What Is Your Fitness Score?

[bcalvanese]

Mine came out to 41 (excellent for men my age).

I do cardio (power walking/running/biking) just about every day and just turned 60 in August.

Curious what other folks fitness score came out to.

[MonteC]

I am very similar to you with a score of 44, just turned 60 in March and do 40k of trail hiking running 6 days a week.  

Not sure what the scores mean but it is good incentive to keep moving!

[JonRFit]

I think the fitness score is a bit of a joke. I am almost 30, can hit a sub 6 min mile, bench 315 for reps after running 2 mi - yet my scores dead average at 48.  If I'm not in the highest levels of fitness for my age, who is?

[datalore]

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@JonRFit wrote:

I think the fitness score is a bit of a joke. I am almost 30, can hit a sub 6 min mile, bench 315 for reps after running 2 mi - yet my scores dead average at 48.  If I'm not in the highest levels of fitness for my age, who is?

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From your description that does sound kinda fishy. They do base the scores on elite olympic level athletes, so that throws the numbers off some I think. The only real way to get an accurate VO2 Max score is in a lab. But I agree your score, from the fitness level you describe, sure seems low to me. 

[USAF-Larry]

@JonRFit, have you done a run with GPS?  That is supposed to recalculate the Fitness Score.

[JonRFit]

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@USAF-Larry wrote:

@JonRFit, have you done a run with GPS?  That is supposed to recalculate the Fitness Score.

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No I haven't, but there should be other ways to measure it. My HR goes down to 34-36 bpm regularly over night. I'd think a rest Hr should be included in the calculation.

[datalore]

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@JonRFit wrote:

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@USAF-Larry wrote:

@JonRFit, have you done a run with GPS?  That is supposed to recalculate the Fitness Score.

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No I haven't, but there should be other ways to measure it. My HR goes down to 34-36 bpm regularly over night. I'd think a rest Hr should be included in the calculation.

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A-ha, I'll bet if you go on a series of GPS runs you'll see that score improve tremendously. They use the GPS data along with your pace and heart rate to calculate that score. They still use olympic level marathoners as the base line, but those people are freaks of nature. I guess giving us something to aspire to means we'll keep moving. 

[racertempo]

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@JonRFit wrote:

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@USAF-Larry wrote:

@JonRFit, have you done a run with GPS?  That is supposed to recalculate the Fitness Score.

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No I haven't, but there should be other ways to measure it. My HR goes down to 34-36 bpm regularly over night. I'd think a rest Hr should be included in the calculation.

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While it is not perfect, I think the HR overnight does not mean much.  My dad's gets into the 20s overnight and he just turned 70 and never ever runs.  He just struggles to get a higher heart rate, even when playing tennis. HR can be an indicator, but nothing will be perfect. 

[racertempo]

I am at about 43-43.5, which is only average for 30-39.....howeber, in just 2 months I will be slipping into the 40-49 bracket 😞  At least that 43.5 should move to "good" at the next age up. 

[bcalvanese]

How does Fitbit measure my cardio fitness score?

Your cardio fitness score is determined by your resting heart rate, age, gender, weight, and other personal information. For best results, make sure your weight is correct in your Fitbit profile. Also, wear your tracker or watch to sleep for a better resting heart rate estimate. Your cardio fitness score will be shown as a range unless you use GPS for runs.

[racertempo]

Gotcha, I got the impression from JonRFit that he wanted is overnight lows factored in because he can get it so low.   In a roundabout way it is factored in since the overnight HR helps calculate your resting HR. 

It does sound like several people have wonky scores, but the score can only be as good as the accuracy of the data put in, and for some it will be more accurate than others. No think like that will be perfect, but...... you can use it as a benchmark to just try and get your number higher. 

[kenjamin]

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@JonRFit wrote:

No I haven't, but there should be other ways to measure it. My HR goes down to 34-36 bpm regularly over night. I'd think a rest Hr should be included in the calculation.

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Yeah I'd be interested to hear what your score is after running with the GPS a few times. You should score higher than me but I have a 53 (30M that struggles with sub-8 minute miles). My resting heart rate is nowhere near as good either.

[RandomUser99]

Mine went down about 10 points when I switched from the Charge 2 to the Ionic. I was  in the very good category and now I am in the average category. 😞

[USAF-Larry]

Interesting thread.  Mine is 46, which is marked as Excellent for a mid-70's male.

[Colinm39]

I have noticed my RHR has gone up 3 points in a week on the Ionic and my Fitness score has dropped 1 point to 42-46 for a 77 yr. It's always been excellent but my doctors have told me to blame my parents. I'm genetically designed that way.. They said my body is designed for endurance. My recent cardiologist checkup has me with a normal functioning heart.

Some years ago I had a stress test on the inclined treadmill... All wired up and breathing apparatus. As we approach the end of the test the doctor asked me to keep going because I was getting extra oxygen from somewhere.  So another 2 minutes. His observations were the same, genetically built that way.

[datalore]

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@Colinm39 wrote:

I have noticed my RHR has gone up 3 points in a week on the Ionic and my Fitness score has dropped 1 point to 42-46 for a 77 yr. It's always been excellent but my doctors have told me to blame my parents. I'm genetically designed that way.. They said my body is designed for endurance. My recent cardiologist checkup has me with a normal functioning heart.

Some years ago I had a stress test on the inclined treadmill... All wired up and breathing apparatus. As we approach the end of the test the doctor asked me to keep going because I was getting extra oxygen from somewhere.  So another 2 minutes. His observations were the same, genetically built that way.

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Lol, your post brings up some good memories. One of my jobs in graduate school was crunching numbers for a sports scientist. I've looked at hundreds of VO2 Max scores. The funny thing was the young guys almost always overestimated their fitness level, while the women almost always underestimated their fitness levels. Guys would brag about benching 350 and would claim they could do 100 straight push-ups; they'd reach muscle failure at 20. We would primarily test athletes and former athletes and the senior citizen runners would almost always have the highest scores. Some were just built that way, but there was a definete correlation between years of endurance work and training the body to process oxygen. The ones that cross trained and did strength training would test decades younger than their age. We had an 80 year old that swam, lifted, and ran every day, and looking at his test scores you would have pegged him as a fit guy in his late 30's. Exercise is the closest thing we have to a wonder drug. 

[bcalvanese]

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@datalore wrote:

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@Colinm39 wrote:

I have noticed my RHR has gone up 3 points in a week on the Ionic and my Fitness score has dropped 1 point to 42-46 for a 77 yr. It's always been excellent but my doctors have told me to blame my parents. I'm genetically designed that way.. They said my body is designed for endurance. My recent cardiologist checkup has me with a normal functioning heart.

Some years ago I had a stress test on the inclined treadmill... All wired up and breathing apparatus. As we approach the end of the test the doctor asked me to keep going because I was getting extra oxygen from somewhere.  So another 2 minutes. His observations were the same, genetically built that way.

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Lol, your post brings up some good memories. One of my jobs in graduate school was crunching numbers for a sports scientist. I've looked at hundreds of VO2 Max scores. The funny thing was the young guys almost always overestimated their fitness level, while the women almost always underestimated their fitness levels. Guys would brag about benching 350 and would claim they could do 100 straight push-ups; they'd reach muscle failure at 20. We would primarily test athletes and former athletes and the senior citizen runners would almost always have the highest scores. Some were just built that way, but there was a definete correlation between years of endurance work and training the body to process oxygen. The ones that cross trained and did strength training would test decades younger than their age. We had an 80 year old that swam, lifted, and ran every day, and looking at his test scores you would have pegged him as a fit guy in his late 30's. Exercise is the closest thing we have to a wonder drug. 

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So true.

When I was 57, I was obese and so out of shape I could barely walk a mile at a slow pace, and then had to lay down right after cause I felt like I was going to die.

I had a stress test done back then and it did not  come out good so they did a catheterization and determined that I had suffered a mini heart attack at some point because the bottom of my heart was slightly enlarged.

On top of that they told me I had COPD, and just about all my blood work was a mess. They told me either to start exercising, lose weight, and quit smoking or I would not be around too much longer.

I started walking 2, 3, sometimes 4 times a day. I got a fitness tracker and started measuring my walks and logging my food. I set it to lose a pound a week, and in the first year I lost about 57 pounds. I went from barely being able to walk 1 mile at about a 3 mph pace to being able to power walk 10 miles at about a 4.5 mph pace. I had trouble keeping my heart rate in a good zone just from power walking so I started running. Started with 30 seconds of running and 2 minutes of power walking. Now I can run 5 miles.

My resting heart rate went from the high 80's to the mid 60's. I cut my bad cholesterol in half and more than doubled my good cholesterol, and all my blood work is normal now.

I just recently had another stress test done and it turned out great. The cardiologist told me my heart is very strong now. I told him that when I do cardio I keep my heart rate in the peak zone for sometimes over an hour, and he told me that is why my heart is so strong now.

This is why my motto is...

if you ain't huffing and puffing and sweating, you ain't doing it right...:)

[SunsetRunner]

Mine is showing 51-55, which, as I’m 55 I thought was a reflection of my age. Never looked at the score before and didn’t really understand it.

[N8teGee]

Mine is 44-48, apparently good for a man my age (32).

The score doesn't really mean anything on its own though. Maybe they should explain the score a little more or even have data to compare it with. 

[MariusVlad]

My age is 47 and I'm fitness addicted.