What Is “Fit” and Am I?

Being fit isn’t entirely relative. It’s true your body doesn’t compare to anyone else’s, nor does it really help even to compare it. Although it’s pretty funny when Celeste Barber does it.

If you want to get down to basics, just be happy when everything is functioning. Heart pumping, muscles moving, lungs ballooning? Hey, that’s more already than some people. Want to look beyond the beauty of basic functionality? OK, there are some basic benchmarks for being fit. Let’s do a quick rundown, and we’re going to invent Stella for this. Stella is 55 years old, 165 cm (5’4″) and 64 kg (140 pounds). This is what a fit Stella looks like:

Body Measurement Fitness

BMI

BMI stands for Body Mass Index and basically it tells you whether you’re carrying too much weight on your bones. BMI calculation is X 8 X deivided by X. In this case, Stella just squeaks in under the high point for average. She’s headed toward overweight, which would be a BMI of over 24.9.

Weight Circumference

Trainers like weight circumference better as a calculation for body fitness, because BMI sometimes includes good muscle weight — and we don’t want to be penalized for having strong muscles! Weight circumference essentially tells you whether you’re headed toward the evil apple shape. That’s the shape that puts you at risk for heart attacks, among other things. Stella.