What is good physical health?

The Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology defines physical health as being the ability to accomplish your daily routine activities with ease and agility without excessive fatigue and with enough energy remaining to enjoy leisure and to cope with emergency situations. There is therefore a close link between health and physical condition since the latter greatly influences our capacity to enjoy life to its fullest and take on challenges.

Through exercise, you should focus on improving the five following determinants of your physical condition, this is to say :

1. Cardiovascular capacity refers to the ability of the lungs to provide sufficient oxygen to the muscles through the bloodstream AND the ability of the muscles to use this oxygen efficiently in order to produce energy;

2. Muscular strength and endurance refers to the ability to lift a heavy load during a sustained period of time AND the capacity to lift a relatively heavy load during a sustained period of time or with repetition;

3. Body fat percentage must be low enough in order to avoid health issues;

4. Flexibility refers to the ability of the muscles and tendons to extend completely and allow to move through a complete range of motion;

5. Release and relaxation refers to the capacity to release stress and unwind.

Any improvement of these determinants will define good physical health. By means of a sound exercise program and a healthy diet, you will succeed in perfecting these five determinants. As a matter of fact, you will notice the improvement quite quickly. So, whether it be for better mental or physical health, a number of benefits are associated to the improvement. Although there is no good reason for leading a sedentary and inactive lifestyle, there are plenty of reasons to do so! You won’t be sorry you laced up those running shoes!

By Karine Larose

What is good physical health? is a post from Nautilus Plus. The Nautilus Plus blog aims to help people in their journey to fitness through articles on training, nutrition, motivation, exercise and healthy recipes.
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