Why did we make Fitness Freak? 

Scientists all over the world agree that cardio fitness is the best predictor of our life expectancy. All other things being equal, a stronger cardiovascular system gives you more years to enjoy a happy life. Cardiovascular health comes from exercise. For example, a 16-year study of Norwegian men showed that those exercising actively had a 4.8 times lower risk of mortality compared to their non-exercising compatriots. 

It takes many months to develop cardio fitness. Unfortunately, most people quit exercising right after they start because they have no way of measuring their progress in the short run. Existing methods of measuring fitness progression require either a lab visit, or additional sensors and complex software or manual vanity measurements in front of the mirror, none of which provide effective feedback. 

This is where Fitness Freak comes in. Using just a smartphone you can figure out in 2 minutes how fit you are in relation to other people your age globally, in your country, town or neighborhood. All this done in a simple and fun test. NO other sensors or wearable devices are needed. Fitness Freak shows you how much progress you are making in training your cardio system so you can compare present and past scores. 

Fitness freak is developed by a seasoned team with many years of mobile development under the guidance of a cardio medical scientist and with the support from a lot of athletes. It is based on the latest breakthroughs in study of exercise physiology, big data analysis and machine learning. 

How does it work? 

Fitness Freak uses your phone’s sensors and a nifty set of formulas to accurately measure your strength and fitness levels. The app instantly compares your scores with thousands of players across the globe and lets you know where you stand in the world or in your neighborhood on a scale ranging from Trump to the Hulk. 

We use the accelerometer on your phone to measure how much energy you exert while shaking the phone. The Strength test produces your strength score by looking at how much energy you can exert while shaking your phone. 

We calculate your heart rate using the phone camera by analyzing how blood flows through your fingertip. The Zen test gives you a ‘mindfulness’ score – showing how stressed/chilled you are based on your resting heart rate and the tremor of your hand while holding the phone.  

During the fitness test we compare your resting heart rate to your active heart rate after you have been shaking the phone. Then we look at the speed of heart rate recovery and energy generated while shaking the phone. This test produces your overall fitness score using our proprietary algorithms. The end result has a strong correlation with Anaerobic threshold lab test which in turn correlates strongly with life expectancy. Fitness Freak gives you a score that will start to improve as your fitness levels improve, normally after a week or two of regular aerobic exercise like jogging, cycling or swimming. Fitness Freak provides you with quick and accurate feedback relating to your fitness level which beats waiting months for some visual love-handle metric. Ultimately Fitness Freak keeps users motivated to live a healthier lifestyle. Higher scores in Fitness Freak translate into higher life expectancy. 

How do you know that the app actually works?

We tested Fitness Freak with tens of users, comparing their scores inside the game with their anaerobic threshold levels from lab tests. Anaerobic threshold defines your ability to do more intensive physical exercise for a longer period of time. As we know already this translates into higher life expectancy. In essence: higher anaerobic threshold means higher life expectancy. 

We found that the app nicely recreates anaerobic thresholds with approximately 95% accuracy. 

What’s next? 

We are planning to turn Fitness Freak into a world-wide fitness tournament from the comfort of your couch - the People’s Olympic Games or Pop Games for short. Subscribe below for early access!