Run 5k's, cycle half marathons? Are these the true tests of fitness?
I'm not sure either.
It's an incredible feat for sure. However the recent rise in young and "fit" athletes suddenly dropping dead on the field due to cardiac arrest or heart failure, is a cause for concern.
How hard should we be pushing ourselves, before the optimal point is passed and it becomes more destructive than constructive.
But that is for another post.
Right now I've come across another hot topic - fitness test calculators. (I thought I'd credit the blog where I first came across this fitness calculator. If you love MMA, head on over to this sister's site: PrettyTuff.co.za)
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| Maximal oxygen uptake or VO2 max is the capacity of the body to transport oxygen during incremental exercise. Measures physical fitness. |
This calculation is researched based. Questions focus around lifestyle and heart rates.
Physical fitness is heart health and moreover the ability of the body to transport oxygen during incremental exercise. I guess this makes sense, since we associate a fit person with someone who doesn't huff and puff like they are constantly trying to catch their breath. If you're getting enough oxygen, then your body wouldn't demand it of you through extra heavy breathing.
This is called maximal oxygen uptake (VO2 max). Your test results will be given in this measurement as well as your fitness age. I bet you can't wait to find out your fitness age?
Just hang on a bit for this bit of healthy advice:
The idea is that you can have the same VO2 max as a much younger person, with exercise, healthy eating and avoiding sedentary lifestyles. Although nothing can make you live longer than the date arranged for you by Allah (SWT), staying fit is a way to look after the gift of a physical body given to us, and a healthy strong body at any age definitely makes life easier.
So what is your fitness age? I was five years younger than my actual age. And my VO2 max reading was equal to that of an average woman in my own age group. Although I'd like to read a little more positively into it, since my age is on the upper end of this age group; if I maintain this VO2 max result into the next year, I'd be above average and getting younger! Physically-fit-younger, that is.
Find out your true physical fitness age now.
