Tips to Improve Your Fitness

Many of us do not know what the difference between exercise and fitness is. Often we hear about the importance of diet and nutrition but often we do not really understand what the difference between the two is. Well, it is pretty simple actually. Physical fitness is the condition of well being and health and, more importantly, your ability to do various parts of daily tasks, sports and jobs.

Fitness is commonly achieved through regular physical activity, proper nutrition and adequate rest. For those who are in reasonably good health, cardiovascular fitness can be achieved through activities like swimming, jogging, brisk walking, bicycling, aerobics, and dancing. Strength building can also be achieved through strength training, stretching and endurance. Flexibility and endurance can be improved by stretching, biking or running.

Cardiovascular fitness improves your overall health by reducing the risk of various diseases and illnesses. It improves your lung capacity, which helps in preventing cancer. Aerobic fitness increases your metabolism which accelerates fat burning and decreases the risk of obesity. Resistance training improves muscle mass, which improves bone density, muscular strength and improves the efficiency of the digestive system.

Muscle toning and strengthening are other important factors of physical fitness. When you perform regular exercise, your body’s metabolism increases resulting in increased muscle mass, which in turn helps in muscle toning. Muscles become flexible and longer in length. This leads to strength and endurance. Similarly, weight training provides an excellent workout for your muscles, leading to increased muscle strength, increased bone density and improved metabolism. Thus, weight training helps improve muscular function and long-term muscle strength.

The types of exercises that affect your body composition are categorized into fast twitch fibers and slow twitch fibers. There are certain exercises that help you build fast twitch fibers such as weightlifting and sprinting. However, there are many others that help you build slow twitch fibers such as cycling, swimming, rowing, cross country skiing and tennis. These activities keep your body in shape as well as provide a healthy way of living. The type of exercises that you perform will also depend on your body composition.

One of the most effective ways of increasing the amount of lean muscles in your body is by performing strength training. You can perform resistance training through various forms such as free weights, machines and curls. Similarly, there are many other exercises that you can do at home to increase your muscle mass and improve your muscular endurance. These include abdominal crunches, leg raises, squats, leg press and chin ups. The various types of exercises and workouts that you perform will greatly improve your muscular endurance.