What is fitness?

Discussion in 'Health and Fitness' started by lucas2411, Mar 25, 2005.

  1. ninjamonkey

    ninjamonkey New Member

    Why did you not start with that question?
     
  2. lucas2411

    lucas2411 New Member

    Because i had some odd idea that people on this forum would be able to give me a decent answer with my original question.
     
  3. ninjamonkey

    ninjamonkey New Member

    You're right... That is an odd thought
     
  4. push102

    push102 New Member

    fitness is...

    Fitness to me is the working of the bodys muscles. Everytime they are used is fitness. Animative non stationary movement that is intended to work the muscles. There is an intention to work them. Intentional working and planned usage. When one works out they are doing planned informed and educated usage with the intention to work and train the muscles. When we train we are educating and telling the muscles to get used to and accepting to a level of activity. The muscles can be trained to work but we must train them gently and then with increasing work out to get the fitness levels we would like to have. Everyone is different. Most people know our bodies limits.

    Doug Pruden
     
  5. Garrett

    Garrett Valued Member

    Fitness has very little to do with the lungs. Your maximum lung volume once you reach adulthood is pretty much set and unchangeable and only slightly trainable.

    If you're talking about aerobic/endurance fitness, the important adaptation that occurs when you 'get fit' is changes to the size and density of organisms called mitochondria which reside in your muscles. Mitochondria are responsible for creating ATP, using oxygen and your stored energy sources, carbs and fat. The more and larger mitochondria you have, the more enzymes there are to burn fuels and thus allow you to continue exercising for longer and at a greater rate.
    Further muscle adaptations occur, including more vascularisation, meaning the number of capillaries in the muscle increases, allowing greater blood flow and thus more oxygen to the muscles.
    Also there is a slight increase in the amount of oxygen extracted by the muscles compared to untrained muscles.
    Studies have done funny tests like training one leg and not the other, after 6 weeks or so, the trained leg can do much more work and exercise for much longer than the other leg.

    There are some central changes, including a bigger heart, but changes in heart size, like any muscle, take months to years of training and the effect is not nearly as great as peripheral muscle changes. You also need to be using large muscle masses to get an increase in heart size as the heart needs to be severely pushed to force adaptations.

    Conclusion: Your muscles are the primary 'organs' that adapt to training and make you fit. This is the reason training specificity exists. ie a swimmer is not always a good runner.
     
    Last edited: Apr 24, 2007
  6. BigRed389

    BigRed389 Valued Member

    Ture, but a swimmer is almost always a pretty good runner.

    While runner's are often rocks when they hit the pool...especially the no buoyancy skin and bones marathon types. :D
     
  7. Garrett

    Garrett Valued Member

    So maybe that was a bad example, but muscle adaptation is the reason for training specificity.

    And i'm so one of those good runner bad swimmer people. Not enough body fat to help me keep afloat! I spend most of my energy not drowning and have none left for any actual forward movement.
    That's ok though. Water has sharks :D
     
  8. AfroMac_Samurai

    AfroMac_Samurai New Member

    Hi :) I am Afro Mac

    Fitness is essentially a person's ability to go about a physical task with comfort and little repercussion.

    Your entire digestive sytem from lips to "you know where" is involved with your fitness. The main things I should out (that would make sense) is the stomach, Duodenum, and large/small instine. deliver to you the fuels that will be used in later activities. The main activity they prepare for is to endure starvation. Your liver it makes sugaurs and other compounds that are on the journey to provide you restoration of currently dissipating energy. This is important for fitness because the better your liver can do the better you will live life (hence the name). The spleen gathers dead blood cell or poorly functioning ones to prevent issues with oxygenation. You fitness is greatly based on you oxygen levels. Exercise is like setting a fire. The best things to provide the fire is heat, fuel, and oxygen.

    There are other things to be mentioned and there are many organs that do the same things as the ones I mentioned. Also note that the functions I mentioned for the noted organs are not the only functions they perform. I would like further express help in this topic, but I don't wish to bore anyone. lol :)
     

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