Exercise and fitness: thin vs fit, part 1

Self-tutoring about body composition: the tutor mentions an observation.

When I was a kid, our school had a PE teacher who also taught other subjects. As it turned out, I didn’t have him for PE, but for a business research class. PE wasn’t my favourite subject, but I think it was his.

I was good at distance running; nevertheless, I was one of those really thin boys who seemed limited by the ultra-thin body type. This PE teacher, on the other hand, was obviously a bit fat, notwithstanding being physically fit. He could sense kids noticed this about him: one day he commented, “You know, a person can be underweight as well as overweight. Just being thin doesn’t necessarily mean fitness.”

Decades later, I understand what that PE teacher meant. Especially for labour, it seems to me, carrying a few extra pounds can help one a lot. Yet, for exercise, I’m realizing that thinness, though not to the point of being underweight, can be a great advantage.

At about two hundred pounds, for instance, I couldn’t skip for even ten minutes. Now, at about one hundred eighty pounds, I can skip for twenty minutes.

That PE teacher was likely in his thirties; perhaps, partly for that reason, he was able to get away with being overweight while being a runner. In my fifties now, I’ve tried running at around two hundred pounds, and it hurts. At one hundred eighty pounds, however, it’s comfortable.