"What Is Fitness?" Part 5: Health

In Part 5 of this six-part series on CrossFit’s definition of fitness, Seminar Staff Head Trainer Jenn Hunter-Marshall explains CrossFit’s definition of health.

“Our definition of health equals work capacity across broad time and modal domains throughout life,” Hunter-Marshall says.

In CrossFit, our goal is to increase our fitness as much as we can so as it inevitably tapers somewhat with age, we remain as fit and healthy as possible.

“I want to take what I did today, and I want to continue that across the years of my life, recognizing that as I age, which unfortunately happens, I’m gonna lose a little bit,” Hunter-Marshall explains.

Importantly, Hunter-Marshall also notes she has more fitness now in her 40s than she did at 20, when she was not doing CrossFit.

“And that means it doesn’t matter when you start,” she says, pointing out she has 70-year-olds in her gym who are just getting started and are gaining new skills and extending the quality of their life.

“When I’m 70 … if I can still drive around in my fire-engine-red Maserati, pick up my grandkids, I’m doing all right,” Hunter-Marshall says.

Related: 

• “What Is Fitness?” Part 1: 10 Physical Skills
• “What Is Fitness?” Part 2: Metabolic Pathways
• “What Is Fitness?” Part 3: Hopper Model
• “What Is Fitness?” Part 4: The Sickness-Wellness-Fitness Continuum