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Today marks the first in a weekly series of articles about how tech can help you get fit in 2014. By using tech tools you will be able to set your fitness goals, monitor your progress, and become more motivated to achieve your goals. Follow this Friday series to find out how tech can help you achieve a healthier 2014.
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Norway.
The country that gave us the catchy song, What Does the Fox Say? and the brilliant Jens-Petter Berget of Sly Marketing, has figured out how you can figure out how fit you are. The Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) has developed a simple calculator to help you determine your fitness age.
Different from your biological age, your fitness age tells you the age at which your body is functioning, which may be older or younger than your actual age. Scientist at the NTNU discovered that measuring the body’s ability to use oxygen during exercise, called the VO2 rate, can measure your fitness age and predict your risk of cardiovascular issues and its effect on your estimated life span.
The Science
The NTNU study included over 4500 healthy Norwegians between 20 and 90 years old and measured their fitness age based upon their VO2 rate. The results of the study showed an average of 7% decrease per decade of a body’s VO2 rate. The good news was that active adults can slow this rate of decrease so that “active middle-aged people can have the same maximal oxygen uptake as 20-29 year olds.”
The bad news is that people whose VO2 rate was below the mean for their biological age, raising their fitness age, “were 4 to 8 times more likely to have a combination of more than three conventional cardiovascular risk factors…compared to the most fit quartile of subjects.”
You can read more about the results of the NTNU study at their Fitness Numbers website.
You can determine your VO2 rate and your fitness age using the NTNU calculator by answering some questions and perhaps get incentive to get fit in 2014 and increase your life span. The questionnaire asks about your locality, biological age, gender and other basic information. You then provide your height and weight and other health information. The calculator then determines your VO2 rate and your fitness age and compares it to the mean VO2 rate and fitness age for your biological age group.
Determining Your Fitness Age
To use the calculator to figure out your fitness age, head to the NTNU World Fitness Level website and answer the questions. You will need to take your resting heart rate so they suggest that you sit quietly for 10 minutes before taking your pulse.
If your fitness age is lower than your biological age, that’s great news and you should keep up the good work. If your fitness age is higher than your biological age, then 2014 is an ideal year for you to make fitness a goal.
Stay tuned to The Wonder of Tech for the Friday Tech + Fitness Series of articles to show you how tech can help you in your fitness journey of 2014.
Your Thoughts
Will you be joining us on our fitness journey in 2014? Did you take the fitness questionnaire? Were you surprised by the results? Are you making fitness a goal for 2014? Let us know in the Comments section below!
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By the way, what does the fox say????
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Now that she knows what foxes say, Carolyn is away from the Internet, busy at work as a fox interpreter. She will return to respond to comments on January 6, 2014.
Yes I intend to become or at least try and engage in more fitness activities, we’re not getting any younger are we!
I think start walking more then progress to a jog, then who knows! Maybe a Marathon 🙂
Steve
Hi Steve, That’s excellent. Great goals and great way to achieve them. Start small and work your way up. By starting now you will be making the most of your 2014.
Good luck with your fitness goals, Steve! :-bd
Thanks Carolyn, yes will try and see what results I get! Can’t be that hard, can it?
One step at a time, Steve. You’ll do great!
Hi Carolyn,
I’m OK it took 10 years of me!:)
Excellent news, Mike! I shaved 10 years off of my biological age too. We must be doing something right. But maybe we can do even better in 2014?
Hello Carolyn,
Well it’s very important to give more importance to fitness since it would make us more healthy. So I really appreciate these type of activities.
Thanks
Hi Samir, You’re right, by making fitness a priority we can help become and stay healthy. I wish you the best fitness and health in 2014!
Hey Caroline
Great idea for a blog topic
Tech can tell us a lot these days about our health and that trend will only continue. I actually wear a FitBit daily to monitor my steps to encourage me to walk more instead of blogging all day long. Works some of the time
I have also watched a few documentaries on this topic and measuring ourselves is a great preventative trend for medicine in the future. After all, prevention is better than the cure right!
my score was crazy low, so I am a little debious, but I do lead a healthy life so I am 15 years younger in fitness age – apparently!
thanks for sharing
ashley
Hi Ashley, Wow, 15 years younger, that’s fantastic! What a great endorsement for the FitBit. Wearable tech that gets you moving is a great way to combine fitness and tech. :-bd
Hi Carolyn; One thing we can all agree on is that there is always something new we can learn about getting healthy and staying that way. so, yes I will be following your friday posts. I think you know that i had gastric surgery in october of 2012 and have lost over 240 pounds so far. I’m about 15 pounds from my ideal weight according to my surgeon dr. scarborough from texas laporoscophy consultants. My blood pressure heart rate collstorol etc are all great thank goodness. but finding new healthy foods or ways to prepare existing ones would be helpful. also any tips on exercise in small space or while traveling would be appreciated. can’t wait to hear about the latest new super foods. smile what are your thoughts on green coffee for example? so glad to see you branching out and I’m sure tech gadgets will play a big part in this. so hope you will also consider whether new gadgets are accessible by blind users like myself. best of luck with the new posts my friend, max
Hi Maxwell, Thanks, I’m very excited about this series. I’ve never had a series at The Wonder of Tech and I’ve never covered fitness tech so I’m looking forward to this series. I have all kinds of ideas for the series but don’t have an end date in mind. I will continue the series until I feel it has reached a natural conclusion.
I didn’t know that you had gastric surgery in 2012, Maxwell, but that’s fantastic that you have been so successful in losing weight. I hope the last 15 pounds aren’t the most difficult to lose.
My focus in the series will be on how tech can help people get/stay fit and stick to their fitness goals. Stay tuned for more tech and fitness articles each Friday!
Hi Carolyn; I don’t think there will be a conclusion. The tech developers are always coming up with new devices to help or at least try to help with getting and staying healthy. And yes it has been tougher lately. Before the country went into a deep freeze i had upped my exercise to twice a day and was making progress. Right now I’m at 261.4 in my bare feet. The doc wants me at 250 in socks or 255 with shoes. So are you at the consumer electronics show? I bet there is a year’s worth of posts there. take care, max
Hi Maxwell, No, I’m not at the Consumer Electronics Show, though I’m following the news from there closely.
That’s so great you’re making excellent progress with your weight and health. Keep up the great work, Maxwell!
Hi Maxwell,
Congratulations on the weight loss and staying motivated! That is awesome! Good for you!!
I’m no tech guru, but I do have a suggestion regarding exercise while you travel or are in smaller spaces. Have you tried yoga? There are many basic poses/positions you could learn which will help with strength, flexibility, balance, and maybe even stress.
Congrats again on achieving the weight loss. Thanks for sharing a bit of your story. You are no doubt an inspiration to many.
– cho cho
Hi cho cho; Thanks for the complement. I seem to be rocking the inspirational field. I am a blind blogger and with losing the weight; lots of people seem to be inspired by me. A few friends have even suggested I should start a personal development blog. And yes I have thought about yoga. I have some cd’s a friend sent me of beginning yoga for the blind but I haven’t tried it yet. Are there some early positions I should avoid or that I should try first? I am a tall fellow at about 6 ft 5 and 260 now and I’m not the most flexible or coordinated person right now. Will yoga help with balance too? Feel free to email me [email protected] Thanks again for the kind thoughts and take care my new friend, max