What is General Health and Fitness?
Exercise can be used preventatively to improve your health and wellbeing, support healthy aging, achieve sport-specific goals, and help you perform daily tasks more effectively across all areas of life.
The four main principles of general health include:
- Physical Health: The proper functioning of the body and absence of illness.
- Mental Health: Emotional and psychological wellbeing.
- Emotional Health: The ability to manage and express feelings positively.
- Social Health: The ability to form relationships and adapt to social situations.
When focusing on health and fitness, the goal is to complete daily tasks without fatigue and have enough energy to enjoy leisure activities. Important aspects of health that support these tasks include—but are not limited to:
- Cardiorespiratory Endurance: The efficiency of your heart and lungs.
- Muscular Strength: The ability of your muscles to exert force.
- Flexibility: The range of motion available at your joints.
- Strength and Conditioning: Specialised sports science training that improves physical performance, reduces injury risk, and enhances fitness by combining strength, power, endurance, cardiorespiratory fitness, and agility.
Exercise Recommendations
To maintain your wellbeing, physical activity guidelines suggest a mix of training types:
- Strength Training: Using external resistance like weights or equipment to challenge muscles, leading to increased muscle strength, endurance, and growth.
- Aerobic Exercise: Rhythmic, repetitive activities like walking or cycling that improve heart and lung efficiency.
- Mobility: Exercises that increase joint range of motion with control.
- Balance: Essential for fall prevention by improving muscle strength, posture, and stability.
- Impact Exercise: Moderate to high-impact activities like jumping or skipping that promote bone density.
Adults should aim to be active most days of the week for cardiovascular health. Strength training is recommended at least twice weekly, alongside balance and flexibility exercises.
