Defining Physical Fitness

Everyone Knows Why Physical Fitness is Important but Why is Defining Physical Fitness Important ?

I was going along creating new content pages for AskTheTrainer.com when I came upon a roadblock.  The page was titled the definition of physical fitness.  At first glance it would seem the the definition of physical fitness is obvious but it was very difficult to define properly.

I asked fellow personal trainers on internet forums and even a professional group on yahoo which is filled with college students and PhDs.  I received some interesting responses from different angles but none satisfied me.

Many people tried to break down the definition of physical fitness using aspects of human performance.  One PhD and motivational speaker simply said, “The Power to Do” which I thought was very uninspiring.

The reason I found this so difficult is simply because its important!

Every day people search for definition of phsyical fitness almost 400 times online.  With the obesity epidemic and many people who live sedentary lifestyles search for a definition of physical fitness, a good definition may help them understand what they have to do to turn their sedentary life around.

The way I tried to define it was looking at the human being as just another organism.  Like Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs, the bottom of the pyramid is the most basic physical fitness needs which are the needs to be well and be able to perform the ordinary daily tasks and occaisonally a new task.

The second level of the hierarchy I made for specific adptations to occur for the 5 components of fitness, flexibility, muscular strength & endurance, cardiovascular endurance and body composition.  I also made sure to mention maintaining the state of well being while adapting to the environment.

The final level like Maslow’s Self Actualization is reached by very few.  Reaching the peak of an individual’s athletic potential is accomplished by few and few even strive to reach such an accomplishment.

If I had to define Physical Fitness in One Sentence it would be as Follows

“The human beings physical ability to thrive in any environment.”

I may add something to make sure the reader would know that the human could place themselves into the environment or the environment could adapt itself.

I am also looking for other people to add their input with their definition of phsycial fitness so I can add it to my page and quote them.

Definition of Physical Fitness