Fitness is a major part of many peoples lives, and for some it is even their job to be fit. The five parts of fitness are muscular strength, muscular endurance, flexibility, cardiovascular endurance and body composition. Each one of these are crucial components of being fit.

Muscular strength is most commonly trained by lifting 70 percent of your maximum weight for that exercise 10-12 times. Muscular strength and muscular endurance are two things that many believe are the same, but in reality are very different.

Muscular strength is how much force one can exert; muscular endurance is how many times muscles can exert the same amount of force. Flexibility is how far muscles can stretch without pulling or tearing. Cardiovascular endurance is the ability of one’s heart, lungs and blood vessels to deliver oxygen to muscle tissue. The faster those three body parts can perform, the slower one breathes.

Body composition describes the amount of fat, muscle, water and bone by percentage. Body composition and weight also have to determine how lean a person is because muscle takes up less space in the body than fat.

These are the main five parts of fitness and there are many more that come into play. Some of the benefits of being physically fit include a healthier heart, stronger bones and looking and feeling better.