There are lots of numbers you could track. Here are the ones the experts obsess over.
The age of body mass index is over (more on that below). So what is the number that you should be paying attention to in order to track your overall health, both in your current state and over time? We went to the experts to find out.
Heart rate recovery
"You can’t go wrong with heart rate recovery. This is done by simply using a heart rate monitor to track how much your heart rate recovers within 60 seconds after completing an exercise.”
—Matt Berenc, Director of education at the Equinox fitness training institute
24
“Time. I'm obsessed with it. It's the only thing we can never get back. So in this case, I would want people to pay attention to how much time they spend working out or working on themselves."
—Cece Marizu, Equinox group fitness trainer
Three
“The first number that pops into my head as a physical therapist is three, as in three planes of motion. Too many athletes only move in the sagittal plane with little or no understanding of the other planes.”
—Michael Conlon, physical therapist
One
“Outcomes are a result of a processes which are established through one behavior at a time. Own that one behavior to create progressive, sustainable processes leading to improved health.”
—Michael Ryan, Equinox trainer
Body composition
"Acquiring a clinical measurement of your body composition and having a fat analysis are the most accurate of all methods to assess obesity or weight issues, especially if combined with waist to hip ratios and BMI."
—Mark Hyman, M.D., functional medicine practitioner
Zero
“I don’t encourage my students to focus on numbers. I want them to honestly answer the following questions: are you stronger and more flexible when you began your yogic journey and are you better able to handle what life throws your way?”
—Kiley Holliday, instructor at Pure Yoga