The close relationship between the elements of physical fitness and sound physical and psychological health

Written  : Heba Abdel-Fattah

There is a close relationship between physical and psychological health and the elements of physical fitness, as there is a direct relationship between physical fitness and mental and physical health, so it is impossible for a person to practice sports and suffer from various diseases, because physical fitness is one of the most important things that he must maintain  A person throughout his life, and this will not happen except by making sure to persevere in performing physical exercises on a daily basis, even if these exercises are simple, because there is a close relationship between physical and psychological health and physical fitness, and it is very difficult to find a sick person, whether with a mental or physical illness.  He regularly exercises, and in general, physical fitness is exercise on a daily basis, so that a person can perform all tasks without feeling tired or exhausted, as exercise activates blood circulation and improves oxygen access to all parts of the body.

Thus, a person who has physical fitness can maintain the ideal weight very easily, because of the body’s ability to increase the rate of fat burning, and also the person who exercises protects himself from the risks of physical diseases, as physical fitness and exercise protect a person from developing pressure diseases.  And the heart and arteries, and it is remarkable that a physically fit person is characterized by self-confidence, because sport helps to get rid of stress and psychological and nervous pressures that a person is exposed to throughout his daily life, and one of the benefits of exercising is also exercise that works to regulate the movement of the respiratory system.

Types of fitness

The types of physical fitness differ according to the needs of each person from the other, as the exercises that a person who plays football and a professional football player needs in order to obtain physical fitness is completely different from the exercises needed by any other person who practices a different sport, as a football player  The foot is in great need of warm-up and heating exercises, as well as it always needs to practice jogging for long periods and distances, in order to strengthen the muscles of the legs and feet,

 But we find, for example, that a bodybuilder needs to practice weight-lifting exercises continuously, in order to strengthen the muscles of the back, chest and neck, and in order for the muscles to stand out in a distinct way.

elements of fitness

  1- Compatibility

What is meant here is the human ability to perform various activities that require moving a group of muscles. This component is divided into two types:

general compatibility

It means a person’s ability to perform various activities based mainly on skills, without practicing a specific sport.

The second type of this element is:

Special Compatibility: It means a person’s ability to perform activities related to exercise, as well as his ability to perform exercises.

 2- Flexibility

What is meant by the suppleness of the body and the ability of the joints to move easily, and it is divided into two parts:

Positive flexibility

It is a movement that includes the movement of all joints.

own flexibility

It is the movement that pertains to the internal joints only.

3- Muscular strength

It means how long the muscle is able to resist the external challenges it faces.

And there is the great power

It is a measure of the maximum amount of force that the muscular and nervous system can exert, and the characteristic strength is associated with speed, which is a measure of the maximum force that a muscle can perform in the least time, in addition to force endurance, which is a measure of the muscle’s ability to resist external factors without exhaustion or fatigue.

  4- Speed

There are 3 types of speed:

Kinetic speed, response speed, and translational speed.

5- Endurance

It is the ability of the muscles of the body to withstand the stress and fatigue during the performance of sports activities and exercises, those that require a very large physical and muscular effort, and also includes:

General endurance, and special endurance.

 6- Agility

  It is the ability of the body to easily change its shape in a short time, whether in the air or on the ground, and it includes two types:

 General agility and specific agility.

7- Balance

It is a measure of the body’s ability to maintain balance while performing exercise, and it includes two types:

Static balance, dynamic balance.

What are the health-related components of physical fitness?

1- Cardiorespiratory fitness

It is related to the function of the respiratory system in humans, and what is meant by that is the ability of the respiratory system to inhale oxygen-laden air, and then transfer it to all cells of the body, through the heart, blood vessels and arteries, and this leads to the transfer of oxygen to the muscles, which helps in their contraction naturally.  There are two ways to measure the cardiorespiratory fitness rate.

First method:

Measurement in the laboratory, and this is done by exposing the person to physical effort gradually, after which the respiratory gases are measured, as well as measuring the maximum percentage of oxygen that he uses in case of fatigue and exertion.

The second method, which is considered an indirect method, includes a set of field tests, for example measuring the time needed to run or walk a distance ranging from one to three kilometers.

2- Musculoskeletal fitness

This element contains several points, namely:

Muscular strength:

What is meant by it is the force resulting from the maximum effort exerted by the muscle voluntarily, as this element contains a measure of the strength and endurance of the abdominal muscles, while maintaining muscle contraction.

Articular flexibility:

It means measuring the extent of the ability of muscles and joints to perform their motor function normally, and we can know this through direct measurement in the laboratory and field tests, represented by performing push-ups and pull-up exercises, known as the horizontal bar exercise, in order to measure the strength of the arms and chest muscles.