Last week an email went out to all employees at our company asking if anyone would be interested in forming a softball team to play in a local tournament. I deleted it. Team sports are definitely not my thing.
My immediate negative reaction started the gears turning in my brain.
I grew up with a negative attitude toward physical fitness and exercise because I associated those things with the misery that was gym class. I was so very bad at all of it - running laps, team sports; I hated every minute of it.
Yet here I am now: a person who makes a point to exercise and even kinda thinks it's fun. But I still don't want to play softball.
Somewhere along the line I decided I wanted to run though. The first yearnings actually had nothing to do with physical fitness or weight loss. The first time that I ever remember thinking that I wanted to run was during my mid-twenties. I was having a bit of an identity crisis and experiencing more than a little bit of depression, though at the time I did not realize what it was. And I wanted to run.
I wanted to run because the idea of running away was so appealing. The idea of physically running seemed attractive; it seemed like it must feel so free. That was the image I had in my mind.
These days I'm pretty happy with my life. I feel fortunate that I was able to get to this place. But I still want to run. Now it's not about running away though.
Part of it is absolutely about weight loss. No matter how many times I tell myself that exercise is not going to do it for me, that I have to figure out how to eat to lose weight, I still find myself wanting exercise to be the answer. Running is so often spoken of as the ultimate calorie burner, so I can't help but hope that if I could actually do it, I might lose some of these pounds.
But part of it is also the idea that if I am a fit person, I should be able to run. I'm not sure why I think that exactly. I have absolutely no problem saying that I am crap at team sports and I have no interest in playing them. That does not enter into my vision of fitness. But I can't shake the idea that I should be able to run.
If someone else were saying this to me, I'd say that maybe not everyone is built to be a runner. There are plenty of other things one can do to be fit. But it seems I can't let myself off the hook.
So my question is: What does it mean to be fit?
How does one know they are fit? How do you measure your physical fitness?
9 comments:
Excellent question.
Hmmm. I think it means runnin for me, too. As soon as I read your post I thought of how I felt after this years Sun Run. The fact that I ran 10K with very little training was a testament (to me) of how physically fit I am.
Nothing else has really given me that "aha" to the same degree, that I can think of.
I have no burning desire to run, but I do see the appeal. I am definitely with you on the hatred of team sports, though! I was always so bad at everything, I'd be the next to last chosen for the team (there was one other girl who was even worse than I was - but she had a mental handicap!)
That is a tough question I guess by when I do have a trainer and when I am teaching my fitness classes. Great post.
for me it has never been more clear than being a mom.
being fit means that I can gogogogo with her from 7a-6p nonstop and I can do it with out needing a nap (which she wont take)
It means Im not sore at the end of my days with the Tornado.
It means I wake up ready and EXCITED to do it all again---emphasis on the ready :)
Good question. I too began to run a few years back...guess it stemmed from not doing so well at team sports. Now that I am approaching my 45th birthday (eeek!) I am running to keep fit, to ward off old age, and just to feel better about myself - if I can still run it is all OK!
Aw, Missicat, you're just a baby! (Quoth the woman who's approaching her 46th...)
I don't think I ever feel "fit." It's relative. I feel fitter than I have been in the past. (The nice part of having an exercise blog is that you can look back through old posts and see how much progress you've made.)
C25K- I LOVE running now but notsomuch a year ago. The Couch-to-5K was a GREAT program that eased me into running. If short, round me can run, ANYONE can run! Given I'm still happen to break a 10min pace, I'm not winning any awards but I can DO IT!
I love this post! This line:"But part of it is also the idea that if I am a fit person, I should be able to run." sums up my feelings too. I recently had a conversation with another pregnant runner friend. We were walking on the treadmills together and she leaned over and whispered, "Don't tell anyone but I really like walking. I like it better than running." Her shame around her answer made me laugh at first and then really think. I have the same problem - it's like if I CAN run than I should be running. No matter that it hurts & that I enjoy my surroundings better if I walk. Yet sometimes it does feel good to push. I wish that we could run or walk depending on how felt and still be considered "fit" either way.
Dee - definitely an accomplishment to be proud of!
Bag Lady - Yep, I was always one of the last standing as well. Not a fun time. Standing around waiting to be picked for something I didn't want to do in the first place!
kristi - seems like you must be fit if you are teaching fitness classes!
Miz - that is definitely the big reason to be fit - so we can do the things we need to do and enjoy it!
Missicat - I think whatever activities we choose to keep ourselves fit should be things that make us feel good. Good for you!
Merry - I check in on your blog and from the exercise you do, seems to me like you must be pretty fit.
Emily - I tried C25K last year and it just didn't seem to work for me. I know lots of people have great success with it though!
Charlotte - seems like it doesn't make much sense for sure. Glad to know I'm not the only one who feels this way!
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