10/10/2021 BW:180.8 – Treadmill x 45min @ 3.0mph/ 7.5-10.0% Grade Situps x 25,10,10,8,7,5,5,5 [30s rest] Pushups x 30,20,10,8,7,8,7 [30s rest] Chinups x 10,5,5,5,5,3,4,3 [30s rest]
10/11/2021 BW: 180.8 – Comp Deadlift: 287.5×5 325×1 355×1 385×1 287.5×5 x 4 sets – Comp Bench: 220×3 240×1 260×1 275×1 220×3 x 7 sets – Back Raise x BW x 25,20,15,15,15,15,20 [30s rest] DB Row: 65 x 10 x 4 sets [30s rest] BB Bicep: 45 x 8 x 5 sets [30s rest]
10/12/2021 BW:180.8 – High Bar Squat: 262.5×5 x 5 sets 300×1 330×1 340×1 350×1 – Comp Press: 140×3 x 8 sets 155×1 165×1 175×1 – RFESS: 15’s x 8 x 5 sets [30s rest] Seated DB Press: 15’s x 15,15,10,10,10 [30s rest] Banded Tricep Pushdown: Average x 20,20,20,10,10 [30s rest]
10/13/2021 BW: 182.0 – Treadmill x 15min @ 3.0mph / 10.0% Grade Assault Bike x 15min HIIT Ab Wheel x 35,25,15,10,10 [30s rest] Pullup x BW x 10,5,5,4,3,3 [30s rest] Side Plank x 45s x 3 sets; x 30s x 2 sets [15s rest] Situp x 20,10,10,10,10 [45s rest] DB RDL: 65’s x 8 x 5 sets [30s rest]
10/14/2021 BW: 181.8 – Treadmill x 15min @ 3.0mph/10% Grade – Pause Deadlift: 262.5×5 x 5 sets 330×1 340×1 350×1 – Close Grip Bench: 220×3 x 8 sets 245×1 260×1 275×1 – Back Raise x 25lb x 10 x 5 sets
10/15/2021 BW:181.8 – Neutral Chinup x 5 x 10 sets Dips x 10 x 5 sets Knee Raise x 15,10,8,7,5,5 Situp x 10 x 5 sets Assault bike x 15min
Sunday 10/03/2021 BW:181.8 – Incline Treadmill x 30min Assault Bike x 30min – Chinup x 5 x 10 Calf Raise x 20 x 10 Knee Raise x 10 x 5; x 5 x 5 Side Hold x 30s x 10
Monday 10/04/2021 BW: 184.4 – Deadlift: 285x5x5 340×1 360×1 380×1 – Bench: 215x3x8 245×1 260×1 270×1 – Pushups x 25,10,15,10,5 [30s] Biceps x 33lb x 25,15,15,10,10
Tuesday 10/05/2021 BW: 182.2 – High Bar Squat: 262.5x5x5 300×1 325×1 350×1 – Press: 140x3x8 160×1 175×1 – Back Raise x BW x 20 x 5 sets Band Pullaparts x Mini x 20 x 5 Band Tricep x Average x 20 x 5
Wednesday 10/06/2021 BW:182.6 – Incline Treadmill x 30min Assault Bike x 30min – Band (Average) Assisted Pullup x 15,10,8,5,5; BW x 5,5 [30s] Ab Wheel x 30,20,15,15,10,10 [30s] Situps x 10,5,5,5,5,5,8,7 [30s]
Thursday 10/07/2021 BW:182.4 – Pause (@ Knee) Deadlift: 260x5x5 315×1 330×1 345×1 – Close Grip Bench: 215x3x8 240×1 255×1 270×1 – RFESS x BW x 15 x 5 sets 3-Way Shoulder Raise x 10’s x 7 x 5 sets Biceps x 45lb x 10 x 5 sets
Friday 10/08/2021 BW:182.0 – Incline Treadmill x 30min Assault Bike x 22.5min – Knee Raise x 15,10,5,5,5,5,5 Barbell Row x 15reps x 35lb, 55lb, 75lb, 95lb, 95lb, 95lb, 75lb, 55lb, 35lb Side Plank x 45s x 3 sets [15s rest] Pushups x 25,15,10 [30s rest] SA DB Row x 65lb x 10 x 3 sets
Saturday 10/09/2021 BW:182.2 – High Bar Pause Squat: 262.5x5x5 300×1 330×1 350×1 – Low Incline Bench: 195x3x8 220×1 245×1 – Dips x 20,15,15,15,10 DB Bicep x 15’s x 20,20,15,15,10 Back Raise x BW x 10 x 10
The Basics Series is our starting point for those who may be new to exercise and training. In this series we will define and discuss some fundamental concepts in health and fitness.
What is Fitness?
Is Stick Van Dyke here exercising or directing traffic?
Do you know what Fitness is? What does it mean to be fit? If you look around on the internet, television, magazines, etc, or if you ask the opinion of the people you know, you are probably going to get a wide variety of responses, which will likely leave you feeling more clueless than before you started looking.
We will discuss two common issues with defining fitness and then attempt to make the water a little less muddy with some steps to take to find what is right for you.
The Vagueness Issue
Webster’s New World dictionary defines fitness as “the condition of being fit; suitability, appropriateness, healthiness, etc…“, and subsequently defines fit as “in good physical condition; healthy”…
…(pauses for dramatic effect)…
….and there you have it, folks! Thanks for tuning in, and we’ll see you next time.
That’s it?!!!
The problem with these and other common definitions of “fitness” is that they are too vague; they don’t actually tell us anything that we can use to improve our own fitness. What is “good physical condition”? What is “healthiness”?
The Complicated Issue
On the complete other end of the spectrum, some popular fitness brands have defined “fitness” as a combination of ALL of the following (very abridged on my part) standards:
Train, practice, and develop the “Ten General Physical Skills”, which are cardiovascular/respiratory endurance, stamina, strength, flexibility, power, speed, coordination, agility, balance, and accuracy (you know what each of these are and how to improve them…right?) Being able to perform well at ANY AND EVERY TASK IMAGINABLE (seems reasonable….right?). Be competent in using each of the body’s three energy systems (because training ten different physical skills over an infinite number of possible tasks clearly isn’t enough.)
So, by this definition, I can be fit as long as I… …train my cardiovascular/respiratory endurance …train my stamina …train for strength …develop flexibility …train for power …train for speed …practice coordination …train agility …train balance …train accuracy …train my phosphagen energy system …train my glycolytic energy system …train my aerobic system …somehow train all of these different physical skills in a manner such that my training is completely random but yet still intelligent enough to actually develop improvements in these skills in order to LITERALLY BE ABLE TO PERFORM WELL AT ANY AND EVERY PHYSICAL TASK IMAGINABLE!
brb…gotta design this fitness routine…
The issue with this view of “What is fitness?” is the exact opposite of the issue with the vague definitions, but the resulting problem is the same. While there is definitely no shortage of information, the individual is still left with nothing useful to use because he or she is likely paralyzed by the amount of information and doesn’t know where to begin.
There has to be a better way…
Fitness is Specific
The problem with “fitness” is that it cannot be generalized very well (see the second definition above – “JUST DO LITERALLY EVERYTHING!”). Fitness is specific to the activity being trained.
We will cover the Principle ofSpecificity in more detail in another article, but, to briefly summarize, the principle of specificity, or the SAID principle (specific adaptation to imposed demands) states that the type of demand placed on the body will dictate the type of adaptation to occur. In other words, the type of exercise will dictate the type of improvement in some physical quality. Running will make you better at running than cycling will.
This means that “to be fit” means “to be well prepared to do something specific”. It would be reasonable to argue that an NFL linebacker is fit to play football, and that a Boston Marathon competitor is fit to run very long distances. Both of these athletes have high levels of fitness. Is an NFL linebacker fit to run a marathon? Is a marathon runner fit to tackle a 200 lb NFL running back? Absolutely not.
Their fitness is specific.
“…what do I do with this information?…”
Remove the term “General Fitness” from your vocabulary, and always be specific when discussing fitness, because there are different types of fitness (see example of NFL linebacker vs marathon runner above).
“Well, what kind of fitness is most important, and what should I do as exercise to improve that fitness?”…you might ask. “I’ve read so many articles that seem to contradict each other about what type of exercise to do!”
The answer to this question is completely dependent on the individual. There is no such thing as the best type of fitness, the best type of exercise, or the best training program. Your situation will be different from someone else’s situation. Your situation RIGHT NOW will be different than your situation LATER ON.
There are no absolute, hard and fast rules. It all depends.
“…okay. So where do I begin?…”
When deciding what type of exercise program you should follow, ask yourself the following questions…
-Do I have any specific fitness goals? If so, what are they? If you’ve always wanted to run a 5k, then I would look for a running program. If you want to learn how to swim, I’d find a pool. So on and etc…
-Does my job have fitness requirements? If so, what are they? This could be an explicit requirement (ex – annual fitness assessment) or an implicit requirement (physically demanding/dangerous job where certain types of fitness will increase chances of success/survival).
-Do I have any current medical conditions that would be directly improved by improving a certain type of fitness? EX – Resistance training for osteoporosis, aerobic training for improved cardiovascular function, etc…
The answers to these questions should provide you with some direction in determining what type of fitness is important for you and how to go about improving it. This is, in our opinion, a much better method of determining what to prioritize than just trying to “get better at everything because we want to be prepared for anything”…whatever that means.
“But Those Don’t Apply…”
If you answered “No” to all of the above questions, then is it even necessary that you embark upon an exercise routine to improve some aspect of fitness? Probably not! There are millions of people all over the world who never exercise regularly and still manage to live a long, productive, and fulfilling life. However, health circumstances are almost certain to change, exercise and physical activity have numerous positive benefits, and the drawbacks/risks are practically non-existent. So even if you answered “no”, it is still probably worthwhile that you start exercising.
But you already knew that. 😉
“….just tell me what to do….”
So what should you do if you have no specific fitness goals, no job related fitness requirement, and no medical conditions that would be improved by exercise, but still want to incorporate some physical activity?Likely the best place to start is the Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans, put together by the US Department of Health and Human Services.
The Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans provides evidence-based guidance to help Americans maintain or improve their health through physical activity.
Click HERE to learn about the current guidelines in detail.
In short, if you are just starting out, aim to meet the following: -150-300 minutes per week of moderate-intensity physical activity OR -75-150 minutes per week of vigorous-intensity physical activity OR -An equivalent combination of moderate-intensity physical activity and vigorous-intensity physical activity. AND -Two or more days per week of moderate or greater intensity muscle-strengthening activities that train all muscle groups.
We’ve created a FREE, entry level program designed from the Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans. It’s suitable for all ability levels and requires no equipment. Check it out HERE.
Conclusion
In this article we’ve briefly touched on some common definitions of Fitness and the drawbacks associated with them. We’ve touched on how fitness is specific, and that the right “type of fitness” for you is completely dependent on your own individual situation. We discussed some useful questions to ask yourself when contemplating setting up your own training program. Finally, we shared a few recommendations that we prioritize along with a free program to give you a place to start.
Thank you for reading!
What are your thoughts on the definitions of fitness?
Let us know what you think in the comment section!
