Balance, Strength, Flexibility, and Endurance: 4 Types of Fitness (And Why They Matter)

The best approach to fitness is a well-rounded one. Here are the four main types of fitness—and why each one makes an impact on your health.

Being physically active is good for our health, something that most Americans can testify to. One survey of 2,000 people found that 79% say that they feel happier when they have a regular exercise routine. Despite this, only around 23% of people actually get enough exercise, according to the National Center for Health Statistics.

Whether you have a specific fitness goal or are simply interested in improving your health and well-being, it is important to understand the different types of fitness that exist. That way, you can choose a fitness regime that will allow you to reach your personal goals or target.

In this blog post, we will highlight 4 types of fitness training—balance, strength, flexibility, and endurance—and why they matter. Let’s get started.

Balance

While balance is often overlooked by people who regularly hit the gym, its importance to our fitness can’t be overstated. Improving your balance helps to increase strength and coordination, which allows you to move steadily and freely. Think of balance as being the foundation of a good fitness routine.

Enhanced mobility, stability, and flexibility allow you to perform both everyday tasks and fitness routines more easily. Balance exercises such as single leg lifts and balance walks will serve to improve athletic performance as a whole.

Strength

When we speak of muscular strength, we refer to the amount of force muscles are able to exert or how much weight they are able to lift. The stronger your muscles, the heavier the weight you will be able to lift and move.

Strength can vary between muscle groups and a person may have strong biceps but weaker glutes and quads. It is important to ensure that you have well-rounded muscular strength and spend time training all of the major muscle grounds. These include arms, legs, back, shoulders, and hips.

Flexibility

Fleixity refers to the ability to move joints and muscles through a full range of motion without difficulty or pain. Certain physical activities require greater flexibility than others, including martial arts, dance, and gymnastics.

Regular stretching helps to improve flexibility. This, in turn, helps to reduce the risk of injury, reduce pain, and enhance performance in certain athletic pursuits. Always ensure that stretching is part of your workouts, including both a warm-up and cool-down stretch. 

Endurance

Muscular endurance, finally, refers to the ability of muscles to sustain exercises over a period of time. It is always recommended that you include muscular endurance activities in a fitness routine. These may include isometric exercises, high rep weight training, and longer duration training (such as running and cycling).

If you are looking to improve general endurance, there are many beginner-friendly workouts you can do. These include stair climbing, yoga, and pilates.

Understanding 4 Types of Fitness

A good workout routine should include each of these 4 fitness types. Each is closely associated with better overall health and physical fitness.

If you are ready to feel more confident in yourself and get in shape, join us at Army Gymnastics. We will help you to get in shape, lose weight, and improve your health. Contact us to learn more about the types of physical fitness.