Definition of Physical Fitness in Scientific Research (yawn)

Wow! Trying to find a good definition of what it means to be "fit" can make one's brain cramp. Starting with the succinct back in 1948, Darling et al. said physical fitness is "The individual's functional capacity for a task." Ok that's pretty broad. Now jump ahead to Fleishman in 1964 who defines fitness as, "Functional capacity of individuals to perform certain kinds of tasks requiring muscular activity." Hahaha, certain kinds of tasks? And he just threw in the muscular activity part and called it a day? Let me get this straight; two decades of research and these guys are still bumbling around with the definition of the exact field of study they are in? Don't get me wrong, there are amazing researchers out there including Dr. Lon Kilgore who, along with Mark Rippetoe, redefined fitness in the Journal of Exercise Physiology in 2007 as, "Possession of adequate levels of strength, endurance, and mobility to provide for successful participation in occupational effort." Yes!

How much?

Adequate levels.

Of what?

3 basic components: strength, endurance, and mobility.

In order to do what?

Whatever it is you need to be doing!

PM Ride:

Distance - 7.18 mi

Avg. - 16.6 mph

Time - 25.56 min.

Max - 28.7 mph

Pampa WOD

1 mile run / 2K row (200 SDLHP's @ 45#) / 1 mile run

Subbed 150 SDLHP

Time 33:23 Ouch!

Research reveals that running performance is improved through resistance training because of the improvements in muscular strength and anaerobic power. The fastest long distance runners possess the most powerful muscles (Tanaka & Swensen, Sports Med 1998). This makes sense when seeing the back end bunch of endurance athletes wobbling through the finish line and then laying around like it's a war zone. If we are to be constantly working to improve our areas of weakness to become better athletes, why then does long slow distance become the only training protocol deemed worthy of the endurance athlete? Remember that a distance event is a race! How fast can you go, not last man standing. A powerful athlete can transfer to a distance athlete easier than the other way around.

Sledge

3 Rounds for time of:

Sledge Hammers x21 ea side

400m Run

15:17

AM Football

Again, with the flag football class. Westin, Tyler, and Mary

AM:

8 Agility Square Drills

It is done...

Yesterday PM:

8 rounds for time of:
185# Front Squat x 3
8 pushups

Milk: Yummy deliciousness from nature.

Raw Milk: How do you get it? Is it legal to sell/buy? Is it good for you? Answers: http://www.heritagedairy.org/cow-shares

The professor explains the simple difference between homogenization and pasteurization, two processes that all milk sold in stores goes through. Follow link below:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RixtrA8OMW4

Yesterday PM:
5 x 5 weighted dips
25
35
40
45
50lbs.

by jon gilson, againfaster.com

EVOLUTION
The contention, like most that endure, made perfect sense. Get too strong, and your endurance will suffer. Too much endurance, and your strength will drop. You can’t have everything.
Fortunately, perfect sense and reality do not always occupy the same space, their neat relationship thrown askew by the inexorable march of athletic evolution.
The fact that we missed: previous feats of athleticism will always be surpassed. Sprinters will sprint faster, lifters will lift more. Quarterbacks will throw more accurately, batters will hit more home runs. CrossFitters will get stronger and faster.
Perfect sense and reality do not always occupy the same space, their neat relationship thrown askew by the inexorable march of athletic evolution.
Once, we said that developing the capacity of a novice across a variety of physical disciplines would create the fittest men and women on the planet. Unavoidably, we’re being forced to remove the word “novice” from this definition; it no longer applies. Our fittest are not novices, but legitimate contenders in nearly every arena.
For the first time, we’re seeing the strong, the fast, the enduring, occupying the same space. The guy with the 5-minute mile is deadlifting 500 pounds. He’s putting out half a horsepower for ten straight minutes. He’s jumping four feet in the air. He’s running eighty miles. He is world class; his accomplishments are not a compromise.
Simultaneously, we are seeing adaption to imposed demand that does not follow traditional pathways. Now, the strongest are not the largest, the fastest not the most waiflike. Strength is achieved through increased neurological efficiency rather than mass. Speed is achieved by getting stronger, not running more. Athletes are borne from variety rather than specificity, exhibiting unheard of strength-to-bodyweight ratios.
We are throwing training on its ear, and this is just the beginning. This discipline is in its infancy, still far from widespread, still the province of few. There may come a day when our definition of fitness is not a compromise, when we no longer sacrifice mastery in one domain for competency in many, instead choosing mastery in all.
That day has started to dawn. - Jon Gilson, AgainFaster.com