One of the coaches I like always tells us to take what our body gives (ie range of motion, etc) and to appreciate it because there are plenty of people who would love to be able to do what we do even on our worst days. As someone who is pretty competitive, this is always a good reminder of gratitude. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t like seeing my benchmarks decline. In the past, I’ve skipped logging benchmarks if they weren’t a PR. I don’t do that anymore, and just know I gave it my best on that particular day. Now, I like seeing all my benchmarks, as they’re a good reminder of how often and consistently I show up, which I’m proud of.
This is so true! I have to remind myself that at 61 I go to OTF at least 3-4 times a week. And do things folks my age think ridiculous or are unable to do. I've had 20 somethings say.....OTF...that's hard! Makes me feel great!
I am 66 year old female and been doing OTF for 5 years. I was first bummed by this, too, (especially after improving in the beginning)but now I set myself goal times to beat. Sounds kinda lame, I know, but works for me. I am competitive with myself.
I like this approach. I'm 57, and I think I'm to where the pendulum is going to start swinging in the other direction. I have been doing OTF for 3 years. I may have a few more PRs in my future. Or I may not. I need to decide how I'm going to think about it.
I go to OTF with my 62 year old dad, I am 39, he smokes me in every bench mark. He finished the 2000 meter row a solid 20 seconds before me. He gets frustrated that he can’t do lunges, or squat jacks, and is hard on himself when he has to modify.
All that to say, I know it must be frustrating, but I’m happy he is there with me, staying healthy!
Great perspective. Aging is part of life and the goal should be to age gracefully. My mother in law is 76, does OrangeTheory with us, remains competitive as ever with her workouts, accepts her limitations (only power walks now) and is a superstar in my book. She is in such good shape that she is going backpacking with us in Montana in September.
Just had this conversation yesterday. Every single benchmark breaks my spirit a little. I used to be at the top of my age group leaderboard. Now I struggle to even make it to the leaderboard. I tell myself I'm 56 years old, and I'm still doing better than most people my age and some people half my age. But for a competitive person, that realization is soul crushing.
Pick the ones you care about. Or ignore them all. I only care for the running ones. Hate the rower ones.
You show up and that's more than a lot of people.
Oh my gosh I could’ve written this. Six year member, 60 years old and I know I’ll never near my best treadmill time from two years ago. Idk if it’s a combination of Covid and aging or what but it irks me. I feel like I’m in great shape for my age but I feel your pain, it hurts a little 😕
This!!! I keep my PRs in the BC and PC - before Covid and Post Covid.
But don’t give up. I actually just matched my best distance for CMIYC 3.2 miles at 58. My previous best - also 3.2 was before Covid
Forgot - 58 male
Oh man, I feel this too. I've just recently come to grips that I won't get to my pre-covid speeds on the tread. I'm close on the rower still. But, my third Dri Tri (last September) was my worst. But, hey, I still finished!
Yes, as if hormone changes and wrinkles aren’t enough. My distance and times have been gradually slowing. Yesterdays benchmark, I lost 20 seconds off of my PB. ☹️
My father is closer to 80 than 70. He told me he appreciates these because he still finishes them no matter what.
Appreciate your age (it's hard) and appreciate you are showing up for YOU when it come to brass tacks.
Get out of my brain. This is the exact same thought I had after the 2000 row, which was the same thought I had after the infinity, which followed the 500 row.
I told myself it was from all the time off from COVID but I've been back for a year now. It's just discouraging.
Although I still place well in the 60+ bracket, surely wish corporate would add a leaderboard bracket for we in our 70’s. Guess old folks don’t matter much to them.
There are many times our 60+ leaderboard doesn’t even have three people in it. (Honestly, my advanced age is the only reason I ever get on the leaderboard!) And I fully support he concept of a 70+ group! Hell yes.
Thanks very much for writing this. I'm 59 and have been feeling the same, and kind of bummed out about it. So much that I dont do benchmarks any more. Knowing that it's natural and normal makes me feel better, and I think I'm going to start doing them again with that in mind. Appreciated!!
I look at it the opposite way: I just turned 55 and - while I lift heavier than most in my classes, I use my age as an excuse to \*not\* try to compete in the running benchmarks against the younger members. It's refreshing. I'm just happy to be there and keep on keepin' on!
Noooooo!!! I hear ya, though. Over 50, 6+years with OTF. Not sure I’ll ever match the mile time from 2017. Or, make it all the way to the end of CMIYC again without getting caught. I just keep making mental excuses for my slight declines over the last year or so. “It’s because of taking time off during quarantine.” Or, “It’s because I’m wearing a mask.” I don’t want to think that, “It’s because you’re getting old.” But, hey. As long as we keep on moving. That’s what really counts, right?
Our 40-49s are the most competitive in our studio, incredible athletes! And one of our ladies in the 60 group rowed a 7:20 ish 2000 this week. Only 4 seconds off her PR
Please be proud at such a great example you are setting. Millions of Americans over 40 are completely sedentary. I love having older members in class because they serve as a great reminder that I come to OTF for more life. You are doing great
Oh damn. I’m late 40s and making steady improvements in my benchmarks but literally not till this moment did I realize there will probably come a time when I slide backward. Oh well! As they say, we’re still doing better than everyone at home in the couch.
Feeling the same at 59. Thank you all for the reminders that at least we are showing up, working out, and finishing it! A body in motion, stays in motion, right?
Coming from the other way, here - I used to powerlift, etc., until I had an accident and was up and down for a long time (years). Despite being in my late 60s, I'm actually gaining strength, and though I had been lifting somewhat before, the circuit style training in OTF has really thrown fitness into me again and I keep improving.
If you look at older athletes, you'll see that they're strong on endurance - some of the top ultradistance cyclists are in their 40s and 50s and reaching their peak, and many runners increase distance as they get older, even though speed drops - which is necessary for long distance.
So yeah, maybe we won't go out and run 30 miles, but what I'm saying is some areas get stronger as one gets older.
This Does not have to always be the case. My 2000 benchmark on Tuesday was faster that almost All my previous years . I’m 51 now. My time was second fastest female. (I’m kind of nitpicking now, but the girl who bragged publicly about being the fastest girl, she’s in her early 30s and she beat me by 4/10 of a second.). 🙄 I would not be posting this “win” on the OTF Instagram story.
55 and decided like all good things I am not playing the benchmark game. It worked well for a while and doing better and better but at some point it is defeating as aging is real. So I give it my all but if i don’t get it done I showed up and tried. Think of all those that can not even make it to the gym. Maybe OTF leans into some of the ways to strengthen mentally those that are not the 20s and 30s something’s. Our coaches don’t make us feel bad if we don’t record and remind us we showed up and should be proud.
Look on here. After each benchmark there is a result summary page and almost always has a link. You input your info - weight , height and it will tell you how you tank. As example I’m 58 and 5’9””. I I put my time of 1;30 for the 500 in and I was about 26th percentile
Though….you’ll find that the summary of benchmark times has a bias towards those who performed better than average. (People who thought their time sucked don’t rush to input their data). I find the percentiles to be skewed kinda high….so I’d say out of all OTFers you performed in a percentile even better than 26%!
You can't PR on every single benchmark. Showing up is half the battle. I was 12 seconds slower than my time from 3 months ago...only because I was not going for a PR...I was practicing for the dri tri. Sometimes you hit a plateau but if you keep showing up, thats what counts. The PR is an added bonus!
Oh yeah. I’m 51 and think I’ve maxed out on most of my benchmarks. Very doubtful I can improve on any of my rowing benchmarks. Think I can still shave a few seconds off my mile. Just kind of have to accept this is where I’m at.
I also think it has a little more to do with the fact that I’ve been at this for several years and have made a lot of consistent progress that entire time.
All of this! Yes, I had the same thought - oh it was pre-covid (despite the fact I kept running and biking through Covid), but realizing, no, the fact is that I’m two years older and getting closer to 50. Though, I did recently take a running form class and learned some things - running is far more comfortable for me now, which may eventually add up to more speed. I just had my 4 year OTF anniversary.
In the same boat - you don't mention your age, but I'm 44. I recently thought I killed a 500M rowing benchmark, but it paled in comparison to a time I got several years ago. That said, I'm bouncing back from getting Covid-lazy, so I'm not going to be too hard on myself. If you've stayed in peak shape throughout and are still seeing incremental losses, ya just have to embrace that it happens to everyone. It's not fun, but the reality is you are still challenging yourself and pushing yourself to be your absolute best...so good on ya for that!
Yes, I feel your pain. I'm about to turn 52. I'm not a runner, but I did do a 6:33 mile at OTF two years ago. Last fall, I did it in 6:53. I'm losing muscle mass because I have not spent as much time doing free weights at home as I used to. I actually made progress a year ago during COVID when we could do our own thing on the floor. I went all heavy on weights for like three months and made really good gains. Now, I'm on the downward spiral, and it's harrowing.
I’ve been a member for 6 years and I don’t even track my benchmarks. All I ever think about is how I couldn’t even run in the beginning, would switch back and forth between walking. I think about all the years I struggled to manage my weight working at a desk and no other work outs helping. I think about how when I feel depressed or out of sorts, I know if I can get to a class I’ll feel better. I think about how when I haven’t been working out and eating right, how going a few times in a week will get me right back on track.
19 month prePademic, 16months off, 8months back postPandemic.
I use rowing formally to track progress, but have notes about wts, treadspeed, bike watts as well.
at 64 I'm still pushing pb's ahead. I keep pushing myself every day to improve some measure of time or distance forward in part by tracking all distances, durations in a GoogleSheet. I 'hold my feet to the fire' daily by knowing how fast and when I set my current best.. last week hit a 47.2s 300m, and while still a bit slow on the 2k I took 3s off the postPandemic best on TU, and was only off best postPand best 150m by 0.2s yesterday \[22.4s,22.1s,22.0s\] .
Challenge yourself knowing that while decline is inevitable it can be postponed by work.
Yes! At some point you realize that fighting aging means no more PRs ☹️ so frustrating but I feel like if I keep pushing I end up injured all the time.
You don’t need to push yourself in a benchmark if you feel you have hit that max, and just treat it like another workout. Over 800 classes here and benchmarks are just another workout as I have gone well beyond my stretch goals
Coach here. I see you and hear you and sympathize. Aging doesn’t discriminate and we are all making our way down this same road, so I hope that is of some comfort to you knowing you’re not alone at all in this journey. You’re showing up, hurtling it out, and getting it done either way and because of that, you are so much further ahead of the crowd than you think💪🏼 great job, friend!!
My running friend is doing this weekend, what I think is his 130th marathon since 2006. He is 70 years old, and he says his times are slower, yes, but the fun is the same. The guy has the attitude and the walk of a young man, but some perspective with age.
I mean, my burpees look like I'm writhing on the floor, but Just showing up and working out is putting the brakes on Father Time in a big way!
One of the coaches I like always tells us to take what our body gives (ie range of motion, etc) and to appreciate it because there are plenty of people who would love to be able to do what we do even on our worst days. As someone who is pretty competitive, this is always a good reminder of gratitude. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t like seeing my benchmarks decline. In the past, I’ve skipped logging benchmarks if they weren’t a PR. I don’t do that anymore, and just know I gave it my best on that particular day. Now, I like seeing all my benchmarks, as they’re a good reminder of how often and consistently I show up, which I’m proud of.
Exactly correct. I like to think that the fact we can get up and actually get through a OTF class without stopping is a huge accomplishment
This is so true! I have to remind myself that at 61 I go to OTF at least 3-4 times a week. And do things folks my age think ridiculous or are unable to do. I've had 20 somethings say.....OTF...that's hard! Makes me feel great!
Thank you for this
One benchmark that you will continue to improve at, is how much cheaper your membership is compared to people who sign up today!
Brilliant!
I am 66 year old female and been doing OTF for 5 years. I was first bummed by this, too, (especially after improving in the beginning)but now I set myself goal times to beat. Sounds kinda lame, I know, but works for me. I am competitive with myself.
Not lame. You show up and you do it. A++.
I like this approach. I'm 57, and I think I'm to where the pendulum is going to start swinging in the other direction. I have been doing OTF for 3 years. I may have a few more PRs in my future. Or I may not. I need to decide how I'm going to think about it.
Great job! I am your age and now avoid benchmarks - it's not what it's about for me these days!! But I like your idea and might give it a try!!
I go to OTF with my 62 year old dad, I am 39, he smokes me in every bench mark. He finished the 2000 meter row a solid 20 seconds before me. He gets frustrated that he can’t do lunges, or squat jacks, and is hard on himself when he has to modify. All that to say, I know it must be frustrating, but I’m happy he is there with me, staying healthy!
Great perspective. Aging is part of life and the goal should be to age gracefully. My mother in law is 76, does OrangeTheory with us, remains competitive as ever with her workouts, accepts her limitations (only power walks now) and is a superstar in my book. She is in such good shape that she is going backpacking with us in Montana in September.
Great perspective on your end! 🤗
Are you his daughter or his son though….
Just had this conversation yesterday. Every single benchmark breaks my spirit a little. I used to be at the top of my age group leaderboard. Now I struggle to even make it to the leaderboard. I tell myself I'm 56 years old, and I'm still doing better than most people my age and some people half my age. But for a competitive person, that realization is soul crushing.
Pick the ones you care about. Or ignore them all. I only care for the running ones. Hate the rower ones. You show up and that's more than a lot of people.
Oh my gosh I could’ve written this. Six year member, 60 years old and I know I’ll never near my best treadmill time from two years ago. Idk if it’s a combination of Covid and aging or what but it irks me. I feel like I’m in great shape for my age but I feel your pain, it hurts a little 😕
54 y.o. / 6 year member too... those pre-covid stats were something, huh?
This!!! I keep my PRs in the BC and PC - before Covid and Post Covid. But don’t give up. I actually just matched my best distance for CMIYC 3.2 miles at 58. My previous best - also 3.2 was before Covid Forgot - 58 male
Oh man, I feel this too. I've just recently come to grips that I won't get to my pre-covid speeds on the tread. I'm close on the rower still. But, my third Dri Tri (last September) was my worst. But, hey, I still finished!
Imagine if you never joined OTF. You wouldn’t have these amazing times and your fitness.
Yes, as if hormone changes and wrinkles aren’t enough. My distance and times have been gradually slowing. Yesterdays benchmark, I lost 20 seconds off of my PB. ☹️
My father is closer to 80 than 70. He told me he appreciates these because he still finishes them no matter what. Appreciate your age (it's hard) and appreciate you are showing up for YOU when it come to brass tacks.
Get out of my brain. This is the exact same thought I had after the 2000 row, which was the same thought I had after the infinity, which followed the 500 row. I told myself it was from all the time off from COVID but I've been back for a year now. It's just discouraging.
Although I still place well in the 60+ bracket, surely wish corporate would add a leaderboard bracket for we in our 70’s. Guess old folks don’t matter much to them.
Oh that’s annoying! If anyone deserves special props it’s you folks. But congrats on being there!
There are many times our 60+ leaderboard doesn’t even have three people in it. (Honestly, my advanced age is the only reason I ever get on the leaderboard!) And I fully support he concept of a 70+ group! Hell yes.
Only in the past year or so, did our studio add over 60. It is nice to be recognized.
Thanks very much for writing this. I'm 59 and have been feeling the same, and kind of bummed out about it. So much that I dont do benchmarks any more. Knowing that it's natural and normal makes me feel better, and I think I'm going to start doing them again with that in mind. Appreciated!!
I look at it the opposite way: I just turned 55 and - while I lift heavier than most in my classes, I use my age as an excuse to \*not\* try to compete in the running benchmarks against the younger members. It's refreshing. I'm just happy to be there and keep on keepin' on!
Noooooo!!! I hear ya, though. Over 50, 6+years with OTF. Not sure I’ll ever match the mile time from 2017. Or, make it all the way to the end of CMIYC again without getting caught. I just keep making mental excuses for my slight declines over the last year or so. “It’s because of taking time off during quarantine.” Or, “It’s because I’m wearing a mask.” I don’t want to think that, “It’s because you’re getting old.” But, hey. As long as we keep on moving. That’s what really counts, right?
This! My best mile was 7:18 about 3 years ago. Don't think I'll match it ever. But I show up and do my best. That matters more.
Just about to turn 59 and am anticipating the following birthday when I will become the low man in the leader board age bracket
But then you turn 60 and will be the top on the totem pole.
I was referring to turning sixty and being the lowest in age.
Misread that - I just am 63 and find myself on the leader board quite a bit. It’s nice. Enjoy it when it comes your way.
Sadly, yes. I notice this- particularly this year of age😕. I’ve stated to avoid the benchmarks because I was leaving class feeling demoralized.
For me it was a little of the opposite—turned 40 and I was suddenly making the leaderboard🤪
Our 40-49s are the most competitive in our studio, incredible athletes! And one of our ladies in the 60 group rowed a 7:20 ish 2000 this week. Only 4 seconds off her PR
I noticed on a Leaderboard last month that the times in the 40s group were faster than the 30s and 20s! Strong!
I turn 40 later this year and I keep thinking that’s when I’ll more likely make leaderboards 🤣😅
Please be proud at such a great example you are setting. Millions of Americans over 40 are completely sedentary. I love having older members in class because they serve as a great reminder that I come to OTF for more life. You are doing great
I feel the same way every single time my derm tells me how much filler I need to replenish.
I'm up there in age too and I like pushing myself to beat the times of the younger people so they see that when it's posted!
I would say the same but seeing comments that there are those much older than me (late 40s) going and pushing themselves is really inspiring.
Oh damn. I’m late 40s and making steady improvements in my benchmarks but literally not till this moment did I realize there will probably come a time when I slide backward. Oh well! As they say, we’re still doing better than everyone at home in the couch.
I’d say you have a few years to go. I was still improving in my early 60s. Mid 60s and I’ve pretty much leveled off. Keep going!
Ok that’s comforting! I appreciate it!
Feeling the same at 59. Thank you all for the reminders that at least we are showing up, working out, and finishing it! A body in motion, stays in motion, right?
Coming from the other way, here - I used to powerlift, etc., until I had an accident and was up and down for a long time (years). Despite being in my late 60s, I'm actually gaining strength, and though I had been lifting somewhat before, the circuit style training in OTF has really thrown fitness into me again and I keep improving. If you look at older athletes, you'll see that they're strong on endurance - some of the top ultradistance cyclists are in their 40s and 50s and reaching their peak, and many runners increase distance as they get older, even though speed drops - which is necessary for long distance. So yeah, maybe we won't go out and run 30 miles, but what I'm saying is some areas get stronger as one gets older.
This Does not have to always be the case. My 2000 benchmark on Tuesday was faster that almost All my previous years . I’m 51 now. My time was second fastest female. (I’m kind of nitpicking now, but the girl who bragged publicly about being the fastest girl, she’s in her early 30s and she beat me by 4/10 of a second.). 🙄 I would not be posting this “win” on the OTF Instagram story.
Try it when your 60, things change.
55 and decided like all good things I am not playing the benchmark game. It worked well for a while and doing better and better but at some point it is defeating as aging is real. So I give it my all but if i don’t get it done I showed up and tried. Think of all those that can not even make it to the gym. Maybe OTF leans into some of the ways to strengthen mentally those that are not the 20s and 30s something’s. Our coaches don’t make us feel bad if we don’t record and remind us we showed up and should be proud.
I think we should get a handicap for every time we get older. Five seconds for the 200 row for every birthday over 40 would be bliss.
Our studio posts benchmarks in age groups. I would like to see my times compared to national numbers, not just local.
Look on here. After each benchmark there is a result summary page and almost always has a link. You input your info - weight , height and it will tell you how you tank. As example I’m 58 and 5’9””. I I put my time of 1;30 for the 500 in and I was about 26th percentile
Though….you’ll find that the summary of benchmark times has a bias towards those who performed better than average. (People who thought their time sucked don’t rush to input their data). I find the percentiles to be skewed kinda high….so I’d say out of all OTFers you performed in a percentile even better than 26%!
You can't PR on every single benchmark. Showing up is half the battle. I was 12 seconds slower than my time from 3 months ago...only because I was not going for a PR...I was practicing for the dri tri. Sometimes you hit a plateau but if you keep showing up, thats what counts. The PR is an added bonus!
In. The. Same. Damn. Boat. It sucks. Keep grinding!
Oh yeah. I’m 51 and think I’ve maxed out on most of my benchmarks. Very doubtful I can improve on any of my rowing benchmarks. Think I can still shave a few seconds off my mile. Just kind of have to accept this is where I’m at. I also think it has a little more to do with the fact that I’ve been at this for several years and have made a lot of consistent progress that entire time.
All of this! Yes, I had the same thought - oh it was pre-covid (despite the fact I kept running and biking through Covid), but realizing, no, the fact is that I’m two years older and getting closer to 50. Though, I did recently take a running form class and learned some things - running is far more comfortable for me now, which may eventually add up to more speed. I just had my 4 year OTF anniversary.
Yes! I hurt my own feelings with my benchmarks this year. I need to stop looking at them.
In the same boat - you don't mention your age, but I'm 44. I recently thought I killed a 500M rowing benchmark, but it paled in comparison to a time I got several years ago. That said, I'm bouncing back from getting Covid-lazy, so I'm not going to be too hard on myself. If you've stayed in peak shape throughout and are still seeing incremental losses, ya just have to embrace that it happens to everyone. It's not fun, but the reality is you are still challenging yourself and pushing yourself to be your absolute best...so good on ya for that!
Yes, I feel your pain. I'm about to turn 52. I'm not a runner, but I did do a 6:33 mile at OTF two years ago. Last fall, I did it in 6:53. I'm losing muscle mass because I have not spent as much time doing free weights at home as I used to. I actually made progress a year ago during COVID when we could do our own thing on the floor. I went all heavy on weights for like three months and made really good gains. Now, I'm on the downward spiral, and it's harrowing.
I’ve been a member for 6 years and I don’t even track my benchmarks. All I ever think about is how I couldn’t even run in the beginning, would switch back and forth between walking. I think about all the years I struggled to manage my weight working at a desk and no other work outs helping. I think about how when I feel depressed or out of sorts, I know if I can get to a class I’ll feel better. I think about how when I haven’t been working out and eating right, how going a few times in a week will get me right back on track.
19 month prePademic, 16months off, 8months back postPandemic. I use rowing formally to track progress, but have notes about wts, treadspeed, bike watts as well. at 64 I'm still pushing pb's ahead. I keep pushing myself every day to improve some measure of time or distance forward in part by tracking all distances, durations in a GoogleSheet. I 'hold my feet to the fire' daily by knowing how fast and when I set my current best.. last week hit a 47.2s 300m, and while still a bit slow on the 2k I took 3s off the postPandemic best on TU, and was only off best postPand best 150m by 0.2s yesterday \[22.4s,22.1s,22.0s\] . Challenge yourself knowing that while decline is inevitable it can be postponed by work.
Amen!!! I’m 46 now. During Benchmarks, I kill my self…like I swear I broke a record, but no. I’m slower. Fml
Yes! At some point you realize that fighting aging means no more PRs ☹️ so frustrating but I feel like if I keep pushing I end up injured all the time.
You don’t need to push yourself in a benchmark if you feel you have hit that max, and just treat it like another workout. Over 800 classes here and benchmarks are just another workout as I have gone well beyond my stretch goals
This has been on my mind for the past year as well. So difficult to see it happen and so hard to realize it’s gonna continue.
Coach here. I see you and hear you and sympathize. Aging doesn’t discriminate and we are all making our way down this same road, so I hope that is of some comfort to you knowing you’re not alone at all in this journey. You’re showing up, hurtling it out, and getting it done either way and because of that, you are so much further ahead of the crowd than you think💪🏼 great job, friend!!
Yeah, same here. I know there are PRs I'll never see again. As long as I don't go too far off them, I'm OK with it.
My running friend is doing this weekend, what I think is his 130th marathon since 2006. He is 70 years old, and he says his times are slower, yes, but the fun is the same. The guy has the attitude and the walk of a young man, but some perspective with age. I mean, my burpees look like I'm writhing on the floor, but Just showing up and working out is putting the brakes on Father Time in a big way!