What is fitness? The term “fitness” is one that loosely floats through magazines such as Men’s Health and Cosmopolitan without really having a clear and concise definition. A quick search on dictionary.com yielded the the one word definition of “health” as the primary definition of fitness. Big help there. Outside magazine once crowned Mark Allen, a professional triathlete and winner of 6 Ironman triathlons, the “fittest man on earth”. Is this true? Have we really found the one person that is fitter than everyone else on the planet? No, we haven’t. Not to take anything away from Mr. Allen, because it is obvious that he was in remarkable shape to be able to pull off such a feat, but do you think he is fit in categories such as strength, power, speed and coordination? Probably not so much. I would say that a balance of these as well as the high endurance and stamina levels that he already possesses would make him even more fit. When I think of fitness, I think of being well rounded and at least decent in every facet of healthy movement imaginable. This might sound lame but my definition fitness is kind of like the the quarterback in high school movies. You know the guy who also is dating the head cheerleader, makes straight A’s, wins homecoming king, and is captain of the chess club. Basically, fitness should be about being good at everything.
Let’s break down what I mean by everything. CrossFit has come up with a list of ten general physical skills that should be highly regarded in defining fitness. An individual who possesses competence in all of these skills is more accurately titled as fit. Here is the list:
1. Cardiovascular/respiratory endurance – The ability of body systems to gather, process, and deliver oxygen.
2. Stamina – The ability of body systems to process, deliver, store, and utilize energy.
3. Strength – The ability of a muscular unit, or combination of muscular units, to apply force.
4. Flexibility – the ability to maximize the range of motion at a given joint.
5. Power – The ability of a muscular unit, or combination of muscular units, to apply maximum force in minimum time.
6. Speed – The ability to minimize the time cycle of a repeated movement.
7. Coordination – The ability to combine several distinct movement patterns into a singular distinct movement.
8. Agility – The ability to minimize transition time from one movement pattern to another.
9. Balance – The ability to control the placement of the bodies center of gravity in relation to its support base.
10. Accuracy – The ability to control movement in a given direction or at a given intensity.
The application of these ten skills are equally important. Being ready for anything thrown in front of you. Imagine there was one of those lottery ball machines that randomizes the balls then spits them out with different number on them. Only instead of numbers, there were a wide array of physical challenges written on them. Being able to be ready and preform adequately for the unknown and unknowable is of huge importance. This example suggests that your fitness can be measured by your capacity to perform well at these randomized physical tasks in relation to other individuals.
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Sign up for the 300 Challenge happening May 12th. Let me know if you are planning on attending. The workout is scalable so NO EXCUSES!!