Links to the breadcrumb trail
Fitness is basically the ability to deal with the physical and psychological stresses of everyday life – whatever that looks like for you.
Author of the article:
• Special for Montreal Gazette
Publication date:
08/15/2021 • 35 minutes ago • Read for 4 minutes • Join the conversation 
Andre De Grasse won three medals at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, making him the most highly decorated male Olympian in Canadian history. Does that make him the fittest? Photo by Matthias Hangst /Getty Images
Reviews and recommendations are impartial and products are independently selected. Postmedia can earn affiliate commission from purchases made through links on this page.
Article content
After the best athletes in the world have shown what years of physical and mental preparation can do, there is still no consensus on which athletes are the fittest among this elite group. Are marathon runners fitter than cyclists and rowers? And what about water polo players and decathletes – sports often considered the most physically demanding of the Olympics – are they fitter than soccer or rugby players?
advertising
This ad hasn’t loaded yet, but your article continues below.
Article content
It is also worth discussing where strength and strength athletes such as weightlifters and sprinters and specialists such as pole vaulters are on the fitness continuum. Finally, what about the rest of us average Joes and Jills, even those who exercise hard? Are we less fit than Olympians?
The answer could lie in the definition of fitness, which again has no consensus. One of the most common definitions is “the ability to complete daily tasks with energy and vigilance, without undue fatigue, and with sufficient energy to enjoy recreational activities and deal with unforeseen emergencies”. But Ross Tucker, a South African sports scientist and co-host of the Science of Sport podcast, takes it to a more basic level, suggesting that fitness is simply “the organism’s ability to survive and thrive in response to stress.”
advertising
This ad hasn’t loaded yet, but your article continues below.
Article content
While these definitions may seem unrelated, they focus on the same topic: Are you fit enough for the task at hand? For some of us the task is to achieve improved or optimal health and quality of life. For others, fitness has an element of performance: Am I fit enough to complete a marathon? Or, if the task is more demanding: Am I fit enough to win a marathon?
Fitness basically optimizes the ability to deal with the physical and mental stresses of everyday life. In fact, adjusting to stress is a sign of improved fitness. Think of exercise as stress and recovery as adaptation to that stress. A vigorous walk, run, or workout in the gym puts a strain on the heart, lungs, and muscles. Recovery allows the body to adapt to this stress by building itself up, becoming more efficient and resilient. Workout after workout, the body and its functions continue to adapt and improve in order to more easily cope with the tasks of daily living. Hence the noticeable boost in energy and physical function that occurs in the first few months after a regular exercise program or a new physical challenge.
advertising
This ad hasn’t loaded yet, but your article continues below.
Article content
For many, that initial fitness boost is just the beginning of their journey. The more ambitious or specific a fitness or performance goal is, the more specialized the workouts become and the more targeted the fitness must be for success. This type of specificity is why sprinters are well equipped for short, quick bursts of speed, but may puff and puff at longer distances that put a strain on their cardiovascular and muscular endurance rather than compromising their strength, strength, and anaerobic capacity. This is also why marathon runners don’t spend a lot of time in the weight room because the extra muscle mass doesn’t add to their performance.
Remember, fitness is traditionally measured by testing a range of physical functions, including muscle strength and endurance, flexibility and aerobic strength and endurance – think about the fitness tests you took in physical education – and compare your results with a large sample of the population similar to how old you are. But a variety of sports have their own tests to assess how fit a person is for the task at hand, with more or less emphasis on certain elements of fitness. The football group, for example, rates fitness for the game on the basis of a 40-yard run (speed), bench press (strength), vertical and long jump (explosive strength), three-cone drill (agility) and 20-yard shuttle Run (aerobic fitness).
advertising
This ad hasn’t loaded yet, but your article continues below.
Article content
Does this mean that athletes with the best results on most fitness measurements have the right to call themselves the fittest in fit? Be careful how you answer because it means judging who is fitter: decathletes Damian Warner, sprinter Andre De Grasse, swimmer Maggie Mac Neil, weightlifter Maude Charron or the rowers in Canada’s eighth of women – all gold medalists in Tokyo 2020 .
The bottom line is that fitness goes beyond specific performance targets to be able to cope with the tasks of daily life in good shape and to reduce the risk of chronic diseases and physical dysfunction. If these tasks are limited to housework and 150 minutes of moderate exercise per week that you can do vigorously without ending the day exhausted, then you are keeping yourself fit. However, if your everyday life requires more stamina, strength, and agility than you can currently muster, then you need to work on your fitness. Those of you who want to play with Mac Neil in the pool, De Grasse on the lane or Charron in the weight room, be prepared to take your fitness bar to gold heights.
Fitness: Olympia is a show of true courage
Fitness: This is what it takes to shine in three of the newest Olympic sports
Share this article on your social network
advertising
This ad hasn’t loaded yet, but your article continues below.
By clicking the registration button, you agree to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the unsubscribe link at the bottom of our emails. Postmedia Network Inc. | 365 Bloor Street East, Toronto, Ontario, M4W 3L4 | 416-383-2300
Thanks for registering!
Remarks
Postmedia advocates a lively but civil discussion forum and encourages all readers to share their thoughts on our articles. It can take up to an hour for comments to be moderated before they appear on the site. We ask that you keep your comments relevant and respectful. We turned email notifications on – you will now receive an email when you’ve received a reply to your comment, there’s an update on a comment thread you’re following, or when a user you follow follows comments . Check out our Community Guidelines for more information and details on how to customize your email settings.
