Fitness has several dimensions. Strength, conditioning, movement and skill work together to help you meet the demands of your life.
Start with what you want to do
For me, fitness means showing up for family, clients and the activities I value. Your plan might support carrying groceries, playing a sport, travelling comfortably or training for an event. Those demands help determine what to prioritise.
A useful framework, not rigid boxes
A traditional teaching framework groups fitness into five health-related and six skill-related components. The lists below use that familiar structure, but the qualities overlap: power and balance can support health as well as sport.
ACSM’s 2026 roundtable moves away from a strict health/performance divide and emphasises their connections. Use the categories to organise thinking rather than limit what belongs in your plan.
Read ACSM’s update on the components of fitness.
Five health-related components
Cardiorespiratory endurance: sustaining activity with support from the heart, lungs and circulation.
Muscular strength: producing force against resistance.
Muscular endurance: repeating or sustaining muscular effort.
Flexibility: available range of motion around joints.
Body composition: the proportions of fat mass and fat-free mass.
Six skill-related components
Speed, power, agility, balance, coordination and reaction time support movement and sport performance. Power combines force with speed; balance and coordination matter in everyday life as well as sport.
You do not need to train every quality equally. Your experience, goals and activities determine the balance.
Turn the framework into a plan
Choose one or two priorities, schedule repeatable sessions and review how you are progressing. A balanced approach can include aerobic activity, strength work and movement practice without making every session complicated.
Explore Vela private coaching for an individual strategy.
