Are You Physically Fit?

Well if you can't make it up one flight of stairs without panting to the point of collapse, then there is a good possibility you aren't!

If you have been asked "Are you physically fit? How do you know?" You may find yourself without a clear answer. The best way to prepare you to answer such a question is to explain the two basic components of physical fitness, general fitness and specific fitness.

General fitness is comprised of two parts, health and well being. Health refers to the state of your body overall. Are you free of disease? Do you eat right and follow the U.S.D.A. Food Pyramid? Do you have any injuries or deficiencies?

General fitness includes all of the following:

1. Cardiovascular health
2. Flexibility
3. Strength
4. Muscle endurance
5. Body composition
6. General skill training

Specific fitness measures your ability to perform a certain task such as playing a sport or working in a certain situation where you will need to use specific muscles to get the job done. A firefighter is a good example of someone who needs to be able to perform specific tasks such as hauling hoses or climbing ladders.



The President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports developed a chart to help illustrate these points. If you are able to perform all of the tasks in your average day without becoming overly fatigued or lethargic you are probably physically fit. 

If you have concerns you should speak to your family physician and arrange for a stress test. This test is used in medicine and cardiology to measure the heart's ability to respond to external stress in a controlled environment. A Stress Test, often referred to as a exercise test, treadmill test, exercise electrocardiogram, will assist your doctor of determining if you are out of shape or if there are serious medical issues to be concerned about.