Define about the Physical Fitness?

Physical fitness is a general term we come across quite often and use it to describe an individual if he or she is able to carry out a variety of physical tasks without feeling fatigued. It enables us to perform up to our potential and capabilities. Different authors define physical fitness in different ways. Let us have a look at these.

According to W.H.O. (1994) "Fitness is the ability to perform muscular work satisfactorily".
According to Davis, Bull, Roscoe & Roscoe (1994) Physical fitness is "the ability to carry out our daily tasks without undue fatigue".

Lamb (1984) defines "Physical fitness is the capacity to meet successfully the present and potential physical challenges of life".

American Medical Association defines fitness as "the general capacity to adapt and respond favourably to any physical effort".

Rusby (2001) also states that physical fitness is "the ability to meet physical demands placed upon us, either generally in the terms of everyday life or the specific demands of a sport or physical activity".

With the health point of view, physical fitness is the attainment or maintenance of physical capacities that are related to good of improved health and are necessary for performing daily activities and confronting expected and unexpected physical challenges.

As you can see, the term fitness and its definitions are dependent upon how you look at it. Thus, looking at all these definitions, it can be said that an individual is physically fit when he is able to carry out daily tasks with vigour and alertness without feeling tired and still have energy left for leisure and recreational activities and for unpredicted situations.

It is the ability to endure, bear up, withstand stress and carry on in circumstances where an unfit person cannot continue. Thus, physical fitness involves the performance of heart, lungs and muscles of the body. And, since physical efforts also influence mind, fitness affects qualities such as mental alertness and emotional stability. To put it briefly, we can say that physical fitness is a major basis for good health and well- being.