Aloha, my friends! It’s a new month, the best time to recommit to following a well-rounded fitness program. While most people tend to concentrate on only one or two aspects of fitness — such as frying fat, bulging biceps, or stretching splits — this can lead to imbalances, the gateway to injury.
To safely and effectively improve your physical fitness, I strongly recommend following a routine that improves each of the five foundational parameters for increased vitality, longevity and functionality.
Circulo-Respiratory Power
This refers to how well your heart, blood vessels, lungs and relevant muscles work together to supply oxygen during exercise — and the body’s ability to take in, transport, and use oxygen efficiently.
Proper circulo-respiratory conditioning produces a remarkable array of health benefits, including decreased risks of hypertension, high cholesterol, coronary artery disease, obesity, anxiety and depression, and diabetes mellitus.
Better aerobic fitness also means you can handle a wider range of physical activities, from rest to maximum. It also improves fat-burning ability at all exercise intensities and gives you more energy to enjoy everyday life.
Bolster it by engaging in movements which use large muscle groups rhythmically and continuously: walking, running, cycling, hiking, rollerblading, swimming, stair climbing, rowing, jumping rope, slide boarding, etc. Sustained movement at varied intensities is key.
Aerobic power is quantified as maximum oxygen uptake, the highest rate at which your body can take in and utilize oxygen during physical activity. This value increases significantly with training, thanks to improved heart pumping ability and greater oxygen extraction by muscle cells.
Body Composition
Body composition divides your total body weight into fat mass and fat-free mass (everything else, like muscles, bones, organs). While a small amount of body fat is essential for normal biological function (approximately 4 percent for men, 12 percent for women), excess fat can pose serious health risks.
Higher body fat levels are associated with high blood pressure, elevated cholesterol and blood lipids, diabetes, cancer, heart disease, and even increased psychological burdens. Therefore, maintaining body fat within healthy limits is crucial.
Body fat percentage is a much more meaningful measurement than total weight or Body Mass Index (BMI), which is essentially a weight-to-height ratio. Ideal body fat ranges for men and women are roughly 8 to 15 percent and 16 to 23 percent, respectively. Obesity is generally classified as over 25 percent body fat for men and over 32 percent for women. The CDC states that over 40 percent of U.S. adults have obesity; unfortunately, they used BMI as their indicator. Whoops!
Muscular Strength
Muscular strength is defined as the maximum force a muscle, or group of muscles, exerts in a single effort. Be careful testing it, though; it’s not worth the risk.
However, potentiating muscular strength is essential, and is central to a balanced fitness program — improving body composition, supporting sports performance, enhancing your ability to perform daily activities, and preventing both acute and chronic injuries. Plus, increasing muscle mass significantly raises your metabolic rate, helping with fat loss and boosting overall vitality.
The best way to increase muscular strength (and size and tone) is by exercising Eccentrics, the foundation of my Super 7-Week Shape-Up System. I’ve written copious quantities of content on the subject, and much is available online for free at the link below. Enjoy!
Muscular endurance
On the other end of the continuum, muscle endurance is the ability to sustain sub-maximal forces repeatedly, or hold a muscle contraction for an extended period. Think of it as your muscles’ stamina — for constant contractions.
Both muscular strength and endurance are specific to each muscle group, so a well-rounded program should include exercises targeting all major groupings: hips, thighs, calves, back, chest, shoulders, arms, forearms, neck, abdominals and lower back.
Training for endurance often involves using lighter weights for higher repetitions. Though I typically prefer the super synergistic solution of seven repetitions, “slowering the lowering” resistance for 7 seconds down, lighter sets of 77 regular repetitions are a periodic hoot, for sure.
Joint flexibility
Flexibility is defined as the capacity of joints to move through their full range of motion. The primary limitations in tightness are soft tissue structures, such as muscles, tendons, ligaments, and joint capsules, with muscles being the most modifiable, through training.
Stretching exercises — from steady static holds to proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation (PNF) — can significantly increase joint mobility. Seriously, read what I’ve already written. It’s good stuff!
Keep in mind that flexibility is joint-specific: being flexible in one area doesn’t guarantee flexibility elsewhere. Also, always perform stretching exercises after strength and/or stamina, never before. Warm muscles stretch. Cold muscles snap!
•••
Doug Jones earned his Master’s Degree in Exercise Physiology from the University of Maryland.. To submit your questions, or for more information, call (808) 652-6453 or visit www.DougJonesFitness.com
link