There are many different components of overall fitness. These can be for example, stretch, flexibility or aerobic fitness. Your aim may be to improve a particular component, or overall fitness.
This than would require a training program with different training methods to target the desired component.
A training program may also be developed to focus of one or two components that may be specific to a particular event such as weight loss.
By identifying which fitness component we want to improve we can ensure that we achieve the best results.
Cardiorespiratory endurance
It refers to the endurance of the heart (cardio) and lungs (respiratory). It is the ability to carry out and maintain aerobic or cardiovascular activity for a certain period of time, for example swimming, long-distance running or cycling.
There are number of tests available to this component of fitness:
* VO2 max test - most accurate of all, but it requires specialist equipment and effort from the individual
* 12 minute Cooper run test - it tests how far you can travel in 12 minutes by running, jogging or walking generally completed on treadmill
* 3minute step test - the aim is to record recovery time
* Time/distance test- can be carried out in any cardiovascular activity: jogging, swimming, cycling
Muscular strength and power
Strength can be defined as 'having the ability to overcome resistance" and it can further be divided into maximum strength, muscular endurance and muscular power.
This can be measured by number of tests:
* One rep max test - measure maximum weight that can be lifted once
* Press-up test, sit-up test,
* standing-jump test
Flexibility
It is defined as "the range of motion available at the joint". Generally, the tests carried out will need to be specific to a joint in question. A common test is a "Sit and Reach test" which indicates hip and lower back flexibility.
Body Composition
It refers to the amount of muscle, fat, bone and water in the human body. It should be considered alongside the body weight as the measure of health and fitness.
There are many different ways to measure body composition, for example skilful callipers, underwater weighing and bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA).
BIAs measure the body fat percentage. These can send electrical current around the body and measure the resistance of this current throughout the body tissue. Based on the current measurement and the age, weight, height and gender it can estimate the body fat.
You should however drink no alcohol for 48 hours before the tests, as well as no eating any food for 4 hours, have no strenuous activity for the last 12 hours and empty your bladder 30 minutes before testing. This is a simple and easy test and devices are relatively small, but if the person is dehydrated the results may be misleading.
Skinfold callipers measure the thickness of the skin folds at various sites of the body. The skin and fat is 'pinched' and a reading is taken from the side in millimetres totalled with other readings from other sides of the body. The data is than converted into percentage body fat value. The method is cheap, simple and use small equipment, but results can vary and can be difficult to measure at certain situations.
Underwater weighing is a method by which the body is weighted out of water and again underwater. Underwater we hold our breath. The benefits if this is that if performed correctly it can give consistent results to benchmark against, but the test may be complex to complete and specialist equipment is required.
Personal fitness profile
Personal fitness profile will give us basic data that can help to plan an exercise programme and also measure our progress. Assessing our progress is important part of the process, because it helps to focus on target, keep us motivated and eventually help to achieve our main fitness goals.
Static tests include height, weight, BMI, resting heart rate, maximum heart rate, blood pressure and body composition.
Dynamic tests assess the different components of fitness that include cardiorespiratory tests, strength tests and flexibility tests.
BMI
BMI (Body Mass Index) is a method used to categorise persons weight status based on their weight and height ratio. BMI will also give a good indication of general health, but it may not be suitable for those with high level of muscle mass, elder people and pregnant woman.
The BMI formula is:
Body weight in kilograms + height in meters squared
the Words Health Organisation state main five categories that can be used as a guideline to maintain good health based on the BMI score:
* Less than 18.5 - underweight
* 18.5 - 24.9 - ideal weight
* 25 - 29.9 - overweight
* 30 - 34.9 - obese
* over 35 - clinically obese
Heart rate
Heart rate measures the number of times the heart will bits per minute. As our fitness level improve the resting heart rate will decrease and return to resting level at a faster rate.
An average resting heart rate is 72 beats per minute. During that time the heart needs to pump up approximately 5 litres of blood around the body. During exercise heart pumps more blood per beat. The resting heart rate should be measured the first thing in he morning during a walk.
We can also calculate our maximum heart rate:
220 - age = Maximum Heart Rate (BPM)
It will represent the heart working in its hardest and should be used to develop a training programme to ensure we work out within a safe training zone. This will ensure that we can meet our exercise goals.
Blood pressure
To measure blood pressure special equipment must be used.
The blood pressure is measured by a cuff being placed around the upper arm and off inflated and than released so the pulse can be felt and heard in the upper arm.
The average adult reading for blood pressure is 120/80 mmHG.
Hypertension is a very common problem when the blood pressure remains high for a long period of time. It increases the risks of heart attack, strokes and kidney failure.
Using technology
There are some fantastic apps and devices available that can help to determine our fitness, plan outdoor training routes, plan indoor training, collect data, monitor workouts and synchronise data with other apps. Popular devices like FitBit or Apple Watch
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