It sounds like a simple question.
What is fitness?
But the moment you start thinking about it, the answer becomes less obvious.
Is a fit person one who can run far?
Or lift the most weight?
Or move the fastest?
If someone can run a marathon but can’t do a pull-up, are they fit?
If someone can deadlift 300 pounds but gets winded climbing stairs, are they fit?
These questions reveal something important:
Fitness is bigger than any one skill.
And understanding what fitness actually is helps us train in a way that prepares us for life.
Three Ways to Understand Fitness
One helpful way to understand fitness is through three simple lenses.
Each one reveals something different about what it means to be truly fit.
1. The Skills of Fitness
There are ten general physical abilities that make up human ability, capability and performance.
Things like:
- Strength
- Endurance
- Stamina
- Speed
- Power
- Coordination
- Balance
- Agility
- Flexibility
- Accuracy
You don’t have to be world-class in any of them.
But the more capable you are across all of them, the fitter you become.
Fitness is not about specialization.
It’s broad capability.
A well-rounded human being who can move, lift, balance, react, and sustain effort.
2. The Unknown and the Unexpected
Another way to think about fitness is this:
Imagine a giant hopper filled with a list of unknown physical challenges.
Including:
Running a certain distance,
Hiking up a mountain,
Carrying something heavy for a short distance,
Jumping over something,
Balancing on one leg,
Moving quickly.
Or how about carrying groceries, lifting your kids, grandkids or animals into a car, taking a fall / slipping and being okay.
In the gym it might look like performing a deadlift, a dead hang, performing a pushup, squatting, squatting and throwing (a ball) squatting your body weight, squatting 1.5 x your bodyweight!
Imagine reaching into that hopper and pulling out any challenge at random.
Fitness is your ability to perform well no matter what comes out.
Life doesn’t give us predictable routines.
It gives us surprises.
Being FIT…and possessing broad wide fitness prepares you for the unknown and the unexpected of LIFE.
3. The Energy Systems of the Body
Every physical action you perform is powered by one of three energy systems in your body.
Very simply:
Short and Powerful
Explosive efforts lasting about 10 seconds or less.
Think:
- Sprinting
- Jumping
- Heavy lifts
This system produces maximum power.
Moderate Effort
Efforts lasting up to a few minutes.
Things like:
- Hard rowing
- Fast cycling
- Tough workouts
This system allows you to push hard for a period of time.
Long and Sustainable
Efforts lasting many minutes or longer.
Think:
- Hiking
- Jogging
- Long bike rides
This system supports endurance and sustained movement.
True fitness develops all three systems.
Too much focus on just one leaves the body incomplete.
So Who Is Fit?
A truly fit person isn’t just strong.
They aren’t just fast.
They aren’t just enduring.
They are someone who is capable across many domains.
They can:
Lift.
Move.
Balance.
Sprint / Move quickly.
Endure.
Adapt.
They are prepared for life’s physical demands.
A Better Question
And maybe the real question isn’t just:
“Am I fit?”
The better question is:
“What kind of capability am I building?”
Because fitness is not a destination.
It’s a lifelong practice of becoming a little more capable, a little more resilient, and a little more prepared for life.
And that’s a pursuit worth showing up for.
The Railroad Way
At Railroad CrossFit, our goal is not to specialize.
Our goal is to help people become broadly capable humans.
Strong enough to lift, light, moderate and heavy.
Conditioned to go fast and short, long and paced and everything in between.
Balanced and coordinated enough to move well.
And resilient enough to do it for decades.
Because the goal isn’t just to look fit.
The goal is to be fit.
The kind of fit that shows up and supports you in everyday life.
The kind that lets you keep doing the things you love for decades.
Loving you,
Coach Shawn