Defining Fitness

1. The quality or state of being fit.
2. The capacity of an organism to survive and transmit its genotype to reproductive offspring as compared to competing organisms.

The dictionary then goes on to give synonyms associated with the word fitness ie: health, healthiness, heartiness, robustness, soundness, verdure, wellness, wholeness, wholesomeness as well as antonyms ie: illness, sickness, unhealthiness, unsoundness .

This all seems like English 101 yet by the general population's behavior driven by a supposed pursuit of fitness one must question whether or not they are truly seeking fitness at all. One would think that anyone with a 6^th grade education would know that starving, binging and purging, exercising regularly to the point of total exhaustion, or not exercising at all, following diets that are totally unbalanced and full of processed and chemical-laden foods are the antithesis of a state of being that is remotely fit. And yet, we see the successful media glamorization of waif-thin models, the worship of many sports stars who do not divulge the extremes of their training regimens and success of television programs that promote radical weight loss at all costs to the sale of ridiculous gadgets that promise quick and easy ways to fitness alongside books that tout crazy diets which promise quick and easy weight loss. Because of these facts it seems that the average person has lost the ability to simply define what it means to be fit. How then can the average person be expected to become fit, maintain a level of fitness and then pass that information on to younger generations? How are we, as a country supposed to be able to figure out how to properly define fitness when our First Lady, Michele Obama can't even give us a straight answer after she has voluntarily sworn to do so?

The answer is really quite simple.

1. Every person must first decide how they are defining fitness. If that definition does not go hand-in-hand with the word "wellness" then it is certain that their definition will be flawed and is simply not attainable and/or sustainable.

2. Next each individual must decide how that definition of fitness and wellness will fit into their life 24/7/365; that is 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days of the year. Simply dropping a few pounds to fit into a wedding dress won't cut it. Regardless of how old or young one is they must make the decision that they want to have a better quality of life. Feeling better and living longer should be at the very foundation of everyone's definition of fitness. Period.

3. Finally, one must put that definition into motion by seeking out qualified sources of valuable information to help attain and maintain fitness and wellness goals. Since each person has varying limitations, lifestyles and ambitions there is no one person, book, DVD or magazine that will yield this information not to mention the fact that the body is in a constant state of flux as are our lives, so the specifics of fitness and wellness will change over the course of time.

There are many articles in my library here on associated content that will help most everyone to attain and maintain their fitness and wellness goals as long as those two definitions go hand in hand.