A new fitness competition makes the case that longevity is trainable

For most of fitness culture, “winning” has meant peak output: fastest sprint, heaviest lift, deepest VO2 max. The Super Age Games, debuting at The Armory Track in New York on November 7, is built around a different target. Across eight trials designed with researchers at the Buck Institute for Research on Aging, participants will be measured on different markers that can predict how well they’ll age, not just how hard they can push on a single day.

What the eight trials test

The eight trials map to markers longevity research already uses to predict healthspan. Participants will be measured on cardiovascular capacity, grip strength, balance, agility, working memory, relational capacity, functional strength, and endurance under load. The idea is that this will test the full range of physical, cognitive, and social systems that determine how well someone ages.

“Longevity science has given us the healthspan markers that matter,” says Dr. Eric Verdin, CEO of The Buck Institute. “The Super Age Games put all of them in one place, on one day, so people can actually see where they stand.”

Two different tiers

The event is built on two different tiers, both of which include a Longevity Report at the end. The report scores how you did on each trial, ranks you against your peers, and forecasts your healthspan based on the data. Both tiers also come with a one-year subscription to The Super Age Standard, the training platform built around the eight markers.

The Athlete Pass is the entry point. It includes the eight-trial competition, the Longevity Report, the training platform, and access to the Super Age community.

The Champion Pass goes further. On top of everything in the Athlete Pass, it adds clinical lab work through WHOOP Advanced Labs covering 65 biomarkers, an enhanced version of the Longevity Report that integrates those results, and a one-on-one training consultation with a Super Age Games coach. For those already deep in the longevity space, it’s a way to integrate training data with clinical data.

The world’s first longevity fitness event.

Super Age is keeping the format of each trial secret until competition day, though they’ll release training protocols in the run-up to the event.

That secrecy may be the most interesting part. Most fitness competitions tell you exactly what you’re training for and ask you to reach a certain peak, which is what sets the Super Age Games apart.

The format lets you see where you actually stand across the markers that determine healthspan, and decide what to do with that information afterward. Anyone can compete, from those who’ve been training for fitness their whole lives to those who don’t yet know where they stand.

When competition centers on aging well, fitness stops being about peak output and starts being about staying capable in the long run.