All of us would like to be fit and healthy, but this can be hard to achieve if we can't even define it. What then does it actually mean to be fit and healthy? Here we will examine some of the things that make someone fit or not so fit.
CV Fitness
CV fitness means that you are capable of exerting yourself for long periods of time without getting tired and without having some kind of asthma attack or heart complaint. If you have good cardio fitness you will be able to go running for long periods of time, and to climb flights of stairs deftly without bending over panting when you reach the top. This is probably what the vast majority of people mean when they say 'fit'.
To be fit in this regard, you need to be a good weight for your size, and you need to work to improve your VO2 max and heart by going for jogs, rowing, cycle etc, or engaging in sports.
Strength
Strength also comes into health and fitness. Someone fit generally is not going to be wiry and is not going to look as though they'd fall apart if you flicked them. In order to be fit you will likely to some form of resistance training which might mean calisthenics or using weights. For women this means achieving a basically toned body, while for men it often means more impressive biceps and pecs.
Health
Flexibility
Being flexible might not be as crucial as having a strong cardiovascular system, but it is nevertheless one of the 'pillars' of fitness and falls into that category. If you work on flexibility then you can help yourself to avoid injury, and can at the same time improve your range of movement. Simply stretching and warming up before training will help you to develop and sustain flexibility.
Jan Hargrove is a blogger and fitness expert. He writes about family wellness, health and other group fitness related topics.
