Fitness meaning.

''It's simple, if it jiggles, it's fat.''  -Arnold Schwarzenegger

What is fitness? What does it mean?

Actually, most of the people would think it's just attend to a gym, run a little bit on the tradmill, take a selfie and post it to the instagram ''#fitness''. The truth is, fitness is  a 24-07-365 lifestyle.

Long time ago, the cavemen searched for their breakfast, lunch and dinner. That required a lot of physical activity, energy ... there was no time to lose watching TV or a YouTube video. In addition, they had to be always alert to any threat and that is what they did every day to survive. Surely they were strong, fast, agile... they were fitness people and didn't realised.

Now, if we go a little further in time, between 4000 BC and the fall of the Roman Empire in 476 AD, civilizations rose and fell through war and conquest. Assyrians, Babylonians, Egyptians, Persians, and later, the Greeks and Romans imposed physical training on children and young men. The purpose? Preparing for the battle.

The ancient military training had similarities to the movements made in nature by our cavemen brothers, but with more structure and a different end goal. Young men practiced fundamental skills such as walking and running on uneven terrain, jumping, crawling, climbing, lifting and carrying heavy things, throwing and catching, unarmed fighting, and weapons training.

Civilized populations value physical culture for sports as well. There are records of the athletics competitions of ancient Egypt, and of course, the ancient Greeks famously created the first Olympic games. Not surprisingly, these early sports are based on practical skills, natural movement and are fundamentally related to the preparation needed for war - the Greeks strived to better each other in handling (sometimes with armor and shield), jumping , throw (javelin or discus), and fight (strike and wrestling).

Far further in time, The Industrial Revolution, which marks the transition from manual production methods to machine-based manufacturing processes, began around 1760 and quickly generated social, economic and cultural trends that changed the way people lived, worked, and course, it was moving. As people became more sedentary, a new movement towards intentionally caused physical exercise emerges. This movement received a boost in the 19th century by the rise of a nationalist fervor in many counties in Europe. Staying healthy, fit and ready to serve in battle became a point of civic duty and pride.

Now, since century 20  to the current days, there is a lot of information about healthy life, nutrition, muscle growth, high intensity training and sports in general. there've been a lot of changes in the way we live, the way we acquire the food, but there is one thing that haven't change at all. The meaning of fitness. It means physical activity, a proactive life, not just a work, not just lose fat or gain muscle.

 Fitness or not fitness, it's the way you live, rather, the way you choose to live.