VO2 Max

You have likely heard me talk about the importance of knowing and tracking your VO₂ max. As Alex Hutchinson and I discussed in episode #151, your VO₂ max refers to the maximum rate at which your muscles can extract oxygen from your blood and put it to metabolic use to generate energy. Your VO₂ max is often used as an indicator of overall cardiorespiratory fitness and can serve as a metric for tracking progress.

As I discussed in detail during AMA #27 and again on Twitter in early March 2022, when looking at VO₂ max in relation to all-cause mortality, we see a very clear trend. Simply bringing your VO₂ max from ‘low’ (bottom 25th percentile) to ‘below average’ (25th to 50th percentile) is associated with a 50% reduction in all-cause mortality. When you go from ‘low’ to ‘above average’ (50th to 75th percentile) the risk reduction is closer to 70%!

The following is a collection of content diving deeper into the topic of VO₂ max, including: what it is, how it is measured, and how to improve your VO₂ max with Zone 5 training.

Exercise

Free Article

Why this exercise study isn’t answering the question you think it is

Exercise

AMA

A guide to cardiorespiratory training at any fitness level to improve healthspan, lifespan, and long-term independence

Ep. #379 (AMA #79)

Exercise

Guest Episode

Women’s health and performance: how training, nutrition, and hormones interact across life stages

Ep. #378 with Abbie Smith-Ryan, Ph.D.

Longevity

AMA

Longevity interventions, exercise, diagnostic screening, and managing high apoB, hypertension, metabolic health, and more

Ep. #376 (AMA #78)

Guest Episodes

Guest Episode

A new era of longevity science: models of aging, human trials of rapamycin, biological clocks, promising compounds, and lifestyle interventions

Ep. #357 with Brian Kennedy, Ph.D.

Exercise

AMA

Preserving brain health, optimizing exercise programming, improving body composition, and more

Ep. #356 (AMA #73)

Exercise

Guest Episode

Injury prevention, recovery, and performance optimization for every decade

Ep. #350 with Kyler Brown, D.C.

Exercise

AMA

Building strength and muscle mass: how to optimize training, nutrition, and more for longevity

Ep. #349 (AMA #71)

Longevity

Podcast Summary

Peter’s takeaways on aerobic exercise and VO2 max, insulin resistance, rising healthcare costs, treating children with autism and ADHD, and strength training

Ep. #338

Longevity

AMA

Fasting, well-balanced diets, alcohol, exercise for busy people, wearables, emotional health, assessing cardiovascular health, and more

Ep. #336 (AMA #68)

Exercise

Guest Episode

Optimizing endurance performance: metrics, nutrition, lactate, and more insights from elite performers

Ep. #331 with Olav Aleksander Bu

Exercise

Free Article

High-intensity interval training and cognitive function in older adults: promising but limited findings

Other tactics, tools, & treatments

Free Article

Could plasma protein levels be a surrogate for VO2 max testing as a measure of cardiorespiratory fitness?

Exercise

Is zone 5 training okay to do immediately following zone 2 training?

with IÑIGO SAN-MILLÁN, PH.D.

Exercise

Podcast Episode

Exercise for aging people: where to begin, and how to minimize risk while maximizing potential

Ep. #307

Exercise

Podcast Summary

NEW: Introducing podcast summaries - Peter shares his biggest takeaways on muscle protein synthesis, VO2 max, toe strength, gut health, and more

Ep. #304

Medications & supplements

Podcast Episode

Special episode: Peter on exercise, fasting, nutrition, stem cells, geroprotective drugs, and more — promising interventions or just noise?

Ep. #300

Exercise

Free Article

With exercise, results matter more than “time served”

Exercise

Premium Article

The [almost] unbelievable effects of a high maximal aerobic capacity on all-cause mortality

Exercise

Guest Episode

Peak athletic performance: How to measure it and how to train for it from the coach of the most elite athletes on earth

Ep. #294 with Olav Aleksander Bu

Exercise

AMA

High-intensity interval training: benefits, risks, protocols, and impact on longevity

Ep. #293 (AMA #57)

Nutrition

Free Article

Does low iron intake change exercise capacity?

Exercise

AMA

Exercise: longevity-focused training, goal setting, improving deficiencies, managing emotional stress, and more

Ep. #285 (AMA #55)

Exercise

AMA

Heart rate recovery, strength training, rucking, kidney function, and brain health

Ep. #262 (AMA #49)