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Crunching the Numbers

American Fitness, Jan, 2000 by Raymond Horwitz

New Fitness assessment software by FitnessAge[R] can help trainers better understand a client's individual fitness level in comparison to his or her chronological age.

Helping people to establish and maintain an effective fitness program, whether they're an all-American couch potato or a gym fanatic, is an ongoing challenge for the fitness professional. Measurable results are the key to motivation, but clinical fitness assessment results like [VO.sub.2] max and BMI can be difficult for the average exerciser to interpret, Telling your 35-year-old client, however, that he's the physiological equivalent of a 70-year-old man may be the wake-up tall that commits him on a path to vitality and longevity. This is where the innovative FitnessAge assessment software enters the picture.

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Comparing a person's physical condition with their chronological age presents accurate fitness measurement data in a simple, fun and, above all, highly educational way. Tracking improvements with FitnessAge has clients earning back years--a powerful incentive to maintain an exercise regimin.

According to 1998 International Personal Trainer of the Year and author off Go for Fit, The Winning Way to Fat Loss, Sherri Kwasnicki, "Eighty percent of the population still does not exercise enough to receive any significant health benefits. I think we have to start talking the language of the consumer, and age is a language that everyone understands."

What is FitnessAge?

The revolutionary FitnessAge assessment software is administered by a fitness professional and measures a person's fitness level by recording their physiological attributes using a series of questions and physical tests, and computing them into a single number. This algorithmically derived "FitnessAge" represents that person's physiological condition in years. For example, an active 45-year-old individual may have a FitnessAge of 35, which means their fitness level is comparable to that of a 33-year-old. However, an inactive 45-year-old may have a FitnessAge of 55 or more.

Kwasnicki has seen firsthand the benefits of the innovative FitnessAge approach. "I've watched the reactions and the looks on people's faces when they were told their FitnessAge. I could see that, for many of them, the score hit home; it was something they could understand," she explains.

In addition to this overall result, the software also produces individual scores for the four major areas of fitness: Cardio-respiratory, body composition, flexibility and strength. These results indicate a person's strength and weaknesses. A person who focuses solely on weight training, for example, may have an impressive strength result but a poor cardio-respiratory score. Based on these personalized scores, fitness professionals can customize an exercise program for their clients that produces measurable results.

How did FitnessAge come into existence?

The FitnessAge theory on aging deems that after reaching the age of 21, chronological age has very little relevance when compared to the physical condition of the body. Aging is not merely what happens to a body with the passage of time. The process is heavily influenced by lifestyle, nutritional intake, physical activity and overall conditioning.

FitnessAge was developed using data compiled by more than 56,000 individual test results in conjunction with Robert O. Voy, M.D., former Chief Medical Officer and Director of Sports Medicine and Science for the U.S. Olympics, and Lawrence A. Golding, Ph.D., Editor in Chief of American College of Sports Medicine Health and Fitness Journal and author of the National YMCA Physical Fitness Program. The four internationally recognized areas of assessment included in the software are based on testing standards and methods developed and accredited by the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) and the YMCA. The software's diagnostic and computational algorithms have been granted a U.S. patent.

How does FitnessAge work?

The interactive FitnessAge software guides the fitness professional and their client step-by-step through the 30-minute assessment process in a simple "point and click" multimedia format. The cardio-respiratory component comprises resting pulse and recovery rate results. Body data including height, weight and body fat percentage are then entered, as are lower and upper torso flexibility levels. Finally, upper body and abdominal strength and muscular endurance are tested and recorded. The program's patented algorithms then match each individual's data to the national physiological average results to instantly calculate the appropriate FitnessAge result. This information is immediately uploaded to the FitnessAge web site, where fitness professionals and consumers alike can log on to track their password-protected results.

Why would someone want to know his or her FitnessAge?

Being aware of one's FitnessAge can motivate an individual to get off the couch and become physically active rather than allow the negative gap between their chronological age and FitnessAge to increase. This unique diagnostic assessment program highlights areas in which an individual is doing well and those on which he or she may need to focus their attention. This allows the individual and/or his or her personal trainer to evaluate progress from a focused and informed starting point. As soon as the FitnessAge data is obtained, a plan for losing weight, building and toning muscle and increasing overall vitality and longevity can be formulated and implemented. At this point, the client and trainer can refer to the exercise and nutritional information provided by the software as well as the extensive database housed by the Aerobics and Fitness Association of America's (AFAA's) Fitness Gets Personal[R] series to start a course of dietary and activity-oriented changes.

Crunching the Numbers

American Fitness, Jan, 2000 by Raymond Horwitz

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