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Five Components of a Healthy Lifestyle

Health Related Fitness Includes These Components:

1. Cardiorespiratory Fitness: The ability to continue or persist in strenuous tasks involving large muscle groups or extended periods of time. Also called aerobic fitness, it is the ability of the circulatory and respiratory systems to adjust to and recover from the effects of such activities as brisk walking, running, swimming, cycling, and other moderate-to-vigorous activities.

2. Body Composition: The relative amounts of body fat and lean body tissue or fat-free mass (muscle, bone, water, skin, blood, and other non-fat tissues). Often expressed as percent body fat.

YMCA Guidelines - Women 19-31% Men 16-24%

3. Flexibility: The ability of the joints to move through a full range of movement (e.g., touching one’s toes with legs straight).

YMCA Guidelines; Use a static stretch Hold for 15-30 seconds

4. Muscular Strength and Endurance: Muscular strength is the maximal one-effort force that can be exerted against a resistance (e.g., lifting the heaviest weight possible in the bench press or leg squat), while muscular endurance is the ability of the muscles to supply a sub-maximal force repeatedly (e.g., sit-ups, push-ups, or lifting weights 10-15 times in the weight room).

YMCA Guidelines - 3 times/week 2-3 sets 8-12 repetitions

5. Nutrition: The food guide pyramid encourages us to eat a variety of foods to get the required nutrients and the right amount of calories to maintain a healthy weight.

Food Guide Pyramid Guidelines
Bread/grain/cereal/rice/pasta 6-10 servings
Vegetables 3-6 servings
Fruit 4-6 servings
Milk/yogurt/cheese 2-3 servings
Meat 2-3 servings
Fats/oils Use sparingly

Serving sizes based on a 2000 kcal diet (fits most Americans)
Grains 6 oz. (1/2 whole grains)
Vegetables 2.5 cups
Fruits 2 cups
Dairy 2 cups low-fat
Meat/beans 5.5 oz.

Other Recommendations:
Water at least 8 glasses per day=64 oz.
Fiber 25-35 grams/day