How the 5 Components of Fitness Can Improve Run Performance [Video]

It’s easy for runners to assume that “physical fitness” is equal to performance metrics — the faster or longer you run, the more fit you are. To that end, you plan your workouts in service of training cycles and upcoming races.

In reality, though, healthy, long-living humans are more than just their run speeds and PBs. In fact, there are five components to physical fitness. To keep running and stay healthy, you likely need to add some specific moves and workouts to your weekly schedule to meet all five.

According to the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM), the five components of physical fitness are:

• Muscular strength
• Cardiovascular endurance
• Muscular endurance
• Flexibility
• Body composition

However, this list isn’t definitive. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services combines muscular strength and muscular endurance into the category of “musculoskeletal fitness” and adds “balance” and “speed,” while omitting “body composition.”

All of these lists give people a well-rounded approach to fitness that supports longevity, disease prevention, quality of …