There’s a sign at the entrance to Joust Strength + Fitness that is our unofficial motto, telling us “thinness does not equal fitness.” It’s great motivation to push beyond simply fitting into your skinny jeans, and a reminder that vanity fitness isn’t really fitness at all.

Not equating fitness with thinness challenges some of the conventional ideas of what working out should yield. Fitness - the kind that results in long-term, meaningful physical benefits - means your body is trained and ready for whatever life will throw your way. It’s about the size of dumbbells you choose for your workouts, not the size jeans you put on at the end of it. Defining fitness based on physical appearance is a slippery slope. No doubt that moderate exercise and eating right can help you maintain a healthy weight, but that approach doesn’t necessarily equate to the strength that drives confidence in knowing you’re physically capable. Being truly fit is about being strong, quick, and having a diversity of skills to help you tackle a wide range of challenges. Your workouts, and resulting fitness, should work to help you achieve a body that’s equally adept at running a 5k as lifting a heavy bag of mulch. Achieving real fitness is really hard work. It means pushing beyond your comfort zone, both physically and mentally. It requires adding things to your workouts that you don’t necessarily like to do, and forcing yourself to not simplify your workout habit. Connecting your headphones to the treadmill or elliptical day after day means you can check working out off of your to do list, but it doesn’t mean you’re getting the most from the time and effort. Switching up your routine to include bodyweight exercises like push-ups, squats, lunges and sit-ups can help you reach the type of fitness that results in a more physically capable and confident body. Pushing out of your comfort zone by lifting weights, working hard and not repeating what you do at the gym day after day takes effort, but isn’t your health worth it? Thinness has very little to do with being strong, fast and fit. And while thinness and fitness can both equally feed confidence and self-esteem, only fitness supports confidence in your strength, speed and ability. Think about your definition of fitness. Does it challenge you? If not, it might be time to redefine what fitness is to you, and what it can help you achieve.

Melissa Gerharter MS, RD is co-owner of Joust Strength and Fitness of Ann Arbor, joustfitness.com. She is also a personal trainer and an adjunct lecturer at Eastern Michigan University. She can be reached at Melissa@joustfitness.com