Anyone saw/read/bought "You Are Your Own Gym"?

Dunno about "fitter," whatever that means, but running makes my bloodwork ratios look pretty good.

Of course. That's why weightlifters dominate running events -- because they're "fitter" than people who run instead.

you can't compare a runner and a weighlifter in a running event, that's his point

also he's not talking about weightlifting, most of his exercises only include bodyweight

So you define "fitness" as how much weight you can lift and say running doesn't make you "fit" - so what? Or you effectively define "fitness" as looking hot - again, so what?

I think what really underlies these kinds of claims is a desire for what you might call aesthetic fitness - that is, what kind of exercises will give you a six-pack, muscular arms and chest, etc. that society values. There's no real connection with having the fitness to do anything.

I agree that to be generally fit, you should include some kind of resistance training (weights, body weight or whatever) so that you can do whatever comes up in your life (moving furniture, lugging around your little kids, working outside, etc.) without injuring yourself. But you should also be able to run 3 to 5 miles at a decent speed for your age and sex without having to walk or dying, and nothing you do with bodyweight directly helps you with that.

I played tennis with a friend the other day. The guy works out a lot and is pretty buff. I, on the other hand, look like a bald white Ethiopian. My friend could hit the ball harder on his serve, but after about a 7-8 shot rally, was not very strong at all. After a very long baseline rally, he was about to barf, while I felt like I just ran 400 m at 10k pace. There was simply no comaparison between the two of us when it came to combining pure strength with aerobic capacity. His strength went out the window every time he started huffing and puffing.