How fit are you?

How fit are you?

That simple question quickly gets complex. Fit for what? How fit is fit enough, and how do you evaluate your fitness?

You probably have some idea of how fit you are. But knowing the specifics can help you set realistic fitness goals, monitor your progress and maintain your motivation. Once you know your starting point, you can plan where you want to go.

The ten generally recognized components of physical fitness are: cardiorespiratory endurance, strength, stamina, flexibility, coordination, agility, balance, accuracy, power and speed. A varied workout program like CrossFit develops all of these components. The Athletic Skill Standards below can maximize vertical growth, a development of new strengths and skills.

Using the Athletic Skill Standards.

Developing expertise in any area requires determined, consistent effort. It takes “grit.” But grit will not help you if you are only reinforcing existing strengths (horizontal growth) instead of developing weak areas into strength (vertical growth). The Standards are designed to provide a general fitness perspective, to help set appropriate goals, and to allow focus work on weak areas that results in the rewarding mastery of activities you couldn’t do before. 

The levels are:

Level 1 – Healthy beginner. This level is the minimum standard for health. Lacking these basic levels of strength, flexibility and work capacity makes daily life unnecessarily limited. The complete Level I should be attainable within three to 12 months for those with no significant limitations. At this level, proper basic movements, such as hip flexion and active shoulder use are developed- while healed injuries and structural problems are resolved.

Level 2 – Intermediate athlete. All healthy adults can aspire to this level of fitness and should perceive these skills as normal. Basic movements are perfected and advanced skills are introduced. The complete Level 2 may take from six months to several years to reach after achieving Level 1. Along the way, you develop significant levels of strength, stamina, work capacity and speed, building on the Level 1 foundation already attained.

Level 3 – Advanced athlete. Few people possess this level of general fitness, although any healthy person can achieve it. The strength, work capacity, power and skill required to meet these goals can prepare you to tackle any kind of physical performance with competence and confidence. Expect to invest another three to five years of consistent effort.

Level 4 – Elite athlete. This level of achievement requires long-term dedication and a passion for fitness. The skills required of Level 4 are very advanced and, taken as a whole, represent a highly skilled and well-rounded athlete.

Each skill level contains its own progression of multi-joint movements of increasing skill, making it easy to expose weak areas, set goals, and gauge your progress. At the same time, you experience the rewards of increased general fitness. You develop strength, stamina and flexibility with measurable drills such as running, rowing and a selection of named CrossFit workouts. Increasingly complex movements bring improvement in coordination, balance and power output.

Finally, the Athletic Skill Standards are intended to be a gauge and a guide. Do not beat yourself up for not being “elite.” Use the Standards to evaluate your strengths and weaknesses and to make smart choices about your training time. This guide is not a definitive guide to CrossFit, an exercise prescription, nor a complete guide to developing the skills. The skills are intended to be broadly representative of general fitness.