While there has been a microphone held to the voices of “lift heavy and build muscle to age well,” it seems the simple truth that cardio is imperative to help us age well has been pushed to the shadows.
We do need muscle to age well and to prevent disease (see my blog post on it here), however, we also need to have a healthy functioning cardiorespiratory system.
One aspect to our cardiorespiratory system is a measurement known as VO2 Max.
Simply put, VO2 max is your body’s ability to use oxygen while exercising - specifically its maximum ability to do so - hence the term VO2 max.
It measures how well your heart, lungs, and muscles can transport oxygen efficiently.
You might be thinking, “Well I rarely do extensive cardio, nor do I plan to, so why should I care?”
Because your cardiorespiratory system is used everyday during what are called, activities of daily living.
One of the hallmarks of poor aging is to have difficulties completing activities of daily living.
Here is one symptom of a poor VO2 max:
poor cardiovascular fitness (it’s hard to do cardio in general), which in turn makes simple tasks like going up the stairs or going around the block challenging.
VO2 max has been linked to longevity for this reason.
Here are some other shocking numbers.
A low VO2 max has been shown to increase the risk of:
- Stroke by 60%
- Cancer by 45%
- Heart disease by 70%
- Type 2 diabetes by 85%
- Alzheimer’s disease by 40%
Show me a medication that can do that.
The good news is that slightly increasing your VO2 max will have a significant impact on your longevity and health.
So how do you measure it?
VO2 max can be measured with wearable devices that monitor heart rate, etc. However, to truly know your VO2 max, you would need to do a cardiopulmonary test which is done on a treadmill with many monitors. That’s not practical.
So here are some other ways to measure it if you don’t have a device that can estimate your cardiorespiratory fitness:
- Time yourself for a 1 mile full effort run or walk
- Cooper test: see how far of a distance you can cover in 12 minutes
I personally would not get too hung up on numbers of exact VO2 max. What’s more important is that we are maintaining or improving it as we age, rather than letting it decrease, and you can use these above mentioned gauges to do so.
How do you improve VO2 max?
- Avoid being sedentary.
The typical path to aging is to move less. All you have to do is follow the path of life, and next thing you know you’re sitting in front of the TV, sitting at a desk, driving in a car, and boom, you’re sedentary.
Not only does this cause a host of other health issues, but being sedentary makes our VO2 max worse as we age.
That’s why everyone should… - Walk more.
Walking will improve your VO2 max. It is the foundation to fitness as we age. That’s great you can lift weights, but can you walk around the block a few times?
Walking 7,000 steps per day has been shown to decrease the risk for all-cause mortality by 47% compared to those who just walk 2,000 steps per day. (All cause-mortality means any death from any cause. 47%!!!)
Walking is effective, easy, and there is no right or wrong. Indoors, outdoors, walking pad, treadmill, just do it. It will help to raise your VO2 max. - Zone 2 cardio.
Zone 2 cardio is cardio where you get your heart rate up, but you’re still able to carry a conversation. If you want to get specific on heart rate numbers for you specifically, you can, but it isn’t necessary.
Just know that putting in a little more effort with movement will get you there. It’s not a sprint, it’s a low-stress effort you can maintain.
For many people it is walking. It can also be swimming, biking, light jogging, etc.
It is very effective at improving our mitochondria health, as well. It is a great reminder that low, consistent effort reaps great rewards. - High intensity interval training (HIIT).
HIIT training gives you a big bang for the shortest amount of time.
This is when you put in maximum effort during exercise in the form of intervals.
HIIT has been shown to improve VO2 max by 15-20% in only 6-12 weeks.
However, I would utilize this if you are not a beginner at working out. Look at it as an extra, focusing on walking and daily movement is always key.
We all know we need a healthy heart to age well, but are we using it and supporting it properly?
Movement is key.
The goal with VO2 max is to have it increase or remain high as we age.
Using these tools will help you do so.
You can improve your quality of life as you age. You can use small, consistent habits to help you age well.
Do you need help creating a plan to do so? Click here to apply to join my personalized coaching program to help you age well and hit your goals.
