Forget what our driver’s license says. The most accurate measure of our body’s age, not to mention the best predictor of living a long, healthy life, is your fitness age. Even better, by getting more fit, you can actually subtract years and make your body healthier and younger, according to a study in Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise.

Researchers at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology came up with a formula to calculate anyone’s fitness age, based on stats gathered from 60,000 subjects. Click on this link to find your fitness age: www.worldfitnesslevel.org. Your age, weight, height, exercise habits, general activity levels and resting pulse all factor into the equation. A good goal is to have your fitness be less than your chronological age. The more years you can take off, the better your overall health.

Lowering your fitness age is simpler than you may think. Just mix some high intensity interval training (HIIT) into your workout. Here’s why: study participants who had the highest VO2 Max scores (a measure of how efficiently you use oxygen) were also the healthiest and lived the longest. HIIT is a proven method for increasing your VO2 Max, so making high-intensity intervals part of your training can subtract years. HIIT also leads to key performance payoffs. A stronger heart pumps more blood into your muscles, which improves power and can boost endurance.

Reference: www.self.com/go/fitnessage