Latest news with #fitnesschallenges
CNET
19-06-2025
- Health
- CNET
Orthopedic Doctors Evaluate if Biological Age TikTok Challenges Are the Real Deal
If you've scrolled through TikTok or Instagram, you've probably seen fitness challenges focused on your biological age. In some cases, it's funny to see people attempting these challenges or impressive to see them succeed. You've probably felt inspired to try out some of these challenges and even questioned their legitimacy. 'Most of these challenges, like completing 11 consecutive push-ups (for women), doing pull-ups or performing a kneeling-to-squat jump, are quick screens of muscular strength and functional movement ability,' said Dr. Andrew Jimenez, an assistant professor of sports medicine and hip preservation at Yale's department of Orthopaedics and Rehabilitation. I'm in my late 30s and I like remaining active. I know exercise is important for aging well and maintaining independence as we age. But should I be able to do over a dozen pull-ups, or is that a sign that I need to work on my fitness abilities? I spoke to orthopedic doctors to break down the truth behind biological aging tests and the best way to determine how well you're aging. What is biological age? Getty/Milan Markovic We know our current age is something we can't control, but our biological age refers to how our body is aging based on biomarkers like our heart function, bone density, skin elasticity and more. In other words, you could be biologically older or younger than your actual age, depending on how well you take care of your health. The same applies to your fitness abilities as you age. The reason people focus on the ability to do certain physical activities is because as we get older, we lose lean muscle mass, which makes these things harder. Dr. Aaron Casp, an orthopedic surgeon specializing in sports medicine and advisor for Rally, points out that most of the trends we see are loosely determined by population-based data showing what the average person of a certain age is physically capable of. 'An explosive movement from kneeling to a squat requires a certain amount of strength, core stability, flexibility and body control that the majority of 40-year-olds just don't have anymore,' he said. Are these age tests legitimate? One of the viral challenges that has been going around says that women should be able to do 11 consecutive push-ups. This concept stems from an interview with orthopedic surgeon and longevity expert Vonda Wright, MD, on the Mel Robbins podcast. 'While there is a 2019 study in JAMA Network Open demonstrating that healthy men who had higher push-up capacity had decreased risk of cardiovascular events, this specific number is essentially hearsay without great data behind it,' said Casp. The push-up in general is an excellent exercise because it requires upper body muscle, core strength, pelvic floor and shoulder stability. 'Women generally have less upper body strength than men, so focusing on a particular number of push-ups is a good way to ensure that people are prioritizing functional movements,' Casp added. Casp points out that these trends are all quick-hit versions that try to approximate a much more complex calculation that's based on many more factors. 'For a more rigorous evaluation, performance labs and athletic training facilities can test your VO2 max, which is a much more strenuous test of your aerobic capacity and cardiovascular fitness,' he said. Jimenez agreed, saying, 'These trends may reflect certain aspects of strength or power, but true assessment of physical fitness and biological age requires a multidimensional approach.' An accurate way of testing your biological age is having the following factors assessed: cardiorespiratory fitness, body composition, muscular strength, endurance, flexibility and balance. If you're pregnant or newly postpartum, there are other variables that can affect your fitness abilities. 'We know that exercise during these periods [pregnancy and postpartum] improves stress and anxiety, as well as health outcomes, but the physiologic changes in each woman are different and tolerance for exercise may vary significantly,' Casp explained. Jimenez points out that you can't compare someone who is postpartum to others. 'A woman who is six months postpartum may not be fairly compared to a non-pregnant peer since most formal fitness norms exclude pregnant/postpartum data,' he said. Not to mention, the postpartum period consists of hormone changes that can make it difficult to gain muscle, lose fat or increase cardiovascular fitness the way you might want to. During perimenopause and menopause, exercise will look different per individual as well. 'Menopause and perimenopause are on the other end of the spectrum of changes when lean body mass decreases, metabolism slows and bone density decreases,' Casp points out. In this case, weight-bearing exercises are partially protective against these changes, but he notes that each person's fitness journey in this period of life may look drastically different. What you can do to age healthily Getty/PeopleImages Instead of getting caught up on social media challenges or similar trends, Jimenez recommends staying active: 'Successful aging is associated with consistent physical activity, avoidance of prolonged sedentary behavior and individualized exercise programs.' Casp said he likes to focus on these factors: A well-rounded exercise routine: Workouts that include cardiovascular exercise and resistance strength training. Recovery: As we get older, recovery becomes even more important for seeing those fitness results you want. A regular stretching routine: To keep you limber and reduce muscle stiffness, improve blood circulation. Good sleep hygiene: A consistent sleep schedule that guarantees you're well rested and getting 7 to 8 hours of sleep a night. Body work: This includes mobility and targeted muscle attention for focusing on warm-up and recovery. How to test your biological fitness age at home Getty/Antonio Garcia Recena As you can tell, finding out your biological age is more complex than some sound bites and recommendations found on social media. But if you want to evaluate how well you're aging for fun at home, some tests you can try out include: Mayo Clinic fitness assessment The Mayo Clinic fitness assessment follows age-specific charts that assess a 1.5-mile jog, your waist circumference, BMI, push-up counts and more. 'All of these have some amount of data for how you stack up among your age-matched peers,' said Casp. Age-specific fitness tests According to Jimenez, these tests are commonly used in clinical and research settings to assess age-related fitness: 'These tests have established normative values by age and sex, allowing for comparison to population standards and estimation of fitness age,' said Jimenez. He acknowledges that social media trends are fun especially if they can motivate people to be active and improve physical fitness. But remember that they're just meant to be that -- fun. 'Ultimately, biological age is a multifactor calculation that extends beyond a single viral benchmark,' Jimenez said. 'The best way to make sure you're as fit as possible is to exercise regularly, incorporate strength training and try to maintain a healthy body weight,' said Casp.
Yahoo
19-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
I tried one week of 'caterpillar walking' every day — here are my results
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. Why it's called the caterpillar walk, I'll probably never know, but I wanted to caterpillar walk my way into stronger, more mobile hamstrings all the same. So I did — every day for a week. Whenever we do Tom's Guide week-long fitness challenges, I'm nearly always quick to point out that real, substantial change takes time — building strength or muscle or losing fat, for example. However, just a few minutes of daily mobility exercises can have a positive impact on your muscles and joints quite quickly, with short-term effects including increased flexibility and range of motion. That doesn't mean three minutes of caterpillar walking changed my body for the long term, but it did provide a little daily boost to hamstring flexibility while oiling my creaky joints and muscles for exercise. Here's what you might expect from a week of trying it. Caterpillar walks are very similar to inchworms, except you'll walk your hands further in front of your body, then walk your feet to meet your hands, or vice versa. And just like that, you've got yourself a caterpillar. Easier said than done, though. Tight hamstrings and lower back muscles can make this exercise tricky to execute, and my long-legged, short-armed friends may also find this mobility exercise a struggle. The payoff for keeping patient is huge — expect a more flexible lower body, more mobile shoulders and a boost to core stability. If you have weak shoulders, I recommend starting with the inchworm first, then progressing to the caterpillar walk. For those who like an extra challenge, walk your feet to your hands to keep progressing forward. Stand with your feet hip-width apart, then hinge forward at your hips and place your hands down in front of your feet Walk your hands forward one at a time into a high plank position Slowly, continue walking your hands past your shoulders, reaching as far forward as you can until you feel a deep stretch through your shoulders Keep your core engaged and squeeze your glutes and quads to support your lower back. Avoid dipping your hips toward the floor Walk your hands back to your feet, then roll up to stand, or walk your feet to your hands. Keep your legs as straight as possible. That said, bend your knees as much as you need to reach the floor with your hands. Over time, you should be able to lift your hips higher and straighten your legs more, keeping the weight in the balls of your feet. The inchworm exercise does a great job of reaching into your hamstrings, glutes and lower back — muscles located along the posterior chain. Working your shoulder and core muscle stability is where the caterpillar walk goes further. Imagine stretching out a plank hold, reaching your fingertips as far forward as you can — that's what you're aiming for. You can place your knees down for support if you need to. I recommend practicing the X plank (pictured below) to get an idea of how it should feel. The caterpillar walk will rarely feel good from the get-go. I may program 2-3 sets of 5 to 10 reps if I'm using an exercise like this to warm up before a workout. Expect the exercise to feel a little easier after the first set, and for best results, pair it with another exercise that works similar muscle groups, like dynamic lunges with a twist. Your hamstrings and shoulders will need a few rounds to loosen up and adjust, after which, you may be able to reduce your knee bend and walk your hands further away from you. A tip from me to you: stay high on your toes and lift your hips toward the ceiling to give your legs space to move. Your core is the secret weapon during caterpillar walks. Try to keep your stomach active and belly pulled in to prevent your hips from dropping toward the floor. The more active you can make your quads, glutes, shoulders and stomach, the better. My hips always make a bid for freedom, but that's when I really have to focus on my mind-muscle connection and activate as many muscles as possible. If you don't want to try for reps, aim for about three minutes instead, and take a rest if and when you need it. Caterpillar walks are perfect for opening your lower body and strengthening your upper body, making them a great option for upper and lower-body workouts. The exercise also combines light stretching with dynamic movements, tapping into flexibility and range of motion. After a week of practice, I could slightly walk my hands further — whether this was down to confidence or actually having developed my ability, I'm unsure. I've got quite decent hamstring flexibility, so this part of the exercise always feels good for me. That said, it was certainly more challenging the morning after deadlifts! If you plan to try this exercise, I recommend rolling out one of the best yoga mats, as this should give you a better grip for your hands and prevent you from sliding when you're in the precarious position of stretching out your limbs beyond their natural range. I love this exercise, and I'll be continuing to incorporate it. Just remember, if you struggle with tight hamstrings, it's best to combine regular and consistent stretching with dynamic mobility exercises to target stiff joints and tight muscles. You don't need leg raises to strengthen your deep core muscles — I'm a personal trainer, and I prefer the 'in-and-out' exercise I'm a personal trainer — this 5-move abs workout strengthens your core and hips using dumbbells I hike every single weekend and these Keen walking boots are my new go-to for mountain trails
