Competitiveness has intensified in sports. Physical exercise and body building too are competitive. Aerobic exercise, flexibility exercise and strength training are the main categories of exercises. Each of them has their own distinctiveness. Oxygen intake is the highest in the case of aerobic exercise. The production of energy and the metabolic functions of the body improve significantly. A 20 minute aerobic exercise is to be followed with cooling down. This is important for best results. Stretching in flexibility exercise using equipments or a partner improves the movement of the joint as well as body movement. But in the case of body weight exercise, you do not rely on any equipment such as free weights. The body weight itself is sufficient for exercising for strength training. Push-ups, sit-ups and pull-ups are examples of body weight exercises. Those who do not wish to use strength training equipments prefer body weight exercise to keep themselves physically fit.

The key components of physical fitness are general fitness and specific fitness. The main goal of general fitness is to improve the general health conditions. Specific fitness seeks to improve the ability of the person to improve the performance of the person in a specific task or sport by enhancing the physical abilities of the person in that task or sport. Physical fitness has as its key components Body Composition, Cardiovascular Fitness, Strength Training, Flexibility Training, Muscular Endurance and General Skill Training. Sports such as strongman, bodybuilding, power lifting and weightlifting also have intensive physical fitness program as part of building up the body.

Obesity and overweight has become a widespread health problem. Our standard of living has improved. The Physical Quality of Life Index is also becoming better and better. Comforts in life have increased with the application of science and technology to better our living conditions. Along with this has come the bane of obesity and overweight. It poses a threat of debilitating and death threatening diseases. There is a huge market for weight loss programs. It has also become a specific field of expertise. All those stunning models and chiseled men that appear in the slick magazines are the ideals or the standard that one imagines oneself to become. One dreams of a miraculous way to achieve this shape. There is this strong belief that these shapes are the best and ideal ones. The search for these miracles is strong.