Do you consider yourself to be fit and healthy?
Fitness and health are related, but they’re not the same.
The basic definition of fitness is “the ability to perform a task.” When we talk about physical fitness, it’s related to qualities like coordination, strength, and endurance.
On the other hand, health is “a state of physical and mental well-being and the absence of illness and injury.”
Exercise can be healthy, but some athletes make the decision to pursue a high level of fitness and sacrifice their health or become injured.
I want you to think deeply about your own personal fitness goals and how they benefit your life. If you’ve never thought about fitness in this way, it can be eye-opening.
For me, here’s what I want in terms of being fit:
- Enough strength and endurance to take care of myself and my family in any way that’s needed
- Healthy aging and to be able to play with my future grandkids
- Reduced risk of injuries
- Lower risk of obesity and type 2 diabetes, etc.
- Physical appearance is nice, too (hey, don’t most of us want that if we’re being honest?)
The issue is that these goals now have to be balanced. If I push myself too hard, I might get injured, or if I only focus on one fitness quality it might make me extremely strong but not necessarily benefit my health.
And that’s where fitness standards come in.
Objective fitness standards allow us to know where we are across the board, and also stay motivated to keep training for lifetime fitness.
You might be naturally strong, or flexible, or have great endurance – but the real question is whether you’re actually training in a way that reflects your needs in life.
Part 2 is a comprehensive list of fitness standards I’ve hand-picked to help you understand your own fitness levels and strive for lifetime fitness.
Again, take some time to think about your fitness goals and reasons why this week.
