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Striving for an 'average' fitness level proves to be important

Saturday, July 14, 2018

I mention being physically fit in my columns on occasion and never really give it much thought after that. I happened to see a handout I used to give at one of my lectures on conditioning and suddenly a simple thing like physical fitness became complicated.  

The question starts out with, “physically fit for what?” Is the person that can run a marathon, or 50 miles, or even one of those 100 mile races the most fit?  How about the athlete that can lift 600 pounds off the floor, or do a back lift with 2000 pounds the most fit?  One athlete has endurance and the other athlete has strength. Which would be the fittest?

There was one test that attempted to determine the fittest athlete that combined both tributes. It was called the Sahara Desert Fitness Test. Athletes were told to race as far as they could across the Sahara Desert, but had to carry their own water and food. The endurance runner could run well, but was weak and could not carry much water to keep him going.  The strength athlete could carry heavier amounts of water and food but did not have the endurance to go much farther. The winner was that average athlete that was strong and could run a long distance. He was not as strong as the strength athlete, and couldn’t run as far as the endurance athlete, but was above average with both attributes.

So, does it come down to being average is the best for physical fitness? Is it best to excel at being average and not worry about being the best runner or weight lifter?  Think of the decathlon athlete in track. He is not the fastest like a 100 meter sprinter, or the best at running the 1600 meter time, or jump the highest. But, he can throw the shot put, pole vault, high jump, run and throw the javelin. He can’t compete with the best athletes in each of those events, but he is the best all-around athlete at being above average at all of them.

For a majority of the population we qualify at being average at most things and never think that we will be one of the elite athletes we see on television. We try to achieve our best level of physical fitness to meet the demands of our daily life.  There are three levels of fitness for our average life. One is can you meet the demands of your daily life in work – from some sitting, or standing for long hours, to a construction worker level. The second level is after work do you have enough energy to pursue some recreation? Can you play a game of tennis, play 18 holes of golf, or go dancing for three hours that evening? The third level is do you have the fitness to save yourself from an emergency that needs you to run fast, or climb a fence, or jump out of the way of an oncoming danger?

Could you run 30 yards in a sprint speed to avoid a dangerous situation? Could you react and jump out of the way of an oncoming car that lost control and was heading toward you? Could you hike a mile or more in case you became lost far away from safety?  These are extremes that for many of us will never experience, but, in that one situation where it may occur, could you be physically fit enough to save yourself? You do not have to be at an elite level of fitness, but in many of these situations being in that average fitness level is what you will need.  

An example that happened to me many years ago was when my son and I were climbing around on Enchanted Rock. My son was about 10 years old and we were climbing around on the back side of Enchanted Rock with the big boulders and ledges. His ability to crawl through those small openings almost standing up were not quite that easy for me. We came to a ledge that was about waist high that we needed to climb over if we were to continue on our path to the bottom of that rock. It was not that hard to climb up and continue walking on down. I didn’t really give it much thought until I watched a women behind us come to that same ledge. She was overweight and when she came to that ledge she couldn’t get up the waist high barrier. I started to think what would happen if she was in a dry creek bed and there was a danger of a flash flood that occurs in Texas more than we like.  

It goes back to “fit for what?”  Of the three levels, how many can you claim to be fit for?  You do not need to be the best at speed, strength, or endurance.  If you can maintain an average level of physical fitness your ability to enjoy your daily life becomes much better.  It comes down to how many of the three levels of fitness mentioned are you willing to become fit enough for?  Maintaining an “average” fitness level is something that everyone should strive for. If you can maybe excel, or be above average, at one of the components of speed, strength, or endurance, in addition to that average fitness level, it is just that much better. All of this makes being average a pretty good deal for fitness.  There is nothing like taking a simple subject and making it complicated when writing a column.

San Marcos Record

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