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What is "fit", to you?
Replies
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There's a guy in our gym who seems to be pretty fit but ALWAYS does this balance ball exercise. First he'll get on a balance ball and stand on it. Then he'll put it on top of a box job (24") and continue till he's on the highest box jump. I have asked him why he does it and response was for core strength. What's the actual application that this can be used for? No idea.Jthanmyfitnesspal wrote: »Excellent thread, @WandRsmom and great answers. I always like hearing from @AnnPT77 and @ninerbuff, who have different, but both very interesting, points of view. What is great about the discussion is that, before investing a lot of time and effort in achieving something, you think carefully about what it is you want to achieve. In the area of fitness, that just means that you set some sort of reasonable goal.
(BTW: Some goals are less useful than others. I have seen several people set the goal of "seeing their abs" because that's what celebrities often look like. Everyone must know that, when your livelihood depends on it, you may take steps that are quite unnecessary, like having lipo, etc.)
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
I knew someone - with access to excellent coaches, BTW - who trained himself to stand on a stability ball to help improve ability to balance a single racing shell (rowing). (Those little suckers are tippy: Usually around 26 feet long, about 12 inches wide at the waterline; many won't sit upright in the water without oars in them.)
Given his personality, I think it may also have been a bit of a personal challenge thing, and also a bit of a stunt. I don't know about the boxes, though.0 -
There's a guy in our gym who seems to be pretty fit but ALWAYS does this balance ball exercise. First he'll get on a balance ball and stand on it. Then he'll put it on top of a box job (24") and continue till he's on the highest box jump. I have asked him why he does it and response was for core strength. What's the actual application that this can be used for? No idea.Jthanmyfitnesspal wrote: »Excellent thread, @WandRsmom and great answers. I always like hearing from @AnnPT77 and @ninerbuff, who have different, but both very interesting, points of view. What is great about the discussion is that, before investing a lot of time and effort in achieving something, you think carefully about what it is you want to achieve. In the area of fitness, that just means that you set some sort of reasonable goal.
(BTW: Some goals are less useful than others. I have seen several people set the goal of "seeing their abs" because that's what celebrities often look like. Everyone must know that, when your livelihood depends on it, you may take steps that are quite unnecessary, like having lipo, etc.)
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
Wow. That's a first I have heard of this. Interesting.0 -
There's a guy in our gym who seems to be pretty fit but ALWAYS does this balance ball exercise. First he'll get on a balance ball and stand on it. Then he'll put it on top of a box job (24") and continue till he's on the highest box jump. I have asked him why he does it and response was for core strength. What's the actual application that this can be used for? No idea.Jthanmyfitnesspal wrote: »Excellent thread, @WandRsmom and great answers. I always like hearing from @AnnPT77 and @ninerbuff, who have different, but both very interesting, points of view. What is great about the discussion is that, before investing a lot of time and effort in achieving something, you think carefully about what it is you want to achieve. In the area of fitness, that just means that you set some sort of reasonable goal.
(BTW: Some goals are less useful than others. I have seen several people set the goal of "seeing their abs" because that's what celebrities often look like. Everyone must know that, when your livelihood depends on it, you may take steps that are quite unnecessary, like having lipo, etc.)
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
Fit for doing stunts for social media!
So the end goal I suppose in those cases would be likes?1 -
I'm not sure if it's a great benchmark of fitness, but this is something my husband told me after I lost weight, and it stuck with me...
We were on a hike, and slogged up a particularly steep set of switchbacks. At the top, we were both out of breath and needed to stop.
Once I could talk, I said, "I thought we were in better shape than this!" He said, "You can be really fit and still get out of breath...it's more about your recovery time." Within 30 seconds of stopping, we were both breathing normally and ready to move again.
It could be BS, but for me, I pay attention to how long it takes me to go from totally out of breath, unable to talk...to recovered and ready to press on.12 -
If I can do this some day I will consider myself fit
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SunnyBunBun79 wrote: »If I can do this some day I will consider myself fit
Oh, you will be able to do it. But the practicing before you get it right is going to KILL you.4 -
SunnyBunBun79 wrote: »If I can do this some day I will consider myself fit
Oh, you will be able to do it. But the practicing before you get it right is going to KILL you.
Hahaha!2 -
My answer is partly in my user name -- FitAgain.... I was in the best shape of my life in my late 40s and my goal is to get back there again. That's partly objectively measured by weight, physical abilities and body shape. But that is really my short term goal.
My much longer and deeper goal is to be fit enough to be active with my kids and grandkids later in life when I'm in my 70s and 80s. I put this in another thread but I'll repeat here.
My Mom is 80 years old, has been overweight/obese for 50 years and now has diabetes, heart disease and can only walk via a walker. My daughter was the first person in my direct lineage to graduate from college and my parents were in too poor health to travel to be there. Even though my daughter wouldn't say it, I know that hurt.
So while my short term goal is very superficial, my long term fitness goal is to be able to go hiking with my grandkids when I'm in my 70s.
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Jumping on.
I would consider my self incredibly fit. I can run over 15km easily, I can lift weights and run around after my kids.
I'm also currently over weight and would like to lose around 20lb to be a bit healthier as I get older. That said, according to health numbers (cholesterol, BP, HR etc) I'm very healthy, nothing to worry about. May that continue.
ETA my aspiration is my team leader. She is 76, yet she has the ability and attitude of someone in their 30s. She works in a busy xray department, goes walking, on trips, etc. She is young at hear as well as able to do everything she wants still. She is retiring at the end of March and I'm going to miss her energy and enthusiasm a lot.
Id like to be like her!
Oh and my other role model, my old boss who at 73 still runs half marathons.1 -
For me it boils down to feeling good in my own body and being able to enjoy daily activities and the joy of movement.
Broken down this more or less equates to;
-Cardiovascular health: both for the biomechanics and for the benefits of endurance
- joint health: cause age + all the crap I put my body thru ages 13 -28
- Muscular health/agility: being strong and flexible enough to do what I enjoy rather than watch wistfully from the sidelines
- Mental and emotional well being: for me this is very strongly connected to feeling strong and safe in my body
- SLEEP hygiene: this is the one I struggle with the most 😕3 -
Being 56... I started at 50.. I have lost and maintained a 90 lb loss. It's 30 min of fitness at least 3 to 4 times a week. And eating clean as possible with a calorie deficit. I will do this the rest of my life... It's simple and sustainable❤️3
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SuzySunshine99 wrote: »I'm not sure if it's a great benchmark of fitness, but this is something my husband told me after I lost weight, and it stuck with me...
We were on a hike, and slogged up a particularly steep set of switchbacks. At the top, we were both out of breath and needed to stop.
Once I could talk, I said, "I thought we were in better shape than this!" He said, "You can be really fit and still get out of breath...it's more about your recovery time." Within 30 seconds of stopping, we were both breathing normally and ready to move again.
It could be BS, but for me, I pay attention to how long it takes me to go from totally out of breath, unable to talk...to recovered and ready to press on.
I did a stress test in 2014 at a cardiologists office...that was a big part of it. My dad had just passed from a heart attack and I have a lot of the crappy genetics my dad has so my Dr. wanted to get it checked out. Uphill battle for me, but I passed that thing with flying colors.
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I think “fit” looks different to and on everyone obviously- for my own body, I just want to look my fittest that I’ve seen on myself. That means, slight definition, but still slightly thick where: “I know that chick works out, but I can also tell she does a Winnie the Pooh dance while she eats.”
As I was getting dressed the other day it was a really nice to hear my husband say after 6 weeks of my dedication to getting back in shape for the first time: “You’re losing weight eh? You’re starting to look like....” he stops and thinks and then says: “You’re starting to look like the old Heather.” And that’s all I want- I want to be the best version on me, not someone else.5 -
Individual perspective and preference, for sure with this one. After much trial and error with learning how to progressively build muscle and improve my overall health, my BF% and day to day energy have a direct correlation to how "fit" I feel. For myself personally, I feel at my best and "fit" at 9% BF.0
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I want to get my resting heart rate down, I guess that is what "fit" means to me. I remember years ago in my early 40s my doctor telling me it was excellent at 58 bpm. Now I am 55 and it is running about 70. If I can improve my cardio fitness I think the rest is a bonus.4
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Honestly? After losing 80 lbs, being fit has been reduced to being able to walk the supermarket without my blood pressure bottoming out, or get out of bed without being out of breath. Never going back.2
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Over the years, as I've gotten more in shape, I think my definition has risen to a higher bar. But I do think that certain elements of cardio, strength, and perhaps even flexibility, should be included.
I suppose that a certain benchmark of certain lifts or cardio ability would be helpful in a true determination of fitness. But what I find also with age (I'll be 57 this year) is that some that can't run any more can bike or row or do other activities that are also hard -- just different -- than running.
Also, with lifting, joint problems start to crop up. For instance, I can't do heavy deadlifts any longer (and I know few that are close to 60 that can), but I do other workarounds in order to lift some decent amounts of weight.
I tend to agree with Ann -- it becomes more and more about functional fitness and ability to do the physical things you love and do them well enough or even better than a lot of younger folks.
I recently moved my daughter across country. There were three twenty/early 30 something females -- none of them in terrible shape. But I was the one that ran boxes up and down 3 flights of stairs for two days, nearly non stop. I'm not exaggerating when I say 40 to 50 times a day, for two days solid, while carrying weight. To me, that's the reason why I do the "fitness" stuff -- to have the strength and stamina to do things like this. My daughter finished college nearly 10 years ago. Doing this kind of thing at my age is usually impossible for most.2 -
IMO, "fit" is applied to the physical fitness you need to do whatever sport, hobby, job, etc. If you can do it well without gassing out or passing out, then you're fit for it. I'm fit for kickboxing, but not for long distance running. Same for weight lifting, but not for working on a farm.
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition 5 -
Having just one chin 🤪3
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Fitness to me means cardiovascular health and aerobic capacity - having a good VO2max. Unless we're talking about Darwin. 😉. I agree everybody should have functional strength, that isn't part of my understanding of what fit means. Maybe that will change. Aesthetics has even less (than nothing) to do with it.
The guys in le tour de France are extremely fit. They look like they're in a concentration camp, some of them look like they might not be able to lift the bikes they ride.
Having strength and muscle is a good thing, I just think it falls under a different word.2
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