5 Components of Health Related Fitness

Five Components of Health Related Fitness 

What does it mean to be physically "fit?" Physical fitness is defined as "a set of attributes that people have or achieve that relates to the ability to perform physical activity" (USDHHS, 1996). In other words, it is more than being able to run a long distance or lift a lot of weight at the gym. Being fit is not defined only by what kind of activity you do, how long you do it, or at what level of intensity. While these are important measures of fitness, they only address single areas. Overall fitness is made up of five main components: 

• Cardiorespiratoryendurance
• Muscular strength
• Muscular endurance
• Body composition
• Flexibility 

  In order to assess your level of fitness, look at all five components together.