DO Try This At Home (Version II)

Assess & monitor key fitness metrics with your own Personal Performance Quotient!

If you’ve been a part of the Not Done Yet! community for long, you’re quite familiar with the emphasis on the 2nd half of the data-driven statement “We lose 1%/year (function, muscle mass, cardio), all things being equal.” It’s in those words - all things being equal - where our opportunity exists as we move through life’s 2nd half. No - we cannot stop the hands of time, but we can, if we so choose - to significantly slow down the effects related to those hands. However, in doing so, we need a way to assess our baseline and then highlight gaps in our approach going forward. That’s where (an updated version of) the Personal Performance Quotient comes to the forefront as an extremely valuable tool any of us can do without expensive lab work or other costs.

Group challenges can be fun. Perhaps you're considering a 30-day challenge with friends related to sobriety, daily steps or sleep schedules. Fantastic. Maybe it's a first time (or first time in a long time) 10K or triathlon in the coming year. Other examples include no news week, 30 minutes of daily music week, using chopsticks to eat everything, dress up week, creative foods week, unplug week and even a sing in the shower week.

Along with these creative, fun ideas, no doubt you'll also start seeing all sorts of odd challenges highlighted on-line, where the crazier the idea, the more clicks generated. Enjoy the videos, but regardless of age, please don't follow them down the rabbit hole! Most of those clearly need the "Do not try this at home" some of us grew up hearing, thanks to the legal departments overseeing the activities in question.

Here’s something valuable you are encouraged to try at home (as long as no medical restrictions, of course). For those of us in the 2nd half of life (and frankly anyone), two critically important aspects are strength and VO2 Max. If you’re looking for a valuable, freely available way to assess your life’s baseline going forward, some combination of these two key aspects is likely your answer.

Multiple studies have connected VO2 Max to longer lifespan, quality of life, cognition and even cerebral myelination with aging. VO2 Max is shorthand for maximal oxygen consumption. It’s a measurement of how much oxygen we can put to good use during intense exercise and is considered the gold standard for cardio-respiratory fitness. If you like details, for every 3.5ml/kg/min increase in VO2Max there is an associated 13% decrease in all-cause mortality. The standard VO2 Max assessment (generally) involves a special lab where you ride (bike trainer) or run (treadmill) while wearing a mask and a few wires. It’s a valuable process if you get the opportunity, but there’s also a simpler alternative: the 5K. While not perfect, you can plug your 5K time into various on-line charts to get a reasonable estimate of your VO2 Max. We’ll come back to why I’m highlighting the 5K momentarily.

Strength is shorthand for… well… strength! We discussed at length in this previous article about the research consistently showing a 1% decrease in muscle strength per year after the age of 40, all things being equal. However, we also discussed having a choice not to follow the “all things being equal” path by integrating essential strength building activities into our rhythm of life. What if you had a simple, no cost, and personalized way in which you could monitor your combined VO2 Max and strength over time? What if there were a way in which you could supplement your annual physical via a self-assessment you could put on your calendar 2-4 times/year to stay on top of these two critical elements? You do now, with the Personal Performance Quotient! While there’s no perfect self-assessment, this one provides an outstanding baseline from which you can track your broader progress and enhance your direction going forward. It’s an updated version of what we provided previously. Here's how it works…

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Begin by establishing your current baseline on the following 4 components:

• Total Push-ups (consecutive, < 2 minutes)

• Total Pull-ups (consecutive, < 1 minute)

• Total body weight squats - 90 degrees knee angle (1 minute)

• Total time completing a 5K (can substitute w/ cycling/swimming/rowing)

• Total Time Holding a Plank Position (max 5 min)

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Some of you are saying "Seriously?!? I can't do pull-ups!" That's fine. You're Not Done Yet, remember? Others may be focusing in one area (e.g., exclusively strength training or running) but have a blind spot regarding the other side of the coin. The Personal Performance Quotient doesn’t reward either the speedy (weak) runner nor the buff (but low VO2) gym rat. Rather, it’s a reminder the 2nd half of life significantly rewards the combination of the two!

Also, this isn't a competition. There's not a reference table showing how you compare to others. This is for YOU - and you alone. The entire purpose of the Performance Quotient is for YOU to set a baseline for YOURSELF and then improve upon that baseline. The five aspects chosen require no special equipment or mastery of complicated techniques. If you haven't done a 5K in a decade, now you have a reason to sign up (or walk/jog/run 12 1/2 laps of the local track if you'd prefer to start there). If you are unable to do a single pull-up, write down zero for that one and begin working toward your first (which, by the way, is the case for most of the general population). The point is - your initial score doesn't matter! Your baseline is YOUR baseline. It's your starting point from which you’ll then build a solid foundation of cardio/core and strength. This readily available, 5-step process provides a fantastic starting point for anyone, anyplace, regardless of whether you're in the best shape of your life or accidentally signed up for the Not Done Yet! series thinking it was highlighting desserts you hadn't yet finished :-).

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Once you have your initial results for each of the four, what’s next? Simple:

• Add your total push-ups, pull-ups and squats together [A]

• Subtract your total plank time from your total 5K time [B]

• Divide A by B for your initial benchmark from which you can progress

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Example: 8 push-ups + 1 pull-up + 25 squats = 34... Then a 30 minute 5K time minus a 30 second plank = 29.5. Divide 34/29.5 = 1.15.

That’s now your personal benchmark. It’s not a way to compare yourself to others or check against a scoreboard. It’s your Personal Performance Quotient, a figure to provide a personalized monitor going forward.

Now, make an appointment with yourself 2-3 months from now to repeat the challenge (Jan/April/July/Oct is a great rhythm, but select what works best for you). Better yet, reach out to a friend, not to compare results, but to encourage one another to track your progress together. Over time, you’ll make gradual improvement and then repeat the challenge. Perhaps you're now up to 15 push-ups, 2 pull-ups, 35 squats, a 60 second plank and your 5K has improved to 28 minutes: (15 + 2 + 35)/(28-1) = 1.93, almost DOUBLE your original benchmark!

Those who are already on a consistent strength and cardio routine might see very different, but similarly personalized numbers such as 45 push-ups, 10 pull-ups, a 2 min plank, 50 squats and 21 min 5K. If this is you, your benchmark would then be (45+10+50)/(21-2) = 55/19 = 5.52. Nice job - now where are opportunities to bolster one or more of the four areas?

The purpose of assessing your Personal Performance Quotient isn't to post it on social media or compare with your friend. Rather, it's to set your baseline and then say those 3 magical words: Not Done Yet! By the way - you get to decide the rules regarding specificity, as long as you remain consistent with yourself over time. Depth on push-ups? Allow leg kick on pull-ups? It doesn't matter (if you're consistent) because this is you vs. you.

Once you've identified your own personal starting point, your path forward can more easily be identified. It's one thing to claim "I'm not done yet!" and quite another to demonstrate it through regular, ongoing triggers for improvement. Was your cardio/VO2 Max (5K time) the biggest anchor to your result? Good to know - let's start there. Or maybe strength (push-ups/pull-ups) minimized your numerator driving the outcome? Let's go! The Performance Quotient rewards a balanced approach rather than the extremes. The gym rat may be able to nail the push-ups/pull-ups/squats/plank but has an important gap revealed on the 5K. Similarly, the cardio fan might crush the 5K but struggles with the push-ups/pull-ups/squats or plank. Now anyone can assess a baseline from which we can a) Clearly identify available opportunities for improvement and b) Regularly assess our progress over time.

Not done yet? Prove it. Get the various aspects of your Performance Quotient baseline on your calendar in the coming weeks and then start moving the dial. We're regularly reminded we lose 1% of our muscle mass/speed/functional performance each year after the age of 40, all things being equal.

But all things don't have to be equal. We have a choice. And now we have a new tool in our toolbox to push back against that equal sign ;-).