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Being fit means having a healthy level of cardiovascular fitness and strength training to maintain good health. Being athletic involves having the skill, training, and physical ability to excel in sports and athletic competition. An athletic person trains to optimize performance in their sport, while a fit person exercises for overall health and wellbeing.
Definitions of Fit vs. Athletic
What Does It Mean to Be Fit?
Being fit means having adequate cardiovascular fitness and muscle strength to maintain good health and energy levels. A fit person exercises regularly through activities like brisk walking, jogging, cycling, swimming, strength training, yoga, pilates, and more. These activities improve cardiovascular endurance, build muscle, strengthen bones, and provide overall health benefits.
A fit person does not have to be as lean or muscular as an athlete. The focus is more on maintaining a healthy weight, having energy for daily activities, and reducing risk of chronic illnesses like heart disease, diabetes, and osteoporosis. Moderate intensity exercise for 150 minutes per week is recommended for general health and fitness.
What Does It Mean to Be Athletic?
Being athletic means having the physical abilities, skills, training, and competitiveness to excel in sports and athletic events. An athletic person optimizes their fitness level to meet the demands of their specific sport or activity.
Athletic training focuses on improving power, speed, agility, balance, coordination, and sport-specific skills. This often requires high-intensity training several hours per day along with proper nutrition to gain muscle and optimize performance. Athletic people have higher than average cardiovascular endurance, muscle strength, flexibility, and motor control.
Differences in Goals
Goals of Being Fit
The main goals of being fit include:
- Maintaining a healthy weight
- Having energy for daily activities
- Reducing risk of chronic illnesses like heart disease, diabetes, etc.
- Improving cardiovascular health
- Building lean muscle mass and bone density
- Relieving stress and improving mental health
For most people, being fit is about overall wellbeing, not competition. Moderate exercise for 150 minutes per week is adequate for maintaining fitness for health.
Goals of Being Athletic
The main goals of being athletic include:
- Optimizing performance in a particular sport or activity
- Improving skills, technique, power, speed, agility, etc. for the sport
- Having the physical abilities to compete and excel against other athletes
- Making the varsity team or starting lineup
- Earning a college athletic scholarship
- Competing professionally or making it to the Olympics
Athletic training is highly specialized to improve sport-specific performance and competitive abilities. Hours of intensive training per day is common. Nutrition, injury prevention, mental toughness, and recovery are also optimized.
Differences in Exercise
Exercise for Fitness
Exercise programs for general fitness aim to improve overall health and maintain a healthy weight. Recommended types of exercise for fitness include:
- Low-impact cardio: walking, jogging, cycling, elliptical
- Swimming, water aerobics
- Dance fitness: Zumba, jazz, hip hop
- Strength training 2-3 times per week
- Yoga, pilates, barre
- Sports leagues or pickup games for fun
The focus is on moderate intensity exercise for 150-300 minutes per week. High intensity intervals are optional for increased calorie burn and cardiovascular benefit. Simple home workouts or gym routines are common. Being active daily is also encouraged through steps, stairs, household chores, and leisure activities.
Exercise for Athletics
Exercise programs for athletic performance focus on optimizing abilities for a particular sport. Training is highly specialized and intense. Volume and frequency is sport specific, but most programs involve:
- High intensity intervals for endurance and explosiveness
- Plyometrics for power and agility
- Weight and resistance training for strength
- Sport-specific drills for skills and technique
- Speed, acceleration, and change of direction drills
- Core strength and balance exercises
- Heavy emphasis on recovery: sleep, nutrition, massage, ice baths, etc.
Athletic training often requires working with coaches and trainers to optimize a customized program. Training volume ranges from 5-30 hours per week depending on the sport and competition level.Periodization and peaking is used to time optimal performance.
Differences in Diet
Diet for Fitness
A healthy balanced diet supports overall wellness and fitness. Recommendations include:
- Eating a variety of vegetables, fruits, whole grains, lean proteins, dairy, beans, nuts.
- Avoiding processed junk foods high in sugar, salt, and unhealthy fats.
- Drinking plenty of water for hydration.
- Limiting sugary beverages, alcohol, and portion sizes.
- No need to calorie count unless trying to lose a lot of weight.
The focus is on eating nutrient dense whole foods for energy, health, weight management, and disease prevention. Supplements are optional. An occasional treat meal or dessert is fine.
Diet for Athletics
The athletic diet aims to optimize performance and recovery:
- High protein intake for muscle growth and repair – up to 1.5g per pound bodyweight.
- Complex carbs like whole grains to fuel workouts and replenish glycogen stores.
- Healthy fats for energy, hormone production, and joint health.
- Hydration is critical – up to 1 liter per 1,000 calories burned.
- Micronutrients like vitamins, minerals, antioxidants.
- Timing nutrients – carb loading before exercise, protein after.
- Calorie surplus to gain mass or deficit to drop weight.
The athletic diet often involves tracking macros and calories. Many athletes use protein shakes, supplements, and sports nutrition products. Meals and snacks are precisely timed around workouts.
Comparison in Body Composition
Body Composition of Fit People
People focused on general fitness aim for:
- Healthy body fat in the 18-32% range for women, 10-25% range for men.
- Muscle mass that allows for daily functioning.
- Waist circumference under 35 inches for women, 40 inches for men.
- BMI in the normal 18.5-24.9 range unless very muscular.
The main goal is being lean and healthy, not overly muscular. A little excess weight is not concerning if other health markers are fine. Diet and exercise supports weight management.
Body Composition of Athletic People
Athletes aim for body compositions optimized for performance:
- Elite athletes often have very low body fat – as low as 6-13% for men or 14-20% for women.
- Higher levels of lean muscle mass provide power and strength.
- Muscle development often targets sport-specific areas.
- BMI is often high due to increased muscle. Better measures are body fat % and waist circumference.
Athletes periodize training and nutrition to focus on different goals: muscle gains during off-season, losing fat pre-competition, power development in-season, etc. Pharmacological assistance may also be used illegally by some athletes.
Lifestyle Differences
Lifestyle Habits for Fitness
A fit lifestyle includes:
- Regularly exercising 3-5 times per week for 20-60 mins.
- Trying to be active daily with walking, stairs, yardwork, recreational sports, etc.
- Eating a nutritious diet 85-90% of the time.
- Getting adequate sleep – aiming for 7-9 hours per night.
- Managing stress through exercise, relaxation techniques, socializing.
- Occasionally enjoying treats, alcohol and parties in moderation.
The fit lifestyle allows flexibility and balance. Work, family, social life, and health are all priorities. Short-term fitness fluctuations are not concerning as long as overall health remains.
Lifestyle Habits for Athletics
An athletic lifestyle is highly structured to support performance:
- Training for 20-30 hours per week according to a periodized program.
- Strictly following a performance nutrition diet and hydration plan.
- Getting adequate sleep and recovery – often 8-10+ hours per night.
- Practicing visualization, meditation, therapy for mental performance.
- Avoiding social situations that interfere with training.
- No recreational drugs, alcohol, junk food, especially near competition.
Everything in the athlete’s life revolves around boosting performance and competition results. They sacrifice normal pleasures and live, breathe, eat, and sleep their sport.
Different Measurement Standards
Measuring Fitness Level
Fitness can be measured through:
- Resting heart rate – lower is better.
- Blood pressure – aim for under 120/80.
- Body fat percentage.
- Waist to hip ratio.
- Max pushups, situps, or pullups in 1 minute – higher is better.
- Plank hold time.
- 5K or 10K run time for cardio endurance.
But fitness is more about how someone feels, functions, and their risk for illness, not fixed standards. If health markers are in normal range, any level of fitness is fine based on personal goals.
Measuring Athleticism
Athletic performance is precisely measured:
- Sport-specific skills against position requirements.
- Fitness test results – strength, power, endurance, agility.
- Physical measurable – height, weight, body composition.
- Stats during competition – speed, points scored, accuracy, etc.
- Rankings and ratings within a league or competition.
Making varsity, earning a scholarship, getting drafted, breaking records, winning championships, and getting selected for high level teams is what matters – not general health. Standards are based on what is needed to excel.
Conclusion
Fitness focuses on overall health and wellbeing through moderate exercise and healthy lifestyle habits. In contrast, athleticism pushes the body’s capabilities through intense training to excel in competitive sports. While there is some overlap in activities, the mindsets, goals, training, nutrition, and lifestyles differ significantly. Most people aim for general fitness, while a smaller subset pursues athletic excellence in a particular sport. What matters most is choosing the approach aligned with your personal interests and goals. Both fitness and athleticism require commitment, consistency, and hard work.
