Happy Thursday Zapien 👋

This week, we're sprinting into the world of VO2 max. It's not just for elite athletes – it's a crucial marker of your longevity. Discover how this powerful metric shapes your health and how you can boost it.

Ready, set, go!
Lisa, Karol & Simon

TODAY’S ISSUE

LONGEVITY BEAT

VO2 max is not only a marker of cardiorespiratory fitness, it’s a strong predictor of longevity. The better your cardiorespiratory fitness (and the higher your VO2 max), the more likely you are to live longer.

What’s VO2 max?

VO2 max is a measure of your aerobic capacity. It provides a number to understand your body's effectiveness in using oxygen to produce energy at the highest level of effort.

The higher your VO2 max, the more oxygen you can take in and convert to energy, increasing your ability to perform tasks.

VO2 max is expressed in milliliters per minute per kilogram, which is the maximum liters of oxygen that can be transported and used per minute, standardized for body weight.

How to measure your VO2 max

Measuring your VO2 max accurately involves performing a maximal exercise test on a treadmill or bike while connected to a machine that can analyze your exhaled air. This test provides data on the amount of oxygen you use during exercise and determines your maximum oxygen consumption during exercise.

If you do not have access to a gas analysis, there are simpler ways to understand your VO2 max that you can do on your own without going to a lab.

You can try the Rockport Walking Test, which measures your heart rate after a one-mile walk. Use a Rockport Calculator to get your VO2 max results. Learn more in 60 seconds →

Another option is the Cooper Test, which uses the distance you can cover in a 12-minute run to calculate your VO2 max. Learn more in 2 min →

Or you can use a wearable fitness tracker that estimates your VO2 max based on your heart rate and other metrics during your workouts (learn more in today’s product comparison).

VO2 max benchmarks

How to improve it

SHORT HACK, LONG LIFE

The 80/20 rule for increasing VO2 max is a simple yet effective training principle that can be integrated into your fitness routine to promote longevity. Here's how it works:

1. 80% Low-Intensity Training:
Spend 80% of your training time doing low-intensity exercises. This means activities where you can easily hold a conversation, like brisk walking, light jogging, or cycling at a comfortable pace. This type of training strengthens your heart and improves blood flow, both crucial for increasing your VO2 max.

2. 20% High-Intensity Training:
Allocate the remaining 20% of your training time to high-intensity workouts. These are activities that significantly elevate your heart rate and make it hard to speak more than a few words at a time. Think of activities like sprinting, interval training, or hill climbs. This kind of training pushes your heart and lungs to adapt to higher workloads, effectively boosting your VO2 max.

By balancing low and high-intensity workouts, you train your body to be more efficient at using oxygen, which is what VO2 max is all about. Remember, consistency is key, so integrate this rule into your routine steadily and enjoy the long-term benefits!

RECOMMENDED

Fitness trackers measuring VO2 max

While labs still offer the most precise VO2 max measurement, fitness trackers have evolved significantly. Over time, they’re the most convenient, continuous and cheapest option. Even if their measurement (or approximation) is not 100% correct, you’ll see whether you’re trending up or down.

It is impossible to come up with an objective recommendation taking all features and use cases into account. This is our guide based on our network’s experiences, focussing on reasonable VO2 max tracking. Because the same sensors and algorithms are used across models, different instruments from the same manufacturer should estimate VO2 max with the same accuracy.

Conflict of interest: None! We get no money for product links. We promote what we find useful. Please do your own research.

HEALTH & LONGEVITY NEWS

WORTH A READ

ZAPIEN OF THE WEEK

Fabian 🇩🇪

What are you currently optimizing?

I’m currently preparing for the Ironman WC Hawaii in October, therefore I’m trying to prime my body holistically for performance. This encompasses training, where I’m working with a coach, as well as Prehab, to avoid injury, Nutrition and overall Recovery (esp. Sleep).

Training-wise, winter is usually the time to optimize for VO2 max and make the engine as powerful as possible. Whereas, during spring and summer, it’s more about becoming efficient and sacrificing the peak power for longer endurances. 

Due to working with a coach, training has been pretty dialled in, so at the moment I’m optimizing Sleep and Recovery for myself. So far the biggest levers have been reducing bedtime variability and ditching the phone and screens before bed. Also, I’ve been working with Magnesium and Protein before going to bed.

What’s your favourite tool?

My daily companions are Whoop and Garmin combined with Strava. I’m working together with a coach to fine-tune training from week to week via TrainingPeaks. However, since I have been missing a holistic picture from these different silos, I’ve been working on my own tool to better understand long-term trends of performance and recovery with athlete-corner.com. The biggest eye-opener for me has been understanding that HRV helps understand how recovered (or stressed) your body is, but has little to no significance for daily performance capability.

BECAUSE WE LOVE NUMBERS

⚡️ 45 days ⚡️

For every unit increase in VO2 max, you may live 45 days longer, according to a 4-decade study of over 5000 middle-aged, healthy men.

ABOUT US

Lisa has a PhD in Medical Biology. She was a researcher at Harvard Medical before developing D2C laboratory diagnostics.

Karol is a serial founder who helped thousands of people build healthy eating habits with Upfit.

Simon is a healthcare entrepreneur who brought the doctor online-booking service Doctolib to Germany.

WHEN YOU ARE READY, THIS IS HOW WE CAN HELP YOU

Health Disclaimer

New Zapien’s products and services are not intended to substitute for professional medical guidance. Our content and media offerings do not aim to diagnose, cure, or address any medical issues.