Fitness Strength Training For Good General Health

I am a Fitness Strength Training devotee and having trained for a few years now I feel really fit and healthy. That’s fine for me to say but how would you define being healthy? And how about feeling fit? I am eating a well-balanced, nutritious diet but would that alone be enough for everyone? How about the ability to get into a 14km fun run such as the City to Surf run that I did in Sydney recently? Could you do it right now?

I could ask 20 people to give me their definition of health and fitness, and I would most likely get up to 20 different answers. One thing though is a proven fact. Good general health and fitness requires attention to five basic components:

1. Cardiovascular exercise
2. Fitness Strength Training
3. Flexibility Training
4. Good balanced nutrition
5. Mental well being

In considering a new or changed health and fitness program, it is important to make sure that you address each one. For the fastest and best results, fitness strength training routines that address all five of these topics is a must. Working on only one or two, or even three will give you results; but, you will get far better results faster if you follow a program that works in all five of these areas.

Why is this so? Because training in each of these areas has cross benefits in all of them. Cardiovascular exercises will improve your lung capacity. With less puffing and panting you’ll be able to increase the weights that you can lift or pull. Lifting heavier weights will burn up more fuel which you will get from a good balanced diet. Using more fuel will burn body fat and replace it with lean muscle to give you a healthy trim toned body. Achieve a trim toned body and you’ll be able to run faster and lift heavier weights. Include flexibility training at the start and end of your program to prevent feeling stiff and sore afterwards. No stiffness or soreness and you’ll be able to do more and work better the following day. Feeling fit and healthy through physical training and following a good balanced diet which promotes an overall feeling of well being which in turn keeps you mentally fit and active.

I realise that weight training for women is something that is not overly popular. A lot of women are afraid that regular weight training routines will leave them looking bulked up like a man. Please believe me when I say this is not the case. I’ll address this issue in a separate post later but for now, male and female alike, please consider doing regular training that includes the training segments discussed here.

So how do you achieve this, particularly with today’s busy lifestyle that most of us lead? The solution is fitness strength training using a portable “Gym in a Bag” system that provides all the flexibility of a multigym. There a several very good packages available on the market that are highly recommended by fitness professionals.

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