How to Get Fit: A Simple Guide
What is Fit?
Before learning how to get fit, it’s important to understand what it means to be fit. Following are five general components of physical fitness:
- Cardiovascular Endurance - Those who enjoy cardiovascular fitness are able to endure extended periods of activities that involve the need for large amounts of oxygen. Basic cardiovascular fitness should involve an elevated heart rate for 30 continuous minutes at least three times per week. If you nearly vomit every time you climb the stairs, you may need to improve your cardiovascular fitness.
- Muscular Endurance - Those who enjoy muscular fitness are able to contract their muscles repeatedly with a decent amount of weight. The standard for muscular endurance is the push up. You should be able to do at least 20. If the last time you did a push up was in 5th grade and everybody laughed at you, it’s time to get over it.
- Muscular Strength - Muscular strength requires the ability to lift heavy objects. Half-empty beer cans and forks do not constitute heavy objects.
- Flexibility - This component of physical fitness involves full range of motion for your muscles. Flexibility varies with body part.
- Body Composition - This is the most obvious component of physical fitness and the one that gets the most attention. Body composition takes into account the ratio of lean mass to not so lean mass. Those with a lot of not so lean mass are easy to spot, hence society’s emphasis on this component.
How to Get Fit: The Power of Positive Thinking
For those struggling with fitness, you may be attacking the problem at the wrong level, especially if the problem involves overeating. Too many dieters focus on the physical aspects of physical fitness. After all, it is physical fitness. A lack of physical fitness, however, indicates a lack of emotional and mental fitness–the ability to make wise decisions.
Think about the last time you overate. Was it because you were physically tormented? Was it because you thought you needed an extra seven slices of bluebery pie? More than likely there was emotion involved. You may have been stressed when you got the triple Whopper with cheese (which, by the way, contains 1250 calories and 84 grams of fat). You may have been celebrating when you ate the 14 slices of cheesecake. You may have been depressed when you emptied the tub of Ben and Jerry’s.
Think about the last time you ate something unhealthy. Was someone holding a gun to your head, forcing you to eat a side of bacon? Did the second helping of tater tots jump from the plate into your mouth in a mass suicide? Chances are you had a choice. The grocery store near you probably sells fruits and vegetables. There are probably no laws forcing you to eat bratwurst for breakfast. You have a choice.
What does this mean?
It means you must make the choice to get fit. It begins with setting a goal and changing your mindset; otherwise, none of this information will matter. Furthermore, you already know the basics. You knew before you typed the phrase “How to Get Fit” in the google search engine that you needed to eat less and exercise more.
Page 2 contains the basic components of getting fit.
The Basics of Getting Fit
We’ll begin with the basics of getting fit and then move on to each specific category of fitness. Getting fit is simple: (1) exercise; (2) eat (and drink) well. We’ll begin with the eat well part.
No amount of exercise will compensate for poor eating. It is the most important aspect of getting fit. Eating well provides energy for improving cardiovascular endurance, muscular endurance, and muscular strength.
- Fruits and vegetables are rich in vitamins. Vitamins help the body turn food into energy. Fruits and vegetables, therefore, help your body produce energy. An energetic body moves, improves muscular fitness, and burns calories.
- Whole grains contain complex carbohydrates. Complex carbohydrates provide endurance. You may have noticed that two of the five components of physical fitness involve endurance. Eat complex carbohydrates–whole wheat bread, pasta, rice, for example.
- Consuming too much sugar and fat is a waste of calories. Although some is necessary, they exist naturally in many healthy foods. Unnecessary fat and sugar bring a double whammy: (1) They zap you of energy; (2) They are converted more easily to fat, negatively affecting your body composition.
Improving Different Aspects of Fitness
Page one explains what the five components of physical fitness are. Now we’ll look at each of these five components.
- Cardiovascular Endurance - The only means of becoming cardiovascularly fit is to do cardiovascular exercise. Three times per week for thirty minutes is sufficient. That doesn’t mean someone who hasn’t left his couch for half a decade should do that this week. Some have to work up to it. Popular cardiovascular exercises include fast walking, jogging, bicycling, swimming, dancing, and trampoline. Unpopular cardiovascular activities include running from lions and walking on your hands.
- Muscle Endurance and Muscle Strength - Getting fit requires some form of resistance training. Push-ups, pull-ups, sit-ups, and dips are simple exercises you can do at home, without equipment, to improve muscular endurance. For those who prefer the weight room or a gym, circuit weight training is fantastic. Improving muscle strength involves the use of heavier weights. When doing resistance weight training, less weight and more reps improves muscle endurance; more weight and fewer reps improves muscle strength.
- Flexibility - Stretch before working out. Yoga, pilates, and other activities that require spandex help with flexibility.
- Body Composition - This is the most obvious component of physical fitness, but anyone who’s ever been passed by the fat guy during the 5-k understands that appearance isn’t always reality. To improve body composition, exercise and eat right.