Saturday, May 4, 2013

How fit are you? Measuring your fitness at home

"Your level of Fitness refers to your body’s ability to meet the demands of physical tasks while still having the energy and strength to feel as good as possible."


Fitness Instructor with client doing rope exercises


A few weeks ago, I had gone downstairs to fix myself something to eat before I got settled down to work. I had popped a bag of popcorn and picked up a medium-sized Julie mango for dinner (I prefer to eat light in the evenings to avoid the almost inevitable energy dip after eating in addition to the fact that I’m just tired). I took my meal up to my bedroom but realized I had forgotten my bottle of water. As I was making my second trip upstairs, I decided to run upstairs as I had usually done not more than a few months ago. Needless to say, I was a bit surprised when I found that these stairs aren't that easy to sprint up. I know my exercise routine has been on hiatus for a while but surely walking up and down these stairs everyday must have counted for something. So it got me thinking: what does it really mean to be fit? How do you even really know how fit you are? And, how can you improve fitness?


Your level of Fitness refers to your body’s ability to meet the demands of physical tasks while still having the energy and strength to feel as good as possible. This doesn't mean you have to be an athlete but it does mean that you should be able to be and feel at your best at all times. This lowers your risk for certain non-communicable lifestyle diseases.