What is fitness?

Fitness is the condition of being physically fit and healthy and involves attributes that include, but are not limited to mental acuity, cardiorespiratory endurance, muscular strength, muscular endurance, body composition, and flexibility. While there is a standard definition for fitness, each individual can have their own personal understanding of what fitness means. To some individuals, being fit means the ability to complete a marathon or lift a lot of weight. To another, it could mean walking around the block without becoming short of breath. Your definition of fitness will be influenced by your interests, physical abilities, and goals. No matter what the definition, it is important for every individual to keep their personal definition of fitness within a healthy framework This means you should have realistic expectations and maintain balance and moderation in all aspects of life. Set small , attainable goals and avoid giving too much power to the numerical measurements of fitness. This can help your journey to fitness seem much less daunting and much more enjoyable.

Functional fitness refers to how well you’re able to do all the physical tasks you need to do each day. For example, if you’re functionally fit, you can carry a bag of groceries without strain, bend down to pick up laundry from the floor without pulling a muscle, lift a child without injuring your back or even perform regular exercise. A large factor in functional fitness is flexibility - and staying active can help. Movement helps loosen up the body, keeping muscles limber.

Fitness includes five essential components, flexibility, cardiorespiratory fitness, muscular endurance, muscular strength, and body composition. Fitness is vitally important to health and wellness as well as to the ability to engage in normal activities of daily living (ADLs) without excessive fatigue. Physical activity and exercise training programs should be designed with the intent of improving each of the key components of health-related physical fitness in addition to preventing chronic disease (e.g. heart disease, diabetes, osteoporosis etc.)

Wikipedia's definition of fitness is the following:

Physical fitness comprises two related concepts: general fitness (a state of health and well-being) and specific fitness (a task-oriented definition based on the ability to perform specific aspects of sports or occupations). Physical fitness is generally achieved through exercise, correct nutrition and enough rest. It is an important part of life.

In my career as a trainer, I have seen various levels of fitness.  Just because someone else can do something that you can not, does not make you less fit than they are.  It just means that you can not perform that particular task.  I have learned through experience that there are two different forms of fitness: cardiovascular fitness and physical fitness.  A combination of both forms creates what I would call a complete fit individual.

Cardiovascular fitness which is fitness of the heart means that you can exert more energy for extended amounts of time without reaching your max heart rate.  In essence the more your heart can endure the more fit you are.  Let's use running as an example.  If you sprint from point A to point B at max speed your body is telling your heart to pump the blood faster causing you to breathe faster.  The amount of time it takes your heart to recover from that sprint should be half the amount of time it took you to get from point A to point B.  An untrained or an unconditioned heart will take double that amount of time.  I learned this through my years as an athlete and my experience as a personal trainer.

Physical fitness is fitness of the body.  A physically fit body has a strong core, great posture and little to no kinks in the kinetic chain.  The kinetic chain consists of the muscular system, skeletal system and the nervous system.  A physically fit body can endure the normal rigors of life such as bending, walking, standing and sitting.

Physical fitness is also not to be confused with physical strength.  There is a difference.

Fitness is FREEDOM. Your fitness level is a balance of your body’s ability to perform physically, your mind’s ability to actively focus and think about the important aspects of life, and your spirit’s ability to seek an ever improving lifestyle beyond your current state of being.

Fitness is being able to do WHAT you want, WHEN you want, with WHO you want. If you are wholly-fit, you can perform your occupational skills, recreational athletics, and activities of daily living on any level you wish without limitations produced by illness, injury, low self-image, stress, and spiritual disconnectedness.

Fitness can take place in a gym or throughout a fitness program but, physical fitness does not complete the person. When you use set the right goals and act with the right intentions, physical fitness (strength, endurance, balance, nutrition) acts a vehicle to move you, mental fitness (goal setting, success tracking, self-talk) acts as the driver to steer you, and spiritual fitness (seeking the why to drive the what) acts as a map to guide you when you are losts.  Seek all three buckets and you will succeed.

There are five components of physical fitness which includes body composition, flexibility, muscular strength, muscular endurance and cardiovascular endurance.

Body Composition refers to the percentage of fat, bone, muscle and organ mass in one's body. (ex: Two people who are the exact height and weight but look completely different.)

Flexibility is the range of motion possible at a joint.

Muscular Strength is the ability of a muscle or muscle group to exert force.

Muscular Endurance is the muscle's ability to perform an activity without fatigue.

Cardiovascular Endurance relates to the ability of the circulatory and respiratory systems to supply oxygen to the body during sustained physical activity.

However, fitness does not only include a person's physical health but also encompasses the entire mind and body. Fitness includes an individual's mental and emotional state of being and social well-being. A person should strive for a high quality of life which includes being physically, mentally, emotionally, socially and spiritually healthy! And this of course is different for each person!

Fitness as a term is contextual. I would describe it as "being fit for taking on challenges set in front of you." One should always be mentally fit and physically fit.

Being mentally fit is important for critical thinking in daily operations. Being physically fit is important so you are able to handle the physical challenges life puts in front of you, including but not limited too: 

• Walking up stairs
• Moving house-hold items around
• Playing with your children
• Competing in sports
• Being able to do anything in life that brings you pleasure

Here's to your health and fun in life!!

• Energy to do what's important to you and to be more productive
• Stamina and a positive outlook to handle the mental challenges and emotional ups and downs of everyday life and to deal with stress
• Reduced risk for many health problems, such as heart disease, cancer, diabetes and osteoporosis
• The chance to look and feel your best
• Physical strength and endurance to accomplish physical challenges
• A better chance for a higher quality of life and perhaps a longer life, too

That's a loaded question. In a nutshell, fitness is defined as the state of being physically fit and healthy. A better question to me would be: What does it mean to have a healthy body? Just because you engage in fitness doesn't mean you are healthy. So I equate fitness with both the mental and physical states and working towards having a body that can function well in everyday life. A body with no pain, a person with boundless energy, great digestion, one that takes no medication to curb a symptom, no disease — that is a healthy body.