I’ll live to be 101.
That’s not idle speculation. It’s the informed prediction of Longevity Westport.
You may not have heard of the place. It’s in the former Shoreline Pharmacy space, near Shake Shack and Fjord Fisheries, across from Home Goods near the Southport line.
Since opening last year, they haven’t done much promotion. They never had a ribbon-cutting.
Longevity, on the Post Road in Westport.
But people find them. And because they offer something no one else does — for many miles around — they draw clients from as far as New York.
It’s not easy to explain what Longevity does. It is, however, easy to get caught in their technical fitness training weeds.
But let me try.
Longevity offers 3 types of testing. Non-invasive, quick — but highly sophisticated — they measure things like muscle mass, bone density, metabolism, cardiovascular health, oxygen consumption and more.
On a screen and with color printouts, you can see (with Longevity’s expert help) things like skeletal strength, and where and how your muscle and fat is distributed inside your body.
For example, I have less fat and more muscle on my left side than my right, even though I’m right-handed. I’m guessing that’s because of how I breathe during my daily, hour-long swims. (That regimen may be part of why Longevity determines I’ll live past the century mark.)
Not to brag or anything, but I got an A+ on my test. Look at all that green!
Detailed knowledge like that helps you (or your personal trainer) plan workouts. No more guesswork (“Looks like you could do a bit more with your abs”).
It may also help with financial planning. If I’m going to live to be 101, I can’t spend too much on gifts this holiday season, right?
One of the 3 tests — DEXA — is the reason Simon Bland decided to open Longevity. A Greenwich CrossFit athlete, he wanted some baseline measurements. The nearest DEXA testing was an hour away.
Fairfield County is filled with fitness enthusiasts. Whether they’re triathletes or folks fitting in an hour workout before or after work; older men and women wanting to live healthily (and to 101), or teenagers dreaming of scholarships for soccer, football, baseball or softball, he realized they could benefit from knowing as much as possible about their muscle, fat and bones.
A body mass index test tells very little. A DEXA scan — with over 400 points of measurement — is much more helpful.
Inside Longevity. The DEXA scan machine is at left.
It doesn’t hurt that DEXA can also provide early warning detection for coronary artery disease, and risks of diabetes, osteoporosis and hormone imbalance.
It sounds expensive. It isn’t. Longevity charges $149 for one test, $275 for two, $399 for three.
The other tests are VO2 max and Resting Metabolic Rate. Those can be used to determine exact caloric burn, maximum oxygen usage, and target heart rate. For more details — diving deep in the weeds — ask Longevity.
Much of the science went over my head. But I was impressed with the printouts, and the depth of the analysis.
So was Ryan Smith. The ESPN anchor was leaving as I arrived. He’d just been tested.
An avid runner, he — like the owner Bland, a couple of years earlier — had been looking for a convenient place for a DEXA scan.
Yet even though Longevity has been open for nearly 2 years, and is just a mile or so from Smith’s home, until recently he had no idea it was here.
Welcome to Westport, Longevity. Long may you thrive.
I will celebrate my 101st birthday there.
(For more information on Longevity Westport, click here.)
(I will live to be 101. But to ensure “06880”‘s continued health, please consider a contribution. Click here to support. Thank you!)