Ohmygoodness, what an interesting week I had...
At the advice of my physician I went to a local spa/fitness club and checked out something called a Polar Body/Fitness Analysis. The Polar analysis is a series of questions and physical "tests" to determine how healthy you currently are and how healthy you can be.
I was tested for flexibility, strength, cardiovascular health, nutrition, weight, BMI, etc. The results are interesting because at the end it gives you an indication of your real age based on your current nutrition and fitness levels. Well, I am 8 years older than my current age, but I have the potential to be 7 years younger than my current age. Losing weight adds 5 years and then each of the other areas requiring improvement add 2 years.
The most interesting part is that my V02 max (capacity of an individual's body to transport and utilize oxygen during incremental exercise) was off the charts (in a good way). What?!?!?!? I get winded walking up the stairs.... I am going to research this a bit more. Maybe it means I have a healthy heart, NOT that I am in good cardiovascular health. I am assuming this is a genetically determined number. It was very odd....
At the end it also provides a plan for aerobic exercise. The plan includes target heart rates and how long you should be in the target heart rate, etc. Of course, in order to do this I think I need a heart rate monitor. I do not want to stop and check my hear every five minutes to see if I am in the zone..that would be too annoying. Why give myself a convenient excuse not to do something!
If you live near a fitness center or spa that offers this I recommend it. It is very enlightening and is a good health checkup. I plan on getting another one in about 6 months to see if I have improved over time.
Til next week,
Kristi
