What components of fitness do you need to incorporate into a fitness plan to develop and maintain physical fitness?

Answer 1

Three major components of are: 1) muscle strength, 2) muscle endurance and 3) muscle flexibility, so the key elements of a strength plan would need to incorporate activities that address each of these.

Strength = lifting weights through a prescribed number of reps and sets depending upon fitness goals;

Endurance = developing the muscle's ability to "fire" throughout a prescribed workout period (one hour workout, example);

Flexibility = increasing the muscle's ability to move through a full range of motion for optimal power and injury prevention.

Cardiovascular = heart endurance.

A good fitness plan also incorporates aerobic or cardiovascular conditioning relative to the client's goals. For example, for maximum weight loss, a client might spend 65 percent of his/her time in aerobic activity (walking, running, elliptical) with the remaining time spent with lifting. A client who wants to gain more muscle mass, for example, might spend 65 percent of his/her time in lifting, with the remaining balance devoted to cardio.