 Four Components of Fitness
Cardiovascular Fitness
Cardiovascular exercise, otherwise known as aerobics, is anything that raises your heart rate. I am not talking about the latest thriller at your local movie theater, but some sort of physical exercise that gets your heart pumping.
So, how do you get your heart pumping? Maybe you walk with exercise videos, on a treadmill, outdoors, or accumulated walking steps throughout the day. You might even do some crazy and wild high impact exercise video, run around your neighborhood, dance naked or cycle up steep hills.
If you like the “group” type of exercises, your local recreation center, YMCA or YWCA most likely has very affordable group aerobic classes. The point here is, there is an ample assortment of ways to get your heart pumping, and fat melting off of your body.
The only thing is you have to pick an activity that you enjoy. The key is not to do what you think you should be doing, but to do what you want to be doing. As long as you are moving, you are doing the right thing.
As you get more into physical exercise, you will naturally become more curious about target heart rates, proper shoes, and different techniques and activities. Those things will come with time, and you will know which ones are right for you to concern yourself with at that time.
In the meantime, simply move and enjoy the feeling you receive!
Strength Training
Many women are frightened to begin a strength training program. They believe that they are going to get big and bulky.
Sure, you can get big and bulky if you choose to, but simply adding a weight regimen to your exercise repertoire is not going to turn you into the Incredible Hulk.
In fact, adding some muscle work will help you to lose weight and look trimmer! Plus, it helps your heart in ways that cardio exercises cannot.
So, where do you start?
I am willing to bet you have some soup cans in your kitchen. You can start there!
There are many ways to reap the rewards of strength training. There are weight machines, resistance bands, free weights, milk jugs, your children (let’s hope they are not 12…), stability balls and your own body weight.
And there are also so many places to either do your weight training, or find proper techniques. If you are a person who would prefer the convenience of an at home workout, you could use magazine articles, workout videos, or buy a weight training book.
If you are an outdoor person, you can do walking lunges around your neighborhood, climb bleachers at the local school, find a trail that has workout stations along the path, or make your own backyard strength circuit by doing pushups from your deck, lunges over your dog’s “restroom” and dips from your kids swing set bar.
If you enjoy the whole “gym” scene, by all means go! You will have a surplus of equipment and trainers at your disposal. If you would like to experience the gym, but money is a little tight, check out the recreation centers or a YMCA or YWCA. They usually have some great deals that beat the pants off of a huge gym.
Follow Instructions Carefully
It is very important to stress the need for you to make sure you are using proper form while weight training in order to avoid serious injury. You can do this several ways: really pay attention to any magazine article or book that describes the proper form, really pay attention (and pause if necessary) any weight training video you use, or of course, you can always hire a personal trainer just to teach you proper form.
It is important that you do these exercises properly, to make sure you don’t get hurt, and to make sure you are working your muscles to maximum efficiency in order to get the results you are looking for!
It is also worth mentioning that the more muscle you have, the more calories your body burns naturally which means quicker weight loss in the long run, and a healthier body overall!
Flexibility
Believe it or not, being flexible is a vital part to any weight loss plan, or physical fitness plan. As you become more physically fit, your muscles will naturally become stronger and tighter. This is a good thing, but you want to make sure you can still move those muscles!
When you incorporate stretching into your fitness plan, you will become more flexible, therefore allowing you to do all of your other exercise more effectively and achieve the results you are going after all that much faster!
Just as with the other components of exercise, you can get essential stretching techniques from a variety of resources. There are magazine articles, books, and videos all available. Use whatever method that is most enjoyable to you.
Three important factors to remember while stretching are to never stretch to the point it hurts, hold each stretch for at least 15 seconds, and remember to breathe deeply while stretching. If you go beyond your stretching comfort zone, you can pull a muscle and be out of commission for a while; you don’t want that!
Plus, when you stretch, you want to get a good, solid stretch, so hold your pose for anywhere between 15 to 30 seconds. And when you breathe deeply, you allow your breath to reach the muscles you are stretching, which is incredibly beneficial for them. When you regularly stretch your body, you will feel the strong, yet tension free muscles in your body. It is very empowering!
Relaxation
Sure, cardio, strength training, and stretching can all provide relaxation for your body; but what about your mind?
To be able to fully concentrate on responsible weight loss, or pure fitness, a clear mind is a must. This is not something you can achieve with a one or two a week session. Truly relaxing is most beneficial if you practice it on a daily basis.
And, unfortunately, in a world where people want the “quick fixes”, this is not one of them. The true benefit of relaxing your mind comes from an accumulation of day after day of practice. And rest assured, it is worth the wait.
There are many ways to do this, so pick one that you find most enjoyable and doable! There is yoga (which is also good for flexibility), meditating, thoughtful prayer, drawing, journaling, deep breathing… the list is essentially endless. But is has to be something that you can simply lose yourself in.
No distractions, no mind chatter, simply an outlet that allows your peace to flow from your inner being to the outside world, and encircle you in warmth. No pressure, just allow yourself to be with you.
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