How Fit Are You Really? Motivation to keep you going or get you started.

I read in a Women's Running Magazine email that half of running is physical.  You must train your body and muscles to respond to the pressure to perform  The other half is mental.  It is imperative to train your mind to respond to the mental challenge of pushing through tough work outs or races.  If you read my previous post, you know I was a little down for being worn out mentally from pushing that aspect of my life too much recently.  The  3 yr anniversary of my SAH came and went last month and I forget where I have been and how far I have come.  I still need to plan more mental rest for myself than most people.  But the physical benefits of mindful eating, exercise and rest cannot be over stated.

What helped me bounce back to a brighter outlook today, was another email I received from the National Senior Games.  The newsletter was linked a super website: worldfitnesslevel.org.   In collaboration with the American College of Sports Medicine's research, The National Senior Games is monitoring the fitness of its athletes via the voluntary the use of this test. The purpose is to draw attention and  track the tremendous effects derived from training and staying active at age 50 and older.

So, very curious, I clicked on the test.  The categories of questions include education level, employment (active vs sedentary) height, weight, how much sitting you do per day, alcohol use, smoking history, diet, exercise, health and daily life, illness and injury history, health services utilized.  This cannot only measure where you fitness level is, but display what things you could or should be doing to help yourself stay stronger and healthier as you age.  I honestly filled it out, and pushed the results button to see where I fit in.

The screen showed:  You are 60 years old, and your expected fitness level is 32 VO2 max
However:  You have the fitness of an average 32 yr old and your actual fitness level is 40 VO2 max.  The note following was that I should keep on going as my fitness level is above average for my age and gender.  Fitness is measured as VO2max in mL.-kg-1-min-1 Read more about VO2max and CERG at http://www.ntnu.edu/cerg/fitness-numbers.
I felt encouraged that not only am I in great shape, but I am also on track for a healthier forever after.
Thats just the boost I needed to get a work out in today!  The Senior Games are 3+ months away, and I am not getting any younger or faster sitting here!