(As Transcribed from Mini-Med Minutes Podcast)

 

There’s two things that I could tell you that unequivocally will make you live longer and stronger.

 

The first one is, the degree of the relationships in your life.

 

Basically, how many friends you have, and how close they are to you.

 

I’m definitely not qualified to help you with that one.

 

But the second thing… is VO2 Max.

 

Now we’ve been talking a lot about nutrition because those topics come about naturally on this channel. I’m a pharmacist, it only makes sense.

 

But nutrition is only a piece of the puzzle and I’m sure everyone listening to this knows that.

 

Nutrition, which are the inputs of your body… is just a lot easier to deal with, because it’s a matter of what you do or don’t put in your body. 

 

Should I eat this stalk of celery? … maybe

 

Should I eat this Hershey’s chocolate bar? … still maybe lol

 

This is in contrast to the outputs… which are commonly forms of exercise that… a lot of people will do their absolute BEST to avoid because it requires… actual… work

 

…as well as soaking up a considerable amount of time that could have been allocated elsewhere.

 

But that exercise as we all know is absolutely necessary to maintain a strong body, without question.

 

And one of the metrics that we look at to describe how strong your body is… is VO2 Max.

 

So today we’re going to be stepping away from our normal topics of supplements and we’ll talk about a general health topic because that is what we’re about… overall health.

 

So What is VO2 Max?

 

So, what exactly is VO2 max? 

 

At its core, VO2 max, or maximal oxygen consumption, is a measure of your body’s ability to take in and use oxygen during exercise. 

 

It represents the maximum volume of oxygen that your body can use per minute, relative to your body weight and it can be used as an indicator of your cardiovascular fitness.

 

When you engage in physical activity, your muscles require oxygen to produce energy. 

 

The more efficiently your body can deliver and use that oxygen, the better your performance and endurance. 

 

In other words, VO2 max shows you how well your cardiovascular system—which includes your heart, lungs, and blood vessels—can supply oxygen to your muscles.

 

In technical terms, VO2 max is usually expressed in milliliters of oxygen used per minute per kilogram of body weight (so…ml/kg/min).

 

And the higher VO2 max values indicate a higher level of cardiovascular fitness and aerobic capacity.

 

You usually measure your VO2 max through exercise tests conducted in special labs. During these tests, you typically perform progressively intense exercises (like… it keeps getting harder and harder) on a treadmill or stationary bike while your oxygen consumption is measured.

 

So if you see those clips online with like a dude on a treadmill wearing a mask while he’s running. They could be measuring VO2 Max.

 

However, there are also field tests and wearable devices that can provide estimates of your VO2 max without the need for a lab.

 

For instance, if you have an Apple Watch. You can go to your health app on your phone, scroll down to see all health data and somewhere towards the bottom you’ll see your VO2 max which is calculated when you’re wearing the watch and you do something like a hike or an outdoor run.

 

Understanding VO2 max is important because it helps us gauge not just our athletic performance, but also our overall health. 

 

It provides some insight into how well our cardiovascular system is functioning and can even predict our risk of developing certain health conditions… 

 

…like high blood pressure, risk of heart attack, stroke, some respiratory conditions like COPD, there’s been some association with mental health conditions, and of course as mentioned previously…overall risk of mortality, which is how long you’re expected to live.

 

How does VO2 Max relate to your cardiovascular health on a technical level

 

When should we care about VO2 Max?

 

So when should we care about VO2 Max?

 

Each and every day.

 

Naturally, it typically peaks in our 20s or early 30s and starts to decline from there.

 

Some research has shown that it naturally declines approximately 1% per year after the age of 30 and becomes more pronounced in the later years, especially if we’re not exercising enough.

 

And there’s 4 major reasons why.

 

Number 1: Reduced heart efficiency. When we get older, our heart muscles become less efficient at pumping blood, and our stroke volume (which is the amount of blood the heart pumps with each beat or squeeze) …decreases. And when it decreases it affects the amount of oxygen delivered to our muscles when we exercise, leading to a lower VO2 max.

 

Number 2 : Decreased Lung Function. Your lungs become less elastic as you get older. And because it becomes more rigid, it’s a lot harder to bring in as much oxygen as you used to.

 

Number 3: Loss of Muscle mass or Sarcopenia. When you get older, your muscle tissue will naturally diminish meaning that your muscles will have a hard time using the oxygen even if your oxygen delivery system… is working just fine.

 

And Number 4: Reduced Physical Activity. This one is definitely more of a habit. On average, older people are just less physically active and we’re not talking about sports and athletics, we’re talking about a sedentary lifestyle. 

 

So as you can see, getting older is a constant battle with your own body.

 

Now, improving VO2 max requires regular physical activity, particularly aerobic exercise, which not only enhances cardiovascular health but has profound effects on overall quality of life. 

 

The very activities that boost VO2 max—like walking, running, cycling, and swimming—offer both physical and mental benefits that extend far beyond improving oxygen capacity. 

 

I’m going to go over a lot of them here, and… it’s a long list but I want to emphasize how many things it affects in order to persuade you to consider doing it.

 

One of the most noticeable effects is the improvement in mobility, which is important in maintaining independence and physical freedom, especially when we get older and I know a lot of my patients don’t want their kids to have to constantly look after them.

 

One of the key ways that VO2 max improves quality of life is by improving your mobility. 

 

The exercise necessary to increase VO2 max helps build not just cardiovascular fitness but also muscle strength, endurance, and flexibility—all of which are elements to maintaining mobility and physical function.

 

Activities like walking, jogging, or cycling strengthen the muscles in your legs, core, and back. You need these muscles for everyday tasks like standing up from a chair, walking up stairs, or carrying groceries. By building and maintaining these muscles, you have greater stability and balance, and you reduce your risk of falls and injury.

 

Regular aerobic exercise keeps joints flexible and reduces stiffness, which is particularly important for older adults. Exercise that boosts VO2 max also helps manage conditions like arthritis because the increased blood flow to your joints can reduce inflammation and pain.

 

When we get older, as I mentioned, coordination and balance typically decline, leading to risks of falls and fractures. But… improving VO2 max through consistent exercise also improves neuromuscular coordination. So when you regularly challenge your body with exercise, your ability to control movements gets better… your balance and coordination get better… reducing your risk of accidentally tripping and falling.

 

Exercise that improves VO2 max is also highly effective in increasing energy levels. One of the hallmarks of cardiovascular fitness is enhanced oxygen delivery to muscles, which allows the body to perform tasks with less effort. When VO2 max increases, activities that felt tiring before—like climbing stairs, walking long distances, or even household chores—get a lot easier.

 

The exercise necessary to improve VO2 max also enhances your body’s recovery processes. After doing physical activities, people with a higher VO2 max tend to recover faster, as their bodies are better equipped to clear out metabolic waste and restore normal function which lets these people stay active for longer periods without feeling sore or tired.

 

Exercise isn’t just good for the body—it’s also good for the mind. Physical activity has been proven to reduce symptoms of anxiety, depression, and stress, while boosting mood and cognitive function.

 

Regular aerobic exercise triggers the release of endorphins—the “feel-good” hormones—which improve mood and reduce stress. This can lead to a more positive outlook on life, better emotional resilience, and improved mental health overall.

 

Higher VO2 max is associated with better brain health, including improved memory. As your cardiovascular system gets better, so does blood flow to the brain, which can help delay the onset of cognitive decline and reduce the risk of conditions like dementia or Alzheimer’s disease.

 

Lastly, improving VO2 max through exercise has long-term benefits for life expectancy. Studies have consistently shown that people with higher VO2 max levels tend to live longer and have a lower risk of premature death. Beyond merely adding years to life, boosting VO2 max improves the quality of those years. You’re able to move freely, enjoy outdoor activities, and maintain an active social life leads to greater life satisfaction and overall happiness.

 

I hope that convinced you that this is important.

 

So what are some ways to improve VO2 max?

 

There’s HIIT or High Intensity Interval Training.

 

Where you alternate between short bursts of intense exercise and recovery that force your heart and lungs to their limits which improves your oxygen uptake over time.

 

An example would be sprinting for 30 seconds, and then walking for 1-2 minutes and repeating that over a period of 8 cycles.

 

There’s the opposite of that which is just regular steady-state aerobics training which is your traditional walking or jogging, cycling, swimming, or rowing at moderate intensity. And that looks something like 60-70% of your maximum heart rate.

 

There’s something like Fartlek Training which means “Speed Play” in Swedish which is a mix of the two… where you still try to push your heart and lungs to a limit but maintain the endurance aspect by continuing and aerobic exercise.

 

So that could look like 1-2 minutes of fast running followed by 5-10 minutes of jogging and cycling those two exercises over time.

 

There’s hill training which is exactly what it sounds like. Having to lift your body against gravity requires more oxygen to the muscles in your legs which increases workload and VO2 over time.

 

And taking that further to your entire body is weight training where putting heavy weights on certain muscle parts force your body to drive more oxygen there.

 

A trick here would be to do more compound movements that involve multiple muscle groups like squats, deadlifts, lunges, and pushups.

 

Outro

 

So to wrap things up, I hope this provides some insight into something you didn’t already know. I know a lot of people know the significance of exercise to health… but I think a lot of people don’t know what kind of metric we actually look for. Like what we can actually measure to see how effective our training actually is.

 

I do want to emphasize that the #1 take away from this is consistency. Doing HIIT training one a month will likely do close to nothing. And this is true with anything you do, including taking supplements and medicine because it’s difficult for a lot of people to do something without seeing immediate results.

 

Like people would be very convinced if they saw like… someone with wrinkles use a product that removes those wrinkles… if you used it every day for 5 years…

 

Whereas if you told someone to use this product for 5 years and you’ll never develop wrinkles, it will just seem less impressive. 

 

Because in their mind, they don’t have wrinkles yet, why bother to help prevent something that will never happen.

 

And it’s true, you don’t know. But again, this is all about risk reduction and in order to build that system, we have to build strong bodies over time.

 

“Rome wasn’t built in a day”

 

“Great things come to those who wait”

 

“The Journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step”

 

Use whatever analogy, proverbs, or adages you’d like… to bring that home.

 

Just remember that Extraordinary Results are the product of doing Ordinary Things for an Extraordinary Amount of Time.

 

Again, thanks for tuning in and I’ll see you next time!