You Probably Aren't as Physically Fit as You Think You Are...

You probably aren't as physically fit as you think you are. Does that bother you? It should.

If right now you are more angry at me for saying this than you are at yourself for it being true, you are likely at a crossroads. Do you keep reading what I have to say, or do you dismiss the rest of this post as arrogant and move on to something more agreeable? Let me help you — always choose the harder path.

"We can easily forgive a child who is afraid of the dark; the real tragedy of life is when men are afraid of the light." This quote by Plato is never more true than in what we are about to discuss.

First things first, let's define "physically fit." Merriam Webster's College Dictionary defines "fitness" and the state of being "fit" as an individual's relative ability to spread his or her genes, and to be healthy. I think we can all agree that in today's age, this isn't very specific or relevant. For the purpose of this blog post, I'll keep the definition of "Physical Fitness" to a short and simple sentence. Physical Fitness is defined by ones capacity to do work. What this means is that in order to consider yourself a "physically fit" individual, you need to be able to perform various physical tasks efficiently and without fail. Your relative ability to perform a multitude of random physical tasks efficiently defines your personal degree of "physical fitness." Since there is no scale for fitness, the only way to judge ourselves is against the abilities of others.

Who was more physically fit in his prime that Arnold Schwarzenegger or Carl Lewis? Well, that depends, doesn't it? What task are you putting in front of these two athletes to accomplish? If you are requiring the athlete to lift as much weight as is physically possible, you would go with Arnold, but if you needed the athlete to run as fast as he possibly could, you would go with Carl. I think this opinion is pretty agreeable because we are testing the skill level of each athlete in the respective athlete's best movements. So how do we decide which of the two men is more fit? It's simple: we test them on tasks that don't include their primary skill sets. Who can do more pushups in three minutes? Who can swim faster? Which guy can throw a ball farther? It is this basic principle that I am challenging you on today. Fitness is all encompassing. It is general, not specific. The better you are at everything, the more physically fit you are.

Most of us have our routines. Whether you do it first thing in the morning or last thing before bed, you either go for a run, you do yoga, or you hit the weights like clock work. That's great and it's better than not doing anything, but do you really think it's better than doing everything? If you think you are physically fit, I have a challenge for you to do today. If you are legitimately physically fit, either challenge should take you under seven minutes, and there should be no throwing up when it's over.

Challenge one goes out to all the guys in the gym lifting more than I can. We are going to put those big muscles to the test today and since the workout should take under seven minutes, your lack of long cardio intervals shouldn't even play a role in the outcome. I want you to do 100 burpees in a row. That's it. A burpee is a movement that will take you from the standing position all the way down to the ground so your chest touches the floor (like the bottom of a pushup) and back up to your feet, ending in a small jump and overhead clap of the hands. I've attached a video here for you to see the workout before you try it. No cheating, each burpee finishes with you standing tall, hips completely open, and a jump with an overhead clap. If you find yourself doing these burpees with a forward lean in the hips, consider that attempt a rep that does not count. Or, stroke the ego and count it.    

Too hard? Take it easy on yourself and run a mile in under seven minutes instead.

Challenge two goes out to you, endurance man. Yeah, you can beat me in a race up the mountain - unless there is some heavy stuff in the way. Your workout is a challenge that comes from the CrossFit community. I want you to do "Fran."  "Fran" is a couplet workout that includes thrusters (front squat to over head press) and pullups. Pretty simple, right? You will do 21 reps of each, 15 reps of each, and then nine reps of each for a total of 90 reps in order. So to recap, you do 21 thrusters, then you do 21 pullups. Now you are on to the round of 15, you do 15 thrusters, then 15 pullups. Follow this sequence with your round of nine. Men you will lift 95 pounds; ladies life 65. If you can't handle this amount of weight, just go for a one rep max on something like a deadlift (be careful, if you don't know proper form for this exercise do not do it!). Guys try lifting 300 pounds once. Ladies why don't you work with 200?  Sounds crazy? We have once average people doing this every day at our gym right here in Long Beach, then they go run their sub seven minute mile.  

If you are content with the level of fitness you have accomplished and are disinterested in working on your weaknesses, that is your choice, and I don't judge you for it. The point of this challenge I've issued you isn't to make you feel badly about yourself.  I want you to understand that being really good at one thing is really bad when it comes to everything else. Lifting a lot of weight, having big muscles, running a super fast mile, or finishing a marathon does not make you fit if you can't accomplish tasks outside of your primary skill set. That is the point, that is what I want you to feel, and that is what I want you to embrace. If I told you that tomorrow you could wake up with the ability to perform one of the following combinations of skills, which would you choose?

A) Deadlift 500 pounds and run a 10 minute mile.

B) Deadlift 150 pounds and run a 5 minute mile.

C) Deadlift 300 pounds and run a 6:30 minute mile.

I choose option C. This is where the Plato quote from earlier becomes relevant. You know what you are good at and you know where your weaknesses lie. To avoid your weaknesses is to cultivate them. Stop hiding in the dark in fear of the light. You aren't as physically fit as you thought you were. But you can be, and that's what's awesome. Fitness is a privilege. Do you want it?

Videos of all of the movements discussed in this posting can be found attached to the blog.

If you have any questions or comments regarding this blog you can post them in the comments box below, or you can email me directly at DrSean@ThriveLongBeach.com. I'm happy to answer all of your questions regarding fitness and or musculoskeletal injuries. Don't like emailing? Stop into my office and let's chat in person. I'm at Thrive Chiropractic in Long Beach at 901 West Beech Street.  

Enjoy your day, we'll talk again soon.