We need new words to describe fitness. The more I read about fitness, the more I know. Or rather, there is a lot of ignorance to be had, and after much reading, it is shocking to find out exactly how much ignorance I had. Shocking because my parents exercised with us when we were all little. On their own they ran and walked and did light weight training. With us they walked, biked, skated, swam, and played badminton, softball, ping pong and occasionally tennis. So I should be on the more knowledgeable side. There shouldn't be much of anything that shocking.
The shocking part has been to learn exactly how much work goes into looking like you're fit. Or rather, to look like the people described as fit on TV and in magazines. The conclusion I've drawn is that is 110% ridiculously horrifically ludicrous to describe those people as fit. Fit as an adjective should be attainable by everyone. Kind of like the words alive and breathing. If you're alive and breathing you can be fit. If your main focus in life is getting into the top 5% of human fitness, alwaysX10 focusing on what affect your training is having on your appearance? There should be a different name for their results. I should get to call my results fit. I can walk 5 miles and pick things up off the floor without any fear at all of hurting my back. I can dance for an hour and climb two flights of stairs and carry my own groceries. But I feel entirely prohibited from doing so. People like me are supposed to call ourselves “relatively in shape” and I just think it's bullshit.
Super fit. Uber fit. Obsessed. Compulsive. Really really fit. Really really really dedicated. Professionally fit (they can and invariably do make money off of it.) Professionally in shape. Having the appearance of a fitness model or a personal trainer or an action move actor. Shockingly fit.
Or even “fit in appearance.” Which would leave me and myself with “functionally fit.” Because a lot of the uber fit have pretty major injuries they have suffered, are suffering, or are perpetually recovering from. Not all, but a lot. They are certainly also functionally fit, but in the bigger picture, I should "fit" and they should get "uber fit."
1 comment:
Now this was a great post. I 100% agree, and I think I struggle with the concept of what people think "fit" should look like. I can bench press my own body weight, I have run a marathon, I can walk/bike/run anywhere I want to, play with my children, and not get out of breath doing any of it... but because I'm not a size 2 I'm not fit. I agree.... it's BULL.
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