Five Elements of Fitness

Sometimes we forget about the five elements of fitness:

muscular strength

muscular endurance

healthy body mass index (BMI)

cardio respiratory fitness

flexibility

We need to have all of these to truly be counted as fit.

On weight lifting days, occasionaly use a bit less weight and go for rep count: three to five sets of 20 reps. Or if your doing three sets in five minutes, go for six sets in the same five minutes. This is a great way to overcome plateaus and work on muscular endurance.

For muscular strength, advanced lifters can pick 10 body parts for one workout. Lift as weight as you can safely for a one set, 4-rep failure. Do this three times a week for one week and you'll be surprised how much strength you can gain.

Weight training is important because it aids in bone density and gives up better connective tissue strength. The other benefit is that with extra muscle comes a better BMI.

Good BMI keeps us risk-free from certain diseases, such as high blood pressure and type-2 dabetes.

Hopefully everyone knows that cardio fitness is what helps keep the heart healthy. It also keeps our resting heart rate down so we don't over-tax our heart. With a strong heart, blood flows freely and keeps the rest of the body healthy.

Many people entirely forget about flexibility. (When was the last time you stretched?) By stretching, we keep our connective tissue pliable and our muscles long. This is important so the joints and muscles in the body have a free range of motion — and this keeps us injury-free.