Fitness can have a variety of definitions depending on who you're talking to. Below I'm going to break down a few key terms that can help you navigate what fitness means to you.
Aerobic Fitness: This is a person's ability to sustain effort for prolonged periods of time. Think: running, rowing, step classes, etc... usually this is tested either with distance for time (i.e. 5km run as fast as you can) or in progressive intensity testing (beep test, Yo-Yo test, etc...) The key metric here is your VO2 max - how much oxygen your body can use per minute.
Anaerobic Fitness: Anaerobic = no oxygen present. This typically refers to doing short periods of work at such a high intensity that the body's aerobic system can't produce energy fast enough. Usually this training has more rest time than work time to allow for proper recovery. Think "10sec max effort sprint on bike, 50sec rest x 10 Rounds"
Functional Fitness: This term has found its way into pop culture in the last decade. At its core (no pun intended), Functional Fitness = high intensity training using full body movements. This means that while you are seeking intensity, you are also training movement quality and moving through different ranges of motion.
Endurance: In most cases this refers to an individuals ability to do lots of reps at a lower intensity. A good example would be doing 20 reps of bicep curls.
Strength: When it comes to strength, the only thing that really matters is how much weight you can lift regardless of how long it takes to complete the rep. The simplest example would be a 1 rep max squat, bench or deadlift. Most training to improve strength will occur in the 1-6 rep range. At JustMove this will show up in our heavier lunges, squats, rows, presses, RDLs, etc...
Power: Unlike strength, power focuses more on the speed of movement than the weight lifted. This isn't to say that heavy weights can't be moved fast, but most power movements will be completed as submaximal weights. Power is also interesting because it can range light weights moving very fast (sprinting, box jumps) to medium weights moving moderately fast (kettlebell swings, weighted jumps) to heavy weights being moved as fast as possible (clean and jerk, snatch).
At JustMove our goal is to try and provide a well rounded training program for all of our community members. The overarching theme of our classes is functional fitness: doing multiple movements in multiple planes of movement to get your heart rate up. If we examine our classes here are the main focuses for our classes.
Burn Baby Burn: functional fitness, aerobic fitness, endurance.
AMRAP: functional fitness, aerobic fitness, endurance.
Amped Up: functional fitness, aerobic/anaerobic fitness, power.
Lift & Move: functional fitness, strength, power, aerobic fitness.
I hope this will be helpful in navigating the weird world of fitness when planning your goals for 2021. As always - any questions just reach out!
Coach Mylan
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