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Using dictionary.com I ran a search for “fitness” these were the results:

Health

Capability of the body of distributing inhaled oxygen to muscle tissue during increased physical effort.

Also called Darwinian Fitness (Biology)

• the genetic contribution of an individual to the next generation’s gene pool relative to the average for the population, usually measured by the number of offspring or close kin that survive to reproductive age.
• the ability of a population to maintain or increase its numbers in succeeding generations.

These definitions are all correct in their own right but they offer little explanation as to what fitness means in the context of exercise. In order to define exercise fitness one has to consider the term fit and what its definition is. When someone describes another person as being fit what are they referring to; their strength, health, appearance or something else? The key to answering this is to ask yourself “Fit for what?”

For example:

1. A person that is qualified for a job position; a fit candidate
2. A person in good physical shape; fit for the race
3. A person that is ready to leave; is fit to go

In these examples the word fit is used to describe specifically a persons suitability to perform a task related to their environment or lifestyle. If we change the task to an exercise related task, for example, swimming then a person who is a fit swimmer is said to be a competent swimmer.

If we take this one step further we can also define fitness in an exercise context. If fit describes a persons suitability to an environmental or lifestyle task then fitness must describe their level of suitability i.e. low, moderate or high levels of suitability. In general, exercise fitness is divided into two groups:

1. health related fitness - including strength, speed, stamina, muscular endurance, and flexibility
2. skill related fitness - including agility, balance, co-ordination, reaction time and power

In summary, if someone ask you if you’re fit, your reply should be “fit for what?” Knowing that being fit implies that you are suitable, qualified or competent to meet an environmental or lifestyle task. If someone asks “How is your fitness” they are asking you to describe your level of suitability to perform an exercise related activity.