More Than Just A Self Defense System
Exercise is so important for a number of reasons. For one, your body was designed to be used. Like any fine tool or instrument, it can get rusty or off-key if it just sits around, but when it's regularly tuned up, it gives you optimal performance. Fitness helps you to look and feel good. And let's face it. When you are not fit, it's near impossible to feel good about yourself.

The following four basic components to physical fitness:

Cardiorespiratory Endurance  
The ability to deliver oxygen and nutrients to tissues and to remove wastes throughout sustained periods of time. Long runs and swims are among the methods employed in measuring this component.

Muscular Strength  
The ability of a muscle to exert force for a brief period of time. Upper-body strength, for example, can be measured by various weight-lifting exercises.

Muscular Endurance  
The ability of a muscle, or a group of muscles, to sustain repeated contractions or to continue applying force against a fixed object. Push-ups are often used to test endurance of arm and shoulder muscles.

Flexibility  
The ability to move joints and use muscles through their full range of motion. The sit-and-reach test is a good measure of flexibility of the lower back and backs of the upper legs.

Decrease Body Fat  
Often considered a component of fitness. It refers to the makeup of the body in terms of lean mass (muscle, bone, vital tissue and organs) and fat mass. An optimal ratio of fat to lean mass is an indication of fitness, and the right types of exercise will help you decrease body fat and increase or maintain muscle mass.

WING CHUN Group Class Session Objective
Weekly group session exercise program should include something from each of these four basic fitness components. Each workout should begin with a warm-up and end with a cool-down. A warm-up generally consists of five to 15 minutes of low intensity movements, such as breathing, stretching, or light basic techniques practice. A cool-down consists of a minimum of five to 10 minutes of slow breathing, combined with stretching. As a general rule, space your workouts throughout the week and avoid consecutive days of hard exercise.