BellaOnline Forums Health and Fitness Exercise Healthy Fat Range for Women

I am 42 years old and am trying to figure out a healthy fat range to aim for. I am currently about 136 pounds and my fat range is about 20%. When I look at online resources they tell me I shouldn't be aiming to go lower than that. I definitely want to tone, and build my flexibility, and all of those types of things. But I'm starting to think that aiming for say 18% fat isn't a good way to measure my progress.

What do you guys think? Maybe something like heart rate while walking x miles per hour or a similar type of measure?

Definitely getting caught up with just numbers isn't the best thing for you psychologically or emotionally. There is more to fitness than numbers. Here's what we measure at the gym to determine how fit a client is:

strength (total body)
muscular endurance
cardiovascular endurance
core stability
hip stability
shoulder stability
overall flexibility
balance
agility and speed (if you're an athlete)
bodyfat
weight
recovery time

But it isn't about numbers. It's about what you want your body to do for you. What is your goal beyond just toning up and being fit and maintaining a healthy weight? There's got to be more than that. Fitness wasn't always an option it used to be a matter of survival and in some ways it still is so how is your workout plan helping you survive?

For me it's about being able to go on hiking adventures and running around at the park with my kids and having energy, strength, and endurance to do anything I want any time of the day. It's also about avoiding the doctor, and cancer, and reducing stress so I can live a simple happy life.

Most people are motivated by really shallow reasons which is why most people can't stick with it and have trouble maintaining their results. If you can find your underlying motivations and you'll figure out what to track.