We've all heard it and we've all said it. We look at someone and think "that person is fit!". But what does being fit actually mean? Let's take a look at what dictionary.com says: in good physical condition; in good health. Not much help there right, it's not very specific and is very subjective. "Good" to me is going to be different than your version of "good".
What about everyday examples? Let's say someone can run a fast 10km time, most people would say they are pretty 'fit'. Now what about someone with big muscles that lifts weights in the gym? They can probably deadlift 100kgs with ease, they are strong and powerful. Many of us would say they look fit. But how can both of these athletes be 'fit' when they are so far apart in terms of their area of 'fitness'?
Clearly we need a better definition of what being fit means. One that is all encompassing, scientifically measurable and broad in it's application.
So if it's to be all encompassing it needs to include all the elements which we would find in a person that we can all agree is fit. These elements would include (but not limited to): cardiovascular endurance, power, speed, agility, and flexibility. And if it's to be scientifically measurable then we need to record everything, what are we doing, how much we are doing, and how long it took us to do it. Finally to have a broad application it needs to have a mixture of the above elements rather than measuring each part individually.
Now let's take another look at our example athletes using this new definition of being 'fit'. Taking our first example let's say that you are a runner and your 10km time is 40mins. Great, you have the cardio element. But are you powerful? Can you deadlift 100kgs? Now let's look at our second example, let's say you are the big strong weight lifting person that can dead lift 100kgs. Powerful - yes, but can you run a fast 10kms?
What if there is an athlete that can do both? An athlete that can both run 10kms and deadlift 100kgs? Surely that athlete is fitter than both of the single dimensional athletes! Don't get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with being a runner or a weight lifter, that's great. But it doesn't mean you are fit. It means you are either good at running or good at lifting, but not both. A person who is fit is a person who can perform well in all the elements and does not favour one element over another.
If I've got you thinking: "so how fit am I?", here are three different workouts with benchmark times that will test your level of fitness across multiple elements.
- 4 rounds of: 400m run and 10 deadlifts at bodyweight - 10mins
- 100 situps, 100 pushups, 100 squats - 8mins
- 100 burpees - 6mins
Give them a go and send me your results!
Coach rmk
0416 494 668 | coachrmk.com | instagram
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