Øystein Sæther was 56, busy, and far from active. As CFO at Powel in Trondheim, exercise wasn’t high on his list — until a company health initiative gave him the nudge he needed.
“When I first heard about Myworkout and Powel Active, I wasn’t sure it would make a difference,” Øystein admits. “But it was exciting to try something new — and I think a focus on health at work is really important.”
Before starting his new routine, Øystein took a health test that measured his biological age and oxygen uptake (VO₂max) — two of the strongest indicators of physical health.
The result shocked him.
His biological age came out at 67 — 11 years older than his real age.
“I felt like a pensioner,” he says. “But honestly, it gave me the motivation I needed to make a change.”
The test Øystein took was developed from over 25 years of research and is now available through Myworkout GO — an app that lets anyone measure their VO₂max easily and safely, indoors or outdoors.
With guidance from the program, Øystein began a 10-week training plan, performing two weekly sessions built around 4x4 intervals and 4x4 strength training — short, high-intensity workouts designed for measurable impact.
He kept at it, week after week.
When Øystein retook the test after 10 weeks, he was nervous. The nerves didn’t last long.
His new biological age: 27.
A 40-year reversal.
“It was a feeling of happiness that hit me when I saw the result,” he says. “I’d lost weight, had more energy — even hunting trips felt easier. I was in much better shape.”
Øystein’s transformation began through a workplace project, but it’s now personal.
His story shows what can happen when you train smart — not long.
“I really believe in this concept and the workouts the app provides,” he says.
Typical users see a 10-year reduction in biological age after just ten weeks of consistent 4x4 training.
Follow the same method, and you can achieve a biological age of 20 years — and sustain it well into your 80s.
Øystein’s results aren’t just impressive — they illustrate what decades of research have confirmed about how the body responds to the right kind of exercise.
A study by Professors Jan Hoff and Jan Helgerud, the researchers behind Myworkout’s methodology, showed that high-intensity interval training (HIIT) can significantly increase VO₂max even in older adults. In simple terms: when VO₂max goes up, biological age goes down.
The reason is clear — VO₂max is one of the strongest predictors of cardiovascular health and mortality and is observed to decrease by ~1% per year until old age, when the decline may accelerate. As a consequence, individuals suffer an elevated risk of cardiovascular disease and premature death with increasing age.
Moderate activity might slow that decline — but high-intensity intervals can reverse it. In the study, participants who trained using the 4x4 method saw remarkable gains in fitness, regardless of age. That’s what happened to Øystein. By training smarter — not longer — he improved his VO₂max and reduced his biological age by 40 years.
The lesson? Intensity matters. Just 16 focused minutes, twice a week, can redefine your health trajectory.
Test your oxygen uptake with Myworkout 4x4. Download it for free for iOS or Android.
