VO2Max: the best indicator of a long life

In health, we are always seeking a marker that shows good health. The equivalent of what is to illness, one marker that shows good health.

There is perhaps no better marker than VO2max.

So what is it, what does it show and how can you build yours? VO2max captures the limit of your body to absorb, transport, and use oxygen during activity.

It is not a theoretical construct. It is a direct reading of how your heart, lung and cells are working as a system.

To produce energy, your body takes in oxygen from your lungs, transfers it through blood to your body which is then pumped by your heart to every cell.

VO2Max is measuring your ability to do this.

When this number is high, every cell receives oxygen at a rate that supports sustained power output with minimal internal friction. A low number shows that your body is struggling to produce energy.

VO2Max slow down with age.

As you grow older the ability of your lungs to transfer oxygen to your blood reduces. The ability of your heart to pump blood slows down. You lose muscle. The number of mitochondria per cell reduces.

Each of these have a cascading effect on the ability to take in oxygen, transport it through the body and use it to produce energy.

Your VO2Max falls.

In fact, VO2Max is now increasingly being used as one of the best indicators of a healthy and long life. It is capturing the entire process of oxygenation across your entire body.

So what can you do to improve yours?

The answer lies in understanding the physiology of VO2max. V02max is an outcome of the efficiency of your lungs, heart and the amount of muscle and mitochondria per cell.

So if you improve your capacity, your VO2max will improve. When I started my journey my number was 27. At my best I have been 49. You can do the same.

Reach out to me on twitter @rbawri Instagram @riteshbawriofficial and YouTube at www.youtube.com/breatheagain