ACSM publishes roundtable statement on Components of Fitness!
In August, ACSM published a new specialty communication “The Components of Fitness: A Roundtable Statement by the American College of Sports Medicine” in the Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise journal. This statement provides consensus and recommendations for an updated, evidence-based framework in understanding the components of physical fitness. The five updated components presented in the statement include:
- cardiorespiratory fitness
- muscular fitness (strength, endurance, power)
- body composition (fat mass, fat-free mass)
- flexibility
- neuromotor fitness (agility, balance, gait speed)
“The ACSM roundtable statement on the components of fitness centers on a widely used paradigm, providing a framework for exercise prescription and exercise counseling. The updated model of physical fitness is based on the latest scientific evidence and therefore provides exercise and other health professionals as well as the general public with an approach to physical fitness that may provide the best outcomes” said Roundtable Chair and roundtable statement lead author Deb Riebe, PhD, FACSM, Professor at the University of Rhode Island.
Alongside the framework, the statement provides several key takeaways:
- The health/performance divide is retired: Health and performance related components of physical fitness are no longer separate, as each contributes to each other.
- Neuromotor fitness unites performance-related components: Performance related components (agility, balance, gait speed) are now grouped under a single neuromotor fitness component.
- The components are interconnected: Participation in one mode of exercise often improves several components at once — e.g., resistance training improves muscular fitness, flexibility, and neuromotor fitness (balance).
- An Individualized approach: The updated model promotes exercise programs tailored to the individual while addressing all components.
This statement was developed with a multidisciplinary international panel of 21 academic experts from three countries and 20 academic institutions, with final composition of the roundtable and project approved by the ACSM Scientific Integration and Leadership Committee and the ACSM Board of Trustees.
The paper was led by Deb Riebe, along with Meir Magal, Leonard A. Kaminsky, Robert Ross, Stuart M. Phillips, Sofiya Alhassan, Ross Arena, David G. Behm, Sarah M. Camhi, Timothy S. Church, Ellen M. Evans, Yuri Feito, Avery D. Faigenbaum, Steven B. Heysfield, Charles H. Hillman, Catherine M. Jankowski, Andrea Konrad, Gary Liguori, Leah E. Robinson, R. Andrew Shanely, and Carol Ewing Garber.
Round tables and other specialty conferences are developed and supported by ACSM scientific affairs program. ACSM members and journal subscribers can freely access the paper in the Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise (MSSE) journal here.
For more information on round tables and specialty conferences, visit the ACSM website: https://www.acsm.org/meetings/specialty
