The University of Fitness

Introduction to Fitness

Welcome to the University of Fitness!

First of all, what is fitness?

Technically speaking, fitness refers to the ability to do a job [fit to run a marathon, fit to run a company, fit to run a fantasy football team - note: I am not any of the above]. In physical terms, it refers to the ability to perform a task, or it could refer to how well you can perform a variety of physical tasks, which is overall fitness.

Sometimes fitness is a job requirement.

Fitness and health are used interchangeably, but health actually refers more to the general well being of your body’s systems, such as all your organs, tissues, etc.. However, you shouldn’t think of fitness and health as two different categories, since much of the work done to improve one will help the other. As a general health term, fitness is usually about being in “good shape”. That generally involves some form of body transformation, such as:

• Fat loss
• Strength/size gain
• Improving general health
• Flexibility/joint health
• Having killer abs
• Looking awesome at the beach
• Etc.

The problem with fitness today…

There’s a reason this site was created. Nowadays, people are starting to get concerned about their health/fitness, but the over saturation of ideas and options on the market serves as a turn off. It’s hard for someone to know what to listen to and what to ignore, what science is right and what’s just a load of crap, and so on. It’s even worse with the huge list of companies trying to sell their useless products to unsuspecting customers who don’t know any better. These companies feed off failure, making money off of people that try 6 different gimmick machines before realizing none of them work.

As a consumer, it’s easy to blame oneself, and not the guys who sold you a bogus product. It’s time to end that. My goal is to help cut through the junk and help provide useful information so you can spend more time working and less time figuring out what will work.

Here comes the truth. Are you ready for it?

Ok, I hope I didn’t lose anyone with that last sentence, but I wasn’t kidding about working. As much as I went off a little on the guys who peddle useless products and programs just now, some of the responsibility lies with consumers today. Everyone wants to lose 30 lbs in 30 days or put on 15 pounds of muscle in a week and a half, all while working out 20 minutes a day, 2 days a week. And people actually think such expectations are reasonable. If their consumers actually believe that’s possible, then how are those fitness companies supposed to resist making such promises of their products?

Now, there are ways to use your time training effectively, but there aren’t shortcuts. A few key strategies can make getting in shape easier, but you have to put in the work, and it doesn’t come overnight. Why?

Because there are 2 basic truths when it comes to fitness:

1] Changing your level of fitness requires actual work, and to some extent, a degree of discomfort. Changing your body involves telling it that it needs to change. How do you do that? By putting it in new situations so that it adapts to higher workloads. If you want to improve from running a mile in 10 minutes to running one in 6, you won’t succeed by continuing to run it in 10 minutes. The body needs to be challenged by moving it out of it’s comfort zone regularly so it realizes it needs to keep up by getting better at doing harder things. The harder you push yourself, the more you are pushing your body to be better equipped for the future.

Not in his comfort zone.

2] There is a limit to how fast you can lose fat/gain muscle/improve fitness, even when working hard. Expecting any faster is unrealistic and anyone who promises otherwise is full of it. Once you start working hard and your body gets the message to get better at doing what it does, it will start to change to suit your needs. However, it can only recover up to a limit in a given period of time. As you start trying to run that 6 minute mile, your body will start catching up by strengthening your heart, lungs, legs, and whatever else is involved with meeting your goal. But you can’t simply start running faster and expect to have your heart, lungs, and legs to match the ability of a Kenyan by the end of the week. Small changes can be hard to see on a daily or even weekly basis, but they add up, and once you notice them, they serve as motivation for the future. Don’t make the beginner mistake of letting a perceived lack of progress discourage you.

Armed with this knowledge, I wish anyone reading this the best of luck in pursuing any fitness goals they have currently and in the future.

Leave a comment: What do you think fitness means? What are your current goals? Any topics you would specifically like addressed?