IMPROVING PHYSICAL FITNESS: A REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE
Although most people's concept of physical fitness is little more than a vague conceptual notion of being in good shape or having a conditioned body, a more clinical definition is that physical fitness is state of well-being that allows a person to perform their daily routines and activities with a sense of vigor, stamina, and energy. Moreover, this sense of energy and vigor applies not only to participation in daily activities but also to those more rigorous activities that would be associated with recreation and/or handling some sort of emergency (Corbin, Welk, Corbin & Welk, 2005).
The importance of physical fitness cannot be overstated. According to the Office of the Presidency's White House Report on Physical Fitness (2005), health problems related to lack of physical fitness (most especially obesity and overweight) have reached epidemic proportions with both obesity and overweight increasing over 60 percent in the adult population in the last two decades. In children, these rates are climbing faster still and leading to multiple problems including diabetes, sleep apnea and asthma. The purpose of this paper is to examine the existing research on improving physical fitness as it relates to adults as well as children and adolescents.. The review ends with the formulation of a series of conclusions based on the reviewed literature.
Methods, Strategies, and Techniques for Improving Physical Fitness in Adults
Improving Components of Physical Fitness
According to Fahey, Insel and Walton (2001), there are five basic components associated with physical fitness. These components are: cardiorespiratory endurance; muscular strength; muscular endurance; body composition; and flexibility. In order for a person to improve his or her overall level of physical fitness, he or she must work on improving all five of these components.
Regarding the first of these componen...