In a purely physical sense, fitness is the ability of our heart, lungs and muscles to function at optimum efficiency. Today we’re going to look at the 5 physical components needed for all around total body fitness.

The 5 Fitness Components…

There are five components of total fitness, and a balanced workout programme put together by your personal trainer should address them all:

1. Cardiovascular fitness: otherwise known as stamina or aerobic fitness, this is the efficiency of the heart, lungs and circulatory system.
2. Muscular strength: by steadily increasing the amount of resistance when we work out, we can train our muscles to become stronger.
3. Muscular endurance: is the ability of a muscle or group of muscles to sustain repeated contractions against a resistance for an extended period of time.
4. Flexibility: often forgotten! Stretching can lengthen muscles and increase our range of movement.
5. Motor fitness: this includes aspects of training like agility, balance, co-ordination, power and speed. Motor fitness skills will transform you from a mere exerciser into an athlete!

Your personal trainer or online fitness coach will put together a diverse and dynamic schedule that will help to maintain your motivation – and offer that all-important support at times when the going gets tough. By working with a personal trainer to address all five components of fitness, you can enjoy the pleasure of discovering just what your body is capable of – and feeling proud of the results.

A perfect blend for results…

If you’re aiming to improve total body fitness, then it’s important to spend time working on all of the 5 components listed above. It’s fine to enjoy weight training but also make room in your schedule for circuit training or swimming, or perhaps a core stability session. Make-sure to also throw in a couple of stretches at the end of your workout. You could pick a day each week to work on a separate component, or combine a few components in each workout i.e. cardiovascular fitness, muscular endurance, and then flexibility.

Need more help? If you’d like me to design you your own customised Total Body Workout Plan – click here