. This is a person’s ability to move fast or cover a certain distance in the shortest period of time possible. Some people have faster arms than legs, some have arms and legs that are equally fast.
  3. Balance. This is a person’s ability to remain upright or balanced while performing certain activities. People may be balanced while standing, standing on their toes, with only one foot on the ground, or on their hands.
  4. Agility. Agility may easily be confused with speed, but agility is the ability of a person to move quickly with the intention of changing positions. Agility is also the ability to be in control of one’s movements, no matter how fast one gets.
  5. Reaction time. This is the amount of time a person takes between noticing that something needs to be done and actually acting upon it. More than powerful muscles, keen senses are needed to develop and improve one’s reaction time.

Principal Benefits of Physical Fitness

  1. Physical fitness helps control weight. A major benefit of physical fitness for most people is that being physically fit means that they have more control over their weight. They can exercise to lose weight or gain muscles on their own accord. Physically fit people do not have to worry about having more fat than muscles as they regularly exercise and monitor their diet closely.
  2. Physical fitness strengthens the immune system.  Physical fitness does not only contribute to physically keeping a person in shape. It also helps a person’s immune system combat viral diseases and other concerning health conditions.
  3. Physical fitness improves mental health and mood.  Yes, physical fitness helps in keeping an individual’s mental health healthy. This is because the brain releases chemicals that help improve one’s mood while exercising thus reducing the level of anxiety, stress, and/or depression. Being physically fit keeps a person happy and more relaxed.
  4. Physical fitness boosts energy.  Regular physical activities that focus on the entire body and touch on each health-related and skill-related physical fitness activity boost energy over time. This is because a person’s body got used to exerting energy. With strong endurance, a person is bound to have their energy boosted when they need it.
  5. Physical fitness promotes better sleep habits. Exercising regularly can help in improving one’s sleep habits. This is easily noticeable in those who are having trouble falling asleep and are just starting to get into physical fitness. They start to fall asleep a lot faster and when they do, they sleep longer and deeper.
  6. Physical fitness lengthens the lifespan.  As physical activity can protect a person from easily catching diseases and other health-compromising illnesses, physical fitness can reduce one’s risk of dying early as it can help prevent a person from having heart disease and cancer.

The benefits of physical fitness should be able to convince a person to get physically fit as it is truly something that can better an individual’s life. Even if some may find it tiring or hard to fit into their schedule, everyone is encouraged to make an effort to start on their physical fitness journey. As the saying goes, “no pain, no gain.” People should not be afraid to take risks for something that will significantly improve their life in a matter of time.

Physical fitness is one of the things people should aim for and not just sleep on. People should keep in mind that physical fitness is not only for those who are inclined to sports, even regular people who are just aiming to improve their body and their health can get into physical fitness too. There are no restrictions and everyone can start at their own pace and not be pressured by the rest of the people who started their physical fitness journey earlier.

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References

Benefits of Exercise. (2021, January 12). MedlinePlus. https://medlineplus.gov/benefitsofexercise.html

Corbin, C., & Masurier, G. L. (2014). What Is Physical Fitness? Human Kinetics. https://us.humankinetics.com/blogs/excerpt/what-is-physical-fitness

Exercise and Physical Fitness. (2021, March 2). MedlinePlus. https://medlineplus.gov/exerciseandphysicalfitness.html

Mayo Clinic Staff. (2019, May 11). Exercise: 7 benefits of regular physical activity. Mayo Clinic. https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/fitness/in-depth/exercise/art-20048389

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