The Importance of Fitness Are you tired of feeling out of breath right after a quick climb up the stairs or feeling too tired after a ten minute game with your son? Maybe it's time to get to work and get in shape. What does it really mean to be physically fit? It's a question many of us ask ourselves when we're looking to look better and feel better about ourselves. Personally, I don't know a single person in this world who aspires to be fat and out of shape. When you finally get up from the couch, put the snacks in the cupboard, and decide it's time for you to get in shape, you usually head to the gym first. Eating right and exercising are the two things that usually come to mind first when it comes to “getting in shape.” There are, however, more than just a few things you can do to get in shape. Fitness is to the human body what tuning is to an engine. This allows us to perform at our highest levels. Fitness can be described as a condition that helps us look, feel, and perform our best. More specifically, it is: "The ability to perform daily tasks with vigor and alertness, with energy remaining to enjoy leisure activities and respond to emergency demands, and constitutes a major basis for a good health and well-being." ("Fitness...")Physical fitness involves the performance of the heart, lungs and muscles of the body. And since what we do with our bodies also affects what we can do with our minds, physical fitness somewhat influences qualities such as mental alertness and emotional stability. ("Fitness...") When undertaking your fitness program, it is important to remember that fitness is an individual quality that varies from person to person. It is influenced by age, sex, heredity, personal habits, exercise and ...... middle of paper ...... situation has never been a great measure of sports performance. Lean muscle mass appears to be linked to performance in sports where the ability to generate maximal force is required. Good body composition is essential to health. In order to achieve good body composition, you must eat well and exercise to the best of your ability. (Quinn) I hope that after learning a little more about fitness and what it takes to achieve it, you can go play with your son or daughter and maybe have a little fun doing it . Without all that wheezing to climb the stairs, you can get more done during your day and still have energy for yourself. I hope this information can help you get started with your new exercise program. Remember to use all five components. These will help you in all aspects of your program to become fitter..