Redefining fitness, redirecting goals

Fitness is such a relative term. Especially in this mountain town where elite athletes seem to outnumber us mere mortals 10 to 1, it is important to realize everyone can and should have a different set of fitness goals, ideals, and expectations.

This has never been as apparent to me as it has been these last few years, and particularly these last 2 weeks. You see, I grew up in this outdoor mecca where people are always striving for greater physical prowess. Even at the height of my fitness, when I was able to pick up and run 10-20 miles on any given day, and enter multisport events on a whim the day before a race, I always felt I could be fitter- do better, be leaner, run faster. When I went away to med school and got entirely too busy working and studying, I longed for the days when I was “fit” enough to run marathons, or even 10K’s.

The last 6 months has made up the most stressful and physically exhausting period in my life. Beyond school and work and family drama, I have been the lucky host of various superbugs- leaving me short of breath, voiceless for a week, feverish, and just plain sick. Two weeks before I returned home I called my mom and told her I thought I might need to go to the hospital for a few days. I was so feverish, tired, and dehydrated that I weighed 10 pounds less than I had the week before. When I finally flew home I was met with exclamations of how skinny I looked. “I know,” I said, “I’ve been really sick.”

The point of this random story, is really in the reaction I received from everyone else upon my return.  Things like, “Wow- you look great!”  Or, “Looks like you’ve been keeping up with your exercise”   Even, “You look better/younger than you looked last year when we saw you, you must’ve had a stress free year!” And in response to my declination of invitations for various outdoor exploits, “Oh you’ve got to be kidding me! You are in great shape, you’ll be fine!”  “What do you mean you can’t run more than 3 miles? Look at you! You are in better shape than that.”

What exactly were these people basing my level of fitness on? They were simply looking at my body- my thinned out face, my now baggy pants, and my apparent lack of body fat. They were essentially saying “thin = fit.” Well, let me tell you- it does not. In fact, in my body thin equals easily fatigued, weak, and unable to fully participate in many things I enjoy.

If you simply look at the word “fitness” it is easy to see it begs a personal definition, tailored to your particular circumstances and ideals. Fitness is generally defined as “being suitable for a certain position or able to perform a certain function.” In sailing terms it denotes seaworthiness. In biology it speaks of an organisms ability to adapt, survive, and reproduce in a given environment. I think of fitness as being healthy and strong enough to take part in certain activities, prepared to withstand a certain amount of physical stress or endure physical activity for a certain amount of time.

I think the majority of Americans erroneously equate fitness with a certain body type. Sure, athletes generally have great physiques, well defined muscles, an appropriate BMI. But is being lean the goal? For some it may be. But here at Real Women Have Muscles we are more interested in cultivating a culture of personal goal-directed fitness, independent of shape, size, or weight. We are excited to strive for our own physical goals, dedicated to inspiring others to realize their potential, an interested in creating a community of strong confident women who understand what fitness is really all about.

I challenge you to take this opportunity to consider how you define fitness. Do you need to update your schema? Do you have realistic and inspiring fitness goals? Please share them here so we can encourage one another towards better health, personal achievements, and a kinder more positive self image.

Live the beauty of being strong!

check out those muscles!

WINNING GOAL!