Do you feel like you're fit?

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  • CarlydogsMom
    CarlydogsMom Posts: 645 Member
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    I feel like I'm much more fit than I was even last fall (when I started lifting weights), and more fit than I was several years ago when I was 75 pounds heavier. I've picked up new activities that I love, like mountain biking. I'm in my 50's, though, so I know that at this point, it's going to take real dedication to keep my fitness level up and/or increasing. And rationally, I really only care about my own personal fitness level for my own self-value.

    But I can't help look around at the people in my life and compare. It's natural. I do see that in most cases, yes, I'm more fit than many of my colleagues and friends. And THEN....there's this group of people I mountain bike with. They're all older than me. The men (some in their early 70's!) go whizzing by me like the wind. And there is a woman who is a few years older than I am that just pumps away on the bike like it's nothing. Seriously. She gets so far ahead of me I simply can NOT understand why, no matter how hard I try, I can't keep up.

    She's actually the reason I started lifting last fall, to be a stronger mountain biker. Not to "beat" her, really...I'd be happy just to keep up! So this spring, after all these months of heavy lifting, I thought I'd at least show some improvement relative to this person. Nope. Maybe a little bit, but we get on some long hills, or near the end of a long ride, and....there she goes, breezing by me. It kinda drives me crazy. I have to dial down my green monster and re-check in with my rational brain to give myself credit for being just who I am...but it still drives me nuts that I can't keep up with her.

    So am I fit? I think so, but there are days when I know I either: 1) have a long ways to go; or 2) accept that I am fit for MYSELF. I continue to waffle about your OP question, then.
  • zyxst
    zyxst Posts: 9,134 Member
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    mw1b4cx5sgne.gif

    I'm definitely not fit, not with 50% BF.
  • yopeeps025
    yopeeps025 Posts: 8,680 Member
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    zyxst wrote: »
    mw1b4cx5sgne.gif

    I'm definitely not fit, not with 50% BF.

    While that is how you might feel you exercise right? I am pretty sure that your blood work has improve? You are trying to say since you are still high in weight that you are not fit. I don't think that is the case and you might be doing way better than the average at your body fat%. Maybe even using BMI in this case you might be better than the average.
  • jessicapk
    jessicapk Posts: 574 Member
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    I judge my fitness by how capable I am. My brother recently stated that, even though he is much smaller than me, he knows he's not as fit as I am simply because I exercise and push myself. It's hard for thinner people to understand but a fat person who's been exercising regularly might have them beat simply because they get out and do it! If I were you, I'd look at how capable I am compared to people of similar body types. I'd look at my blood test results from my doc and things like my resting heart rate and blood pressure. Those are true measurements. If you're of a healthy BMI with outrageous cholesterol and high blood pressure, then I wouldn't consider you truly fit. Considering what you put yourself through, I would imagine this isn't the case.
  • MonkeyMel21
    MonkeyMel21 Posts: 2,388 Member
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    I consider myself fit. I'm not try to win any contests or really to even improve myself, just maintain my "fitness". I look good naked (in my opinion, lol), can run 4-5 miles and enjoy it, keep up with my 5 year old or carry him on my back for a mile when he can't keep up with me, and don't restrict any planned activities because I don't think I can do them.
  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
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    It's interesting reading other's viewpoints on this .. I sometimes find myself wanting absolute answers when none exist :blush: and it's great to see how others think about similar subjects.

    I shall remind myself that it was last October when I managed my first push-up ever in my life, and how I do adapted sets now and can beat my 14 year old son at a straight competition, and have even managed pull-ups (before injury), that I don't even notice that gradient up to the shops and I really really enjoy it.

    I don't run so I suppose I don't have that distance / time thing to fall back on as a self-assessment
    seiffertrk wrote: »
    The only thing I could think of to get an absolute (as opposed to relative to yourself or others) assessment was some kind of fitness test you could do. I did a web search and found a few, here is one example: sparkpeople.com/resource/fitness_articles.asp?id=1112.

    For my own personal opinion, I've read a lot of your posts. I find it unlikely that someone that knows as much as you, is as passionate about it as you, and looks as fit as you do in your profile picture could be anything but fit. But that's just me :-)

    and thank you for that ... made me smile :smile:
  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
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    CarlydogsMom wrote: »
    I feel like I'm much more fit than I was even last fall (when I started lifting weights), and more fit than I was several years ago when I was 75 pounds heavier. I've picked up new activities that I love, like mountain biking. I'm in my 50's, though, so I know that at this point, it's going to take real dedication to keep my fitness level up and/or increasing. And rationally, I really only care about my own personal fitness level for my own self-value.

    But I can't help look around at the people in my life and compare. It's natural. I do see that in most cases, yes, I'm more fit than many of my colleagues and friends. And THEN....there's this group of people I mountain bike with. They're all older than me. The men (some in their early 70's!) go whizzing by me like the wind. And there is a woman who is a few years older than I am that just pumps away on the bike like it's nothing. Seriously. She gets so far ahead of me I simply can NOT understand why, no matter how hard I try, I can't keep up.

    She's actually the reason I started lifting last fall, to be a stronger mountain biker. Not to "beat" her, really...I'd be happy just to keep up! So this spring, after all these months of heavy lifting, I thought I'd at least show some improvement relative to this person. Nope. Maybe a little bit, but we get on some long hills, or near the end of a long ride, and....there she goes, breezing by me. It kinda drives me crazy. I have to dial down my green monster and re-check in with my rational brain to give myself credit for being just who I am...but it still drives me nuts that I can't keep up with her.

    So am I fit? I think so, but there are days when I know I either: 1) have a long ways to go; or 2) accept that I am fit for MYSELF. I continue to waffle about your OP question, then.

    Yeah I get this :grin:
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,139 Member
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    OP - I got this off the lean gains site…might give you something to go by:

    Respective goals for women:

    For women in the 115-155-lb range, the corresponding advanced strength goals are 0.9 x body weight bench, 1.1 x body weight chin-up, 1.5 x body weight squat and 1.8 x body weight deadlift. Relative to men, women have much less muscle mass around the chest area and shoulder girdle (men have much higher androgen-receptor density in this particular area), but the lower body is comparativly strong to the upper body.

    A 135-lb woman that has been training consistently for 5-10 years should then be expected to:

    Bench press 120-125 lbs.
    Do 4-5 chin-ups with body weight or do one with an extra 10-15 lbs hanging from her waist.
    Squat 200-205 lbs.
    Deadlift 225-230 lbs.
  • msf74
    msf74 Posts: 3,498 Member
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    Yes.
  • kr1stadee
    kr1stadee Posts: 1,774 Member
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    Fitter than I was, not as fit as I want to be!
  • unrelentingminx
    unrelentingminx Posts: 231 Member
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    I'm currently the fittest I've ever been but I know I still have a long way to go. I know people who can cycle longer than me, run further than me, lift heavier weights than me, and I know others who can't. Just last week I ran a 5 km race a whole 5 minutes faster than I ran this time last year (38:29 down from 43:30). Next year I want to run 10 km in the time it took me to run 5 km this year.
  • ljones27uk
    ljones27uk Posts: 177 Member
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    I do yes, especially compared to where I was a year ago... How about resting heart rate as a measure of fitness, i think thats supposed to be a good measure?
  • sevsmom
    sevsmom Posts: 1,172 Member
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    If my standard of fitness is being able to consider being a fitness model (albeit an OLDER fitness model) then, no...I"m not "fit." But, if my standard is being able to reach certain physical exertion benchmarks or complete various challeneges (like races), then yes. I am fit....and on the way to being even more fit!
  • cleanbulk_hatersgfy
    cleanbulk_hatersgfy Posts: 31 Member
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    I feel fit when..

    <3 I have energy to engage in all my sports and outdoor activities. And there are many of them.
    <3 I'm eating in moderation without deprivation.
    <3 As for strength training/lifting-- still trying to figure this one out! lol This doesn't make me feel unfit though, just overwhelmed and confused :smile:
  • sabrinacrandall
    sabrinacrandall Posts: 74 Member
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    I definitely feel fit compared to a few years ago when I couldn't run a mile without being winded. Now I lift three times a week, and can run a few miles, and I'm definitely more inclined to do these things. However, I feel like I'll always be striving for a higher level of fitness. To be able to lift more and do more difficult exercises for longer periods of time, and run longer and better. To not be intimidated by running up those big hills and carry on after them and past the next big hill without stopping. To achieve a body fat percentage that makes me look fit as well as how I feel.

    This is an interesting question really. I mean, I've always been able to do really well on the fitness test that we had to take in school, so I feel like I've always been inclined toward fitness--now I'm just taking it in a more all-encompassing direction, in that I want to be able to do it all. Lift, run, cardio-weight routines, matches of tennis at a time, a whole day of snowboarding, two tank SCUBA dives, 18 holes of golf walking... So compared to my goal, I'd say I'm about 50% 'fit'. I have a long way to go, but I've also come a long way.
  • xcalygrl
    xcalygrl Posts: 1,897 Member
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    I think I'm pretty fit. I try not to compare myself to others in my judgment. Yeah, I admire people for how much they lift, how fast/far they run, how lean they are, but I use myself as my basis. Not everyone has the same journey or goals. Some may be losing weight and exercising just for health while others may be losing fat and exercising to be able to compete. I don't think it's fair to compare apples to oranges.

    I can lift more now than I did less than a year ago when I started lifting.
    I can run further than I could a few years ago when I recommitted myself to running.
    I can complete 18+ hour endurance events when I couldn't do that a year ago.
    All of those things tell me I'm more fit than I was before, so based on that, I would say that for myself and my goals/journey, I'm a fit individual.
  • thankyou4thevenom
    thankyou4thevenom Posts: 1,581 Member
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    No
  • jemhh
    jemhh Posts: 14,261 Member
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    I do feel like I am fit but I don't feel like I am at a level where I consider myself an athlete. I consider fit to be a level where I can live my everyday life without physical hardship--run up stairs without panting, move bags of mulch without being sore for days, help move heavy furniture when necessary, run a couple of miles when I feel like it, etc. In comparison to the majority of people I see when I am out and about and who appear to be around my age (upper 30s, lower 40s), I seem decently fit.
  • trina1049
    trina1049 Posts: 593 Member
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    I've lost 48 pounds over the last two years so I'm much more fit than I was carrying around all that weight. I'm working out 4xs per week lifting weights along with some cardio.

    The real question for me is further on down the road, in another 10-20 years, how can I maintain my general health, mobility, and fitness? I'm over 65 and I'm trying to plan what I can do to maintain all of the above when lifting weights and lots of cardio is no longer possible for me.

    I guess our ideas of fitness change as we age. Honestly, I never thought much about fitness when I was young. I was always active. The weight challenges started after I hit my 40's and began yo-yo dieting that did nothing but made my health worse. Stress and inactivity took also took its toll. It's just in the past five years that I've really focused on changing my activity levels and weight and making smart decisions about how to get and stay fit.

    It was well worth it -- I'm at a healthy BMI and weight now, sleeping normally, working out, and in a much better frame of mind.

    For me stress was a killer, and inactivity, and too much weight on my small frame. For me, balance is the key to fitness. It's not how fast you can run or how many pounds you can lift. It's balancing eating and exercise with the rest of your life's activities. I'm never going to be a gym rat like some of the women I see at my gym who do nothing but exercise 4 or 5 hours a day and look so unhappy doing it. But I'm also never going to let weight and inactivity rule or ruin my life either.

    So, to answer your question, yes -- I'm fit and doing my best to stay that way now and into my really, really, old age. :)
  • VintageFeline
    VintageFeline Posts: 6,771 Member
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    I am getting fit. I am fitter than I was 6 months ago, not as fit as I was as a dancer and I don't think I'll ever be as fit as I was as a gymnast and that's okay!

    I'm overweight, a reasonable amount to lose but probably fitter than more sedentary friends because not only am I working out and pushing hard, I'm also hauling all that extra weight around while doing it, that's no easy task!

    So it's all relative really, compete with yourself in everything in life and you be far more content.

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