How do you measure ‘fit’?

[PullingMySocksUp]

Another thread had people commenting that they were fit or not fit. I’d like to be fit. Don’t know if I am.
Is there a benchmark for what a mid 40s woman should be able to do to be considered fit? It might make a nice target for me I think.

Aha. I can do it with a bit of momentum! I laid on my back and rocked into it. Taa daaa.

Not very elegant though.

I can't do it with crossed legs I was putting my feet flat and pushing myself up from a wide legged squat if that makes sense, no knees or hands but font know if that's in the rules.

I think it’s about flexibility and core strength too. I do Pilates, yoga, Zumba, body conditioning, flex and tone and barre. I can plank for over a minute, do push ups, manage three classes b to back, but my balance is quite poor. There are yoga poses I can’t do and I struggle to touch my toes. There are other things I can do though and am very flexible at. I can stand from a hard chair, using one leg, with a resistance band round the calves. Not sure I could get up from the floor without using hands. I am very old though.

Fitbit has a heart rate thing where it estimates your V02 max which is a proxy for cardiovascular fitness and it rates it for age and sex.

I can do it with crossed legs actually, just took me a practice go.

foxyloxy I imagine almost everyone has yoga poses they can't do.

Bollocks I can’t do that!

I’ve just tried the getting up from the floor thing and I can do it. I try to improve my balance by standing on one leg when I clean my teeth.

I think fitness varies so much between sports as well. I can swim 5km in 2 hours on a good day, which is about like running a 2 hr half marathon.

But I don't think I could even run 5km.

I can do the sitting to standing test. I can touch my toes. I can do most yoga positions. I have visible arm muscles (but am quite un-toned).

Am I fit or not? I don't know! I am a mixture I think. Fit compared to a good chunk of the population. Un-fit compared to people who are really into diet and exercise.

I can’t do the getting up thing- my ankles are too tight so I can’t get my knees past my feet ( the test involves basically rolling up off your back onto your feet and standing up). However I can run a 3:45 marathon and bench press my body weight so I think I’m probably above average for mid-forties.

"fit" is hard to define as you may be fit enough to run 10k in an hour but you might only be able to cycle a couple of miles.

I think general fitness would mean you don't get out of breath tieing your shoelaces or walking up stairs and you are able to walk a couple of miles in an hour.

I can't do the standing up from sitting with no hands or knees though!

The bleep test is what our school used to use to grade us for PE.

This is also used in certain professions to assess candidates fitness.

If I couldn’t do the following I’d consider myself unfit (I’m 37):

• run 5k in around 30 minutes

• cycle 25 miles in under 2 hours (assuming not enormously hilly terrain)

But I know people from cycling club who would say fit means cycling 75 miles at 19mph average speed .......

Oh dear 😂 (I'm 33)