Monday, March 16, 2009

Survey: Who is the Fittest?

This most current question is bound to spark some debate.  There are many strong feelings about which athletes are the "fittest."  Of course each person picks the sport at which they themselves are most adept...well because of course it's a virtual self-vote! This topic raises some heated debate in the world of physical fitness training. First and foremost: What is fit?

The last survey asked about our readers' familiarity with the CrossFit Journal's "What is Fitness" article.  Most of the responders had at least read it.  In it, the author promotes a well-rounded practical approach to physical fitness.  It's a jack-of-all-trades philosophy.  In this case the "trades" are ten various components of physical fitness, across various time durations.  For example, the author believes a "fit" person has good abilities and capacities in strength, power, endurance, agility, coordination, flexibility, accuracy, balance, stamina, and speed.  That's a tall order.  This goes against much of popular belief of who are the most fit athletes. Let's vote on it...

In your mind, which of the following athletes is the fittest?
  • Ironman triathlete
  • World's Strongman
  • Decathlete
  • Gymnast
  • Marathoner
  • 200m track star
  • Mixed martial artist
  • Olympic powerlifter
  • Yoga instructor
Please post comments, and include your top pick, as well as #2. There will be a variety of answers, and even more reasons why. I'm personally torn between two or three choices, but I'll narrow it down this week.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

this is a tough one...... You can elimate a few but to narrow it to one choice? I need to ponder this one as well

Jason said...

Out of the list at hand I would have to say the 'Mixed martial artist' and the Decathlete.
But there is one missing. I believe the Special operations units in the military has some of the most elite athletes.

Anonymous said...

of course
ironman triathlete
jim q

Crackhead said...

Even though I *do* Ironman, I did not vote for the Ironman triathlete. There are some who do Ironman that include other activities in their year-round fitness, but many who don't.

I chose the martial arts because they require speed, agility, precision, many of those qualities tagged in the CFJ.

Louis Hayes said...

I finally voted Decathlete. My #2 is MMA, and #3 is gymnast.

Anonymous said...

1. decathlete
2. MMA

guess great minds think alike...

Louis Hayes said...

Wow. We hit 100 votes on this survey. That's a record for us. Glad to see so much traffic.