How To Determine Your Fitness Age

Fact: Aging isn’t always fun but, if you exercise and eat right; you might be a lot younger than you think. We are not talking about the age you’ve celebrated every year with candles and cake but the even more important age: your fitness age.

During our Saturday morning ritual of skimming through the New York Times we read this amazing article, “Older Athletes Have a Strikingly Young Fitness Age”  by Gretchen Reynolds, and were inspired as our FHIXers span a wide range of ages.  When talking about the gap between chronological age and your FHITness age, we can relate as several of our FHITpros are in their 40’s and living FHIT as ever.

Every day people of all different ages and fitness levels walk through our doors and commit to getting their FHIX. The Fhitting Room has established an inspiring, strong, and hard-working group of FHIXers that constantly push their limits and surprise us. Within our community, there is a wide age range of FHITpros & FHIXers who kick ass every day and have FHITness ages well below their chronological age. As our FHIT founder, Kari Saitowitz celebrates her birthday this month we thought it would be a perfect time to join the celebration and spotlight our FHIXers who commit to living FHIT every day and inspire others to do the same.

There have been multiple studies, developed at The Norwegian University of Science and Technology, suggesting that the lower your fitness age is from your actual age, the higher your chances are of living a long life. Your fitness age is based on how much exercise you do, your waist measurement, and resting heart rate which sums up how well your body delivers oxygen to the cells – a measurement called VO2 max. Here is the good news, unlike your actual age; your fitness age can decrease. If you want to put twenty-something candles on your cake well into your forties, fifties, sixties, and even beyond…. GO FOR IT!!!

Along with our FHIT Founder, Kari, there are many other FHITpros and FHIXers who are continuing to prove this “FHITness Age” theory true. One FHIXer, in particular, is Alan, who has been dedicated to living FHIT his whole life. We asked Alan to share his FHIT experience with us and how our classes are a great way to turn back the clock:

Why do you work out?

I work out because I love it.

How do you think our workout is scalable to all ages and fitness levels?

Your workout is scalable as you can choose your weight for resistance and also intensity.

Have you always been into working out?  If so, what keeps you going?

I’ve always worked out to be in shape. I started playing soccer at age 9 and progressed through to the highest level in South Africa. As I’ve aged, I played different sports and continue to workout 3 times a week and I have been fit all my life. I keep going because I enjoy it and it is my way of life. I feel good doing so.

Society thinks age dictates ability, how has living an active lifestyle helped you defy those expectations?

I think I can do more than most of my peers, but that is subjective and possibly a little judgmental. I do not compete at this point.

The Fhitting Room is a great place for people, young or old, to work out as we offer personal attention, the ability to modify or scale exercises, and a fun environment. Regularly getting your FHIX (and working out in general) will not only improve your overall health but may lead you to live a higher quality and longer life. Since a person’s fitness age is determined by a measure of cardiovascular endurance (in other words your body’s ability to take in and utilize oxygen) our high-intensity workouts are extremely effective in helping you reach your fitness “age” goals. Our class program increases the body’s need for oxygen during all-out efforts through cardio and strength combos, which also ignites an after burn, allowing you to burn more fat and calories than regular aerobic and steady-state workouts.

You can calculate your fitness age here. If you’re not getting the number you want when you plug in your stats, up your workout regimen, and come get your FHIX with us… it’s never too late!