How to Make All 5 Components of Fitness Work to Your Advantage

When it comes to physical fitness, it’s not just about the size of your muscles. There are five major components of fitness and physical capability, and it’s important to understand – and improve – each of them together to maximize your gains and your practical strength.

Let’s break down each of the 5 major components one by one and explore how you can bring them all together in your routine:

5. Cardiovascular Fitness

Cardiovascular fitness represents the strength of your broader cardiovascular system, including your heart, circulation system, and respiratory system.

It's primarily boosted by a great cardio routine like running, swimming, doing jumping jacks, and eating right so your heart stays healthy even as you age.

4. Muscular Strength

Naturally, muscular strength is all about the maximum weight your muscles can move in a single rep. You can build up muscular strength by lifting or performing resistance exercises.

You’ll bulk up as your muscle fibers tear during your workouts, and your body fills in those tears with new proteins to build additional muscle tissue.

3. Muscular Endurance

Equally important is muscular endurance, which represents how long your muscles can hold out before giving out.

Muscular endurance is boosted by repeating exercises with manageable weights (i.e. more reps with lighter weights instead of fewer reps with heavier weights). It can also be improved by resistance or bodyweight exercises.

2. Flexibility/Mobility

A pro athlete or anyone who wants to maximize their fitness also needs to consider flexibility and mobility.

Your flexibility and mobility determine how easy it is for you to move your body, stretch your muscles, and also play a role in how likely you are to sustain injuries during exercise. You can increase your flexibility and mobility through stretching exercises and yoga.

1. Body Composition

Your body composition is the proportion of muscle to fat you have. It also takes your natural build into account. You can improve your body composition by: 

• Cutting out excess carbs and saturated fats, which can contribute to a higher body fat percentage
• Eating more lean protein to grow muscle
• Eating plenty of fiber and healthy fats
• Avoiding excess sugars, which also contribute to body flabbiness and fat

Putting It All Together

To get the most out of your workout efforts and see the best results, you'll want to incorporate each of these 5 components into your life. With a little practice and dedication, you'll see the massive advantages of following a rigorous, well-rounded exercise and dietary routine.

While the details may vary from person to person, all good fitness routines look something like this:

Thanks for reading, stay strong warrior.

Justin | MME Fitness Contributor