I refer to the Fitness Triad frequently. Maybe I should trademark it unless somebody else has.
Our modern notions of fitness go back to the ancient Greeks, and probably back to the earliest hominids for whom fitness was necessary for survival. In modern times, what I call "Fitness for Life" is more self-preoccupied, some might call it narcissistic, than fitness was for the farmers, hunters, shepherds, ironsmiths, builders, masons, and soldiers of the past. Modern fitness efforts are simply about staying as physically fully-functional for as long as you can for ordinary life activities and for play.
Sooner or later, something will strike you down, cripple you or kill you but, until then, why not give life your best shot? I know we all want to be strong, to look good, and to remain vigorous and competent for whatever comes our way.
The Triad is Strength, Cardio, and Calisthenics, but Strength is the foundation of the triangle because the best use of the other two depends on it. Proper nutrition - having neither too little physical structure, nor excess fat - is a separate topic.
Anybody curious about fitness can find passionate adherents who swear
by just one of those three. I do not buy such over-simplified
viewpoints although I acknowledge the sincerity of their adherents.
Strength is maintained or improved either by a heavy-lifting
day job or by moving heavy weights with all of your muscles with barbells and the like. Simple.
Otherwise, atrophy, weakness, frailty.
Cardio exercise (by which I mean intense interval cardio, not
those useless long periods of aerobics) is mostly about maintaining or
building endurance. You can hike up Mt. Washington today, but what about
tomorrow? What about your next ski trip? What about surviving your
first heart attack? What about your next basketball game? (Later, I
will tell a cool story about that.)
Calisthenics combine aspects of the others, but with agility
and power so I consider it generally as Athleticism - all sorts of
taxing forms of moving. I think Yoga, martial arts, and some intense
sports also sort of fit in this category too although calis are more
about sports training than sports playing. One hour of mixed calisthenics is as fatiguing as can be and puts every nerve and muscle to work so, in many ways, it feels most satisfying to me.
What makes sense to me is to do what I do, but everybody is different: 2 hrs/wk of mostly weight training with a little calis mixed in, all supervised; two half-hours/wk of cardio intervals; and 1 hr/wk of as intense calis as I can handle without dying.
