Do you feel like you're fit?

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.

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!

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.

No

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.

It's funny but...I definitely feel fit, but I feel fat as well. Does that even make sense? I know I can run, bike, and swim for hours. I know I can lift heavy things. I know when I try out a new exercise regimen, or when I do an unexpected new class (if mine is full at the gym, I'll pop into something else) and while I might be a little sore the next day, I'm capable of completing almost anything. I climb stairs and walk miles and lift my body weight comfortably, much more comfortably the lighter I get.

So, yes. I feel really fit. I especially feel fit after sweating through a several-hour bike ride, switching shoes, and going on an hour-long run.

But I need to lose weight. Sigh.

At the moment, no. I am lifting again (after injury) but have completely lost my mojo on the cardio front. So I'm getting stronger and losing weight-but I don't "feel" very fit. I feel lazy.

The last few years I would say I was very fit, and I am probably comparing myself to that time period. For me, I feel fit when I can run a few miles comfortably, sling some weight around, and be comfortable in my clothes. It's all relative. I think energy levels during daily life are a good indication.

Yes, I feel like I am fit, unless I'm asked to run for a distance. I am strong, I have really good stamina for things like hiking, splitting or stacking firewood, yard or garden work, playing sports. But running does me in. I could probably run 5k if I was paid or being chased, but after 1 mile I start struggling. I can easily do a > 5k of run/walk intervals though. IDK what it is about sustained running, but it's the only thing that makes me feel not fit.

Not at ALL.

VO2max is 31.

Not fit.

I consider myself fit.

I quit smoking, lost almost 60lbs, can run a 5k, can lift some heavy weights and don't tire easily doing regular chores like gardening etc. which I used to.

I am actually in better shape physically than I was in my 20's while in the military...funny odd.

I am relatively fit for someone with my medical conditions. I am relatively fit for someone without my medical conditions. Compared to where I was in my late 20's, I'm still kind of a trainwreck endurance-wise, but I am much stronger than I was then. My goals have shifted from being super lean to being super-strong. I'd like to work on my speed a bit, so that watching my baby sister run for 40 minutes at 6.0 miles per hour doesn't seem like an unattainable pipe dream, on the other hand I very much doubt her deadlift stats are anywhere close to what I've accomplished. (And this is easy to assume, because she doesn't lift. That's not her priority.) My flexibility is in the toilet, and I will probably end up spending more time focusing on that than I will on my speed, because my flexibility has more impact on my daily comfort and movement than my ability to run a 5k that I probably won't ever enter will.

I am generally happy with my fitness level, because I'm working on it every day, and pushing myself to improve.

Sure! I workout 4-6 days a week. I can run a 5k and my time gets better each time. I can deadlift more than my body weight and I'm improving all the time. Yeah, I'd say I'm fit!

I feel fit compared to most of my friends and people at work, but not compared to lots of people. I get more fit everyday though.