What is fitness and why is it important? The dictionary defines it as “the condition of being physically strong and healthy” as against it’s opposite, to be unfit: “not healthy because you do too little exercise”. Sounds very black-and-white, doesn’t it? The reality is that fitness is a spectrum ranging from catatonic to Superman and your fitness level is a constantly moving point along it.
From a personal standpoint I prefer to think of where I stand on the fitness spectrum, what level I would like to be at and how do I get from point A to point B? It’s that simple.
If I answered, ‘I want to be super-fit, I want to be right up there with the elites’, I can do it. As long as I have no pre-existing health problems, I’ve hit the genetic lottery by being born with a healthy metabolism, I can afford the cost and time for specialised training and I have the drive and determination to put in years of incredibly hard training. Sorry but, to the best of my knowledge, short-cuts don’t work, no matter what the advertising says.
If I said that I want to be slim and/or muscular like the stars we see on stage and screen, I can do that too! It’s a complex subject but, again it starts by assuming that I am healthy and have good genes and it ends with pointing out that it is hard, that I need massive determination to start and finish the appropriate programme and need to stick to the right diet for an extended length of time. Be aware that when your ‘metric’ is your appearance, or worse still your weight, your exercise programme has to be paired to your diet, the fitness improvements are incidental to the appearance gains and neither last long if you stop the regime.
I have taken a different approach, I want a level of fitness that will allow me to do the things I want and need to do.
It’s not new, it’s the principle behind ‘functional fitness’ as explained by The Bioneer in one of his fascinating videos. I need to start by attaining a base rate of fitness necessary to go through my everyday life without pain or undue stress. To walk without pain, sprint when I have to, carry a case of beer on my shoulder, do gardening chores like swinging a pick or digging a garden bed and mowing the lawn. All these might sound very easy to you but as you get into your later years they become real challenges. For many people, through health issues or accident, these things are challenges right now!
Once you have that base level of fitness I believe I need to plan for the things that are out of the ordinary, like recovering from a slip, trip or fall, squatting down and getting up and especially lifting weights from the floor to bench height. It is an old maxim in safety management circles that noone plans to have an accident but you can plan not to have one. That’s what that second level is: boosting your fitness just enough so that you have a reserve that will protect you when the unexpected happens.
If I look beyond this - and I will! - well the sky’s the limit! The world is full of exciting things that can be done if you have a fit and flexible body. My chosen sport is fencing but wilderness adventures fascinate me! Exploring the hard to get to places, the mountains, canyons and rivers can only be done if you have a strength and stamina. Frankly, the better prepared your body is, the more you can do. If you constantly push the boundaries of your fitness then you are widening the possibilities that are open to you.
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