Your Fitness is not about being better than someone else.

Physical fitness refers to a state of health and well-being and, more particularly, the capacity to engage in certain activities related to sports, jobs, and daily living. Physical fitness is often attained with healthy eating, moderate-intense exercise, enough rest, and a formal recovery plan.

A thorough fitness regimen designed specifically for a person would often concentrate on one or more particular abilities as well as age- or health-related requirements like bone health.

Numerous sources emphasize the importance of mental, social, and emotional health as components of general fitness. In textbooks, this is sometimes depicted as a triangle with three points, each of which stands for physical, emotional, and mental fitness. It has been demonstrated that maintaining a healthy weight can help avoid disease and speed up the healing process after an injury or illness. Fitness has been demonstrated to have positive effects on both physical and mental health, helping to address depression and anxiety in addition to the physical health benefits. Physical exercise has frequently been cited as one of the most well-liked and beneficial self-care modalities because it may both prevent and treat many other chronic health disorders brought on by bad lifestyles or aging. By increasing sleep pressure, exercise can also aid in improving some people’s quality of sleep and may even help with some mood problems in some people.

U.S. Department of Health

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services published the 2018 Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans to give people aged 3 and older evidence-based advice on how to improve their health through regular physical activity. These recommendations urge more movement and less sitting throughout the day for all individuals in order to improve overall health, including mental, emotional, and physical well-being. Adults should engage in 75 to 150 minutes of strenuous aerobic exercise per week, 150 to 300 minutes of moderate aerobic exercise per week, or an equivalent combination of both distributed throughout the week for significant health advantages.

The guideline that physical exercise should be done in 10-minute increments has been dropped because recent studies indicate that short or long physical activity bursts can still have a positive impact on one’s health. More than 300 minutes (5 hours) of weekly moderate-intensity physical activity may result in additional health advantages. Adults should engage in two or more days per week of moderate to vigorous muscle-strengthening exercises that use all of the major muscle groups and give extra health advantages.

Aerobic exercise

Cardiorespiratory fitness can be measured using VO₂ max, a measure of the amount of oxygen the body can uptake and utilize. Aerobic exercise, which improves cardiorespiratory fitness and increases stamina, involves movement that increases the heart rate to improve the body’s oxygen consumption. This form of exercise is an important part of all training regimens, whether for professional athletes or for the everyday person.

Prominent examples of aerobic exercises include:

• Jogging– Running at a steady and gentle pace. This form of exercise is great for maintaining weight and building a cardiovascular base to later perform more intense exercises.
• Working on the elliptical trainer– This is a stationary exercise machine used to perform walking, or running without causing excessive stress on the joints. This form of exercise is perfect for people with achy hips, knees, and ankles.
• Walking– Moving at a fairly regular pace for a short, medium, or long distance.
• Treadmill training – Many treadmills have programs set up that offer numerous different workout plans. One effective cardiovascular activity would be to switch between running and walking. Typically warm up first by walking and then switch off between walking for three minutes and running for three minutes.
• Swimming– Using the arms and legs to keep oneself afloat in water and moving either forwards or backward. This is a good full-body exercise for those who are looking to strengthen their core while improving cardiovascular endurance.
• Cycling– Riding a bicycle typically involves longer distances than walking or jogging. This is another low-impact exercise on the joints and is great for improving leg strength.

Anaerobic exercise

Anaerobic exercise features high-intensity movements performed in a short period of time. It is a fast, high-intensity exercise that does not require the body to utilize oxygen to produce energy. Prominent examples of anaerobic exercises include:

• Weight training- A common type of strength training for developing the strength and size of skeletal muscles.
• Isometric exercise- Helps to maintain strength. A muscle action in which no visible movement occurs and the resistance matches the muscular tension.
• Sprinting- Running short distances as fast as possible, training for muscle explosiveness.
• Interval training- Alternating short bursts (lasting around 30 seconds) of intense activity with longer intervals (three to four minutes) of less intense activity.

High-intensity interval training

High-intensity interval training (HIIT) consists of repeated, short bursts of exercise, completed at a high level of intensity. These sets of intense activities are followed by a predetermined time of rest or low-intensity activity. Studies have shown that exercising at a higher intensity can have the effect of increasing cardiac benefits for humans when compared with exercising at a low or moderate level. When one’s workout consists of a HIIT session, the body has to work harder to replace the oxygen it lost.

Research into the benefits of HIIT has shown that it can be very successful for reducing fat, especially around the abdominal region. Furthermore, when compared to continuous moderate exercise, HIIT proves to burn more calories and increase the amount of fat burned post-HIIT session.

Controlling blood pressure

Physical fitness has proven to support the body’s blood pressure. Staying active and exercising regularly builds a stronger heart. The heart is the main organ in charge of systolic blood pressure and diastolic blood pressure. Engaging in physical activity raises blood pressure. Once the subject stops the activity, the blood pressure returns to normal. The more physical activity, the easier this process becomes, resulting in a fitter cardiovascular profile. Through regular physical fitness, it becomes easier to create a rise in blood pressure. This lowers the force on the arteries and lowers the overall blood pressure.

The WCRF/AICR recommendations include the following:

• Be as lean as possible without becoming underweight.
• Each week, adults should engage in at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity or 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity physical activity.
• Children should engage in at least one hour of moderate or vigorous physical activity each week.
• Be physically active for at least thirty minutes every day.
• Avoid sugar, and limit the consumption of energy-packed foods.
• Balance one’s diet with a variety of vegetables, grains, fruits, legumes, etc.
• Limit sodium intake and the consumption of red meats and processed meats.
• Limit alcoholic drinks to two for men and one for women a day.

Regular physical activity is a factor that helps reduce an individual’s blood pressure and improves cholesterol levels, two key components that correlate with heart disease and type 2 diabetes. The American Cancer Society encourages the public to “adopt a physically active lifestyle” by meeting the criteria in a variety of physical activities such as hiking, swimming, circuit training, resistance training, lifting, etc.

American Cancer Society

The American Cancer Society asserts different levels of activity ranging from moderate to vigorous. To clarify the recommended time spent on physical activity. These classifications of physical activity consider intentional exercise and basic activities performed on a daily basis. give the public a greater understanding of what fitness levels suffice for future disease prevention.

Achieving resilience through physical fitness promotes a vast and complex range of health-related benefits. Individuals who keep up physical fitness levels generally regulate their distribution of body fat and prevent obesity.  Sex steroid hormones, insulin, and appropriate immune responses are factors that mediate metabolism in relation to abdominal fat. Therefore, physical fitness provides weight control through the regulation of these bodily functions.

Studies have shown that physical activity can improve mental health and well-being. This improvement is due to an increase in blood flow to the brain, allowing for the release of hormones as well as a decrease in stress hormones in the body. (e.g., cortisol, adrenaline) while also stimulating the human body’s mood boosters and natural painkillers. Not only does exercise release these feel-good hormones, but it can also help relieve stress and help build confidence. For example:

• Physical activity are link to the alleviation of depression and anxiety symptoms.
• In patients with schizophrenia, physical fitness is showing to improve their quality of life and decrease the effects of schizophrenia.
• Working out can improve one’s mental alertness and it can reduce fatigue.
• Studies have shown a reduction in stress levels.
• Increased opportunity for social interaction, allowing for improved social skills

To achieve some of these benefits, the Centers for Disease Control at least 30–60 minutes of exercise 3-5 times a week.

• Different forms of exercise are prove to improve mental health and reduce the risk of depression, anxiety, and suicide.
• Benefits of Exercise on Mental health include … Improved sleep, Stress relief, Improvement in mood, Increased energy and stamina, and Reduced tiredness that can increase mental alertness. There are beneficial effects for mental health as well as physical health when it comes to exercise.