As you get older, life inevitably changes. You start to prefer different activities and experiences, your priorities shift, and you may have increased responsibilities.
However, one thing that should remain important through all these changes is your fitness. Make time to take care of your body, and you’ll thank yourself later for it.
Physical fitness includes a number of different elements:
Cardiovascular fitness: how efficient your heart and blood vessels are at transporting oxygen around your body
Muscular strength: the amount of force that your muscles can exert
Muscular endurance: the amount of time your muscles can work without becoming tired
Flexibility and mobility: the freedom of movement in your joints and muscles
Body composition: the percentage of muscle, fat, and bone within the body
What Does It Mean to Get Fit?
Getting fit means prioritizing all of these elements. You can customize a workout routine that touches upon all areas of the body and a diet that supports your fitness efforts.
When you are younger, you may be able to get away with only one or two of these pillars without repercussions. However, as you begin to age, the full spectrum of fitness becomes more important than ever before. Cardiovascular fitness reduces your risk of heart disease. Muscle strength and endurance keeps your bones strong and maintains lean muscle mass.
Meanwhile, mobility helps to keep you feeling good and able to perform routine daily tasks. As the saying goes, when it comes to aging joints, motion is lotion to keep them moving freely.
In short, all of these elements of fitness play a role in keeping you healthy. No matter what your age is or how old you feel, keeping fit is the best thing to do to ensure that your body ages gracefully.