blog
february 12, 2010
What does it mean to be fit?
This is a question I get asked a lot and I find I frustrate my clients with the answer…because the truth is…”fit” is in the eye of the beholder. Is fit running a marathon? Is it weighing 150 pounds or having 12 percent body fat? Is it waking up in the morning and getting out of bed with no pain? “Fit” is different for everyone. “Fit” is not what you see on the outside…it’s all the things you can’t see. How you feel, how your body functions and to others there’s mental fitness. You see, everyone’s body is different. What is “fit” in your mind, may be “excessive” in anothers. The only thing that matters is that you focus on you and your abilities, not that of someone else. More importantly, don’t obsess over it. If you’re trying and you’re doing the right things you’ll get to where you want to be. It is a process and like all processes it takes time…stop trying so hard, enjoy the ride!
In doing a little research I came upon this blog post that hits my points exactly…so don’t take it from me…read on:
What does it mean to be fit?
The same is true with physical fitness: it’s not a destination, but a process. There’s little agreement even among experts regarding what “fit” actually means.
Body mass index, for example, has been used by many medical professionals and organizations (including the U.S. government) as a measure of individual fitness. But in recent years, some have disputed the usefulness of the body mass index.
Or what about the food pyramid? What was once promoted as a useful guide to nutritious food came under fire and was ultimately revised. But how long will the new guidelines be deemed definitive?
To me, it seems senseless to seek some sort of objective measure of fitness. Each of us is different. We have different bodies. We have different minds. We have different goals. Instead, I think we ought to have individual standards of fitness, based on our personal strengths and weaknesses.
Personal fitness
On January 1st of this year, I weighed 207 pounds. I could do three pushups. I could not run for even ten minutes. I could not bench press 60 pounds. I ate poorly. I did not exercise.
Today I weigh 190 pounds. I can do twenty consecutive pushups (and over 50 with short breaks). I can run nearly four hours at a time. I can bench press 100 pounds. My diet is still not ideal, but it is improving. (“I can’t believe you’re my husband,” Kris said the other day after watching me choose fruits and vegetables.) Not only do I exercise most days of the week — I actually look forward to doing so. I continue to take the advice of Get Fit Slowly readers and implement it into my life.
But am I fit? I’m certainly more fit than I was six months ago, but there’s still a lot of work remaining.
And striving to drink only water for one month? Beverages are one of my weaknesses. I drink more alcohol than I should. I drink too much soda pop. I drink a lot of juice. My daily diet is filled with too much sugar, alcohol, and caffeine. How much of these should a fit person drink? I don’t know. But I know that I want to drink less of all of them, and so I’m willing to try a one-month water-only experiment.
Conclusion
Ultimately, I have no clearer definition in my mind of what it means to be “fit” than I do of what it means to be “rich”. In some ways, I believe fitness is more about the journey than any destination. I believe that each of us — regardless of our personal fitness levels — should strive to become more fit than we already are. It’s up to you to decide what that means in your case.
For me, this means a continued battle to develop healthier habits: to eat sensibly, to exercise often, and to get better sleep. The pursuit of fitness is a gift I’m giving myself. It makes me feel good, both physically and mentally.