When is someone considered physically fit? (skinny, cardio, strength, average)

[LinaJo76]

1. When someone has good strength (does not have to be a bodybuilder).
2. Stamina/endurance (can walk for a good 1-5 miles without stopping).
3. And some degree of good flexibility (no, not like a contortionist or an extreme Yoga. More like they can touch their toes or beyond their toes without bending their knees, is really normal, good flexibility).

This is just my opinion.

[LeaveWI]

Personally, I dont think you can call yourself physically fit if you CANNOT do the following:

Run a mile in under 7 minutes (if I as an 8 grade kid ran a mile in 6 minutes, any adult should be able to do 7 minutes)
Run a 5k in less than 28 minutes
Do 10 pullups (male) or 6 pullups (female) in a minute
Do at least 15 pushups without stopping (male or female)
Touch your toes without bending your knees
Jump rope for 5 minutes

The President's Challenge - Adult Fitness Test

I can easily do the things LAO mentioned above, plus I did the president's adult test and scored very very well BUT I still feel unfit, and when I look in the mirror I see my muscles melting away. My problem is that I have a J-pouch with my large intestine removed due to UC. I have to eat numerous small meals daily, but due to budget, time, appetite, for the last month I've averaged 800-1000 cal per day max. I eat healthy, but obviously not enough. Not sure how to overcome this one as the surgeries are permanent

[Gplex]

Originally Posted by cityhopper

What does the term "physically fit" mean? How does one gauge themselves as being physically fit? I am curious if the idea of being physically fit entails just the physique, or endurance, or a combination of internal/external shape. What should the average physically fit person be able to do?

I hope this doesn't sound like a stupid question.

Usually on the way they look.

Fitness is weird, I could not do a 3 hour jog, but I had people who can come train with me in MMA, and they burn out in less than 40 min.

[Gplex]

Originally Posted by LeaveWI

Personally, I dont think you can call yourself physically fit if you CANNOT do the following:

Run a mile in under 7 minutes (if I as an 8 grade kid ran a mile in 6 minutes, any adult should be able to do 7 minutes)
Run a 5k in less than 28 minutes
Do 10 pullups (male) or 6 pullups (female) in a minute
Do at least 15 pushups without stopping (male or female)
Touch your toes without bending your knees
Jump rope for 5 minutes

The President's Challenge - Adult Fitness Test

I can easily do the things LAO mentioned above, plus I did the president's adult test and scored very very well BUT I still feel unfit, and when I look in the mirror I see my muscles melting away. My problem is that I have a J-pouch with my large intestine removed due to UC. I have to eat numerous small meals daily, but due to budget, time, appetite, for the last month I've averaged 800-1000 cal per day max. I eat healthy, but obviously not enough. Not sure how to overcome this one as the surgeries are permanent

That seems like a reasonable test..

[Ohiogirl81]

Originally Posted by DontH8Me

If you can bend over backwards and kiss your own buns, I do believe you have reached the pinnacle of physical fitness!

Thanks for the chuckle. That burned a few calories.

Fitness is too subjective to define; depends on too many variables. Would someone who was 70 years old be unfit because he/she couldn't run a mile in 7 minutes or less?

And even if I could run 5K, why would I want to?

[Gplex]

Originally Posted by Ohiogirl81

Thanks for the chuckle. That burned a few calories.

Fitness is too subjective to define; depends on too many variables. Would someone who was 70 years old be unfit because he/she couldn't run a mile in 7 minutes or less?

And even if I could run 5K, why would I want to?

Run 5k because it will increase you VO2 max.

[LaoTzuMindFu]

Originally Posted by Ohiogirl81

Thanks for the chuckle. That burned a few calories.

Fitness is too subjective to define; depends on too many variables. Would someone who was 70 years old be unfit because he/she couldn't run a mile in 7 minutes or less?

And even if I could run 5K, why would I want to?

Well that would be a new thread topic then "What is fitness for an elderly person?". Here we are assuming that we are talking about young to middle aged people here, not elderly.

5k I think is the perfect run. Its not a long distance, but its far enough that you still get a great benefit out of running it. Not too short, not too long.

[johnnytang24]

So running equals fitness?

Why not deadlifting == fitness? I think everyone should be able to deadlift 500lbs for 10 reps. Seems pretty arbitrary, doesn't it?

A friend who use to run a lot now powerlifts. She had a higher BF% when running, now she has a 6-pack. She's put on over 100lbs on each lift. She can no longer run a 28 min 5k. Is she no longer 'fit'?

[ogre]

Originally Posted by Ohiogirl81

Thanks for the chuckle. That burned a few calories.

Fitness is too subjective to define; depends on too many variables. Would someone who was 70 years old be unfit because he/she couldn't run a mile in 7 minutes or less?

And even if I could run 5K, why would I want to?

I agree that the standards for fitness are subjective. What constitutes being physically fit really depends on the individual's goals. The level of conditioning needed to complete the Iron Man Triathlon is something completely different from the degree of fitness that will enable you to get through all the everyday activities of a typical suburbanite without feeling totally beat at the end of the day. And there are many degrees of conditioning between these markers.

A number of years ago I read several articles with the information that medical or fitness researchers had found that a regular walk of as little as 3/4 of a mile once each day appeared to have a significant effect on lowering blood pressure, improving cholesterol levels, and enhancing resistance to diabetes when compared to the condition of pure couch poatatoes with regard to these health factors. The walking did not even have to be especially brisk. A typical three-m.p.h. pace would do.

At the same pace, pick the distance up to, say, two miles a day nearly every day, and it's likely that you'll be at the level of sort of a decent everyday kind of fitness. Add in even a very basic strength workout--a set of one exercise for each major region of the body--twice a week, and you'll be in substantially better shape than a couch potato. You'll probably be able to do even heavy yard work, shovel snow, or move furniture into the house without exhausting yourself or straining anything. Run several miles four or five days a week, and pick up the strength routine to the point where you do two or three sets of each exercise and lift fairly heavy weights (6-12 reps max. per set, and 12 should be the signal that you're ready to go heavier), and you can probably handle some backpacking on trails of average difficulty.

And it keeps going up from there, with serious athletes reaching a level of fitness far above what most people need to attain for health or to participate in even quite strenuous recreational activities.

So it really depends on the individual's goals. Okay, it's true that I'm inclined to use the term "physically fit" to refer to a level of conditioning needed to engage comfortably in fairly vigorous activities. I'm not even sure where I would draw the line. Maybe at the level of walking briskly for two or three miles five or six days a week and a couple of solid basic strength workouts a week. I'm not even sure. What's really important is not what any one person considers "fit," but the fact that any regular physical activity is beneficial. Beyond that, the level of fitness you need to attain depends on how you want to live, not on an arbitrary standard of "fitness."

[Huckleberry3911948]

depends on your age. but certainly stamina and endurance are important to measure fitness.
of course skills and experience often tries to pass itself off as fitness and is not.
there are basic tests certainly timing on the mile is important.
the ability to keep up with younger people is illusive bek that is going to depend upon what younger people. many young people are in poor physical condition.