VO2MAX & LONGEVITY | Why It’s NOT Just For Elite Endurance Athletes
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 12 ส.ค. 2023
- VO2max is a metric most with a smart watch are now familiar with, and is synonymous with elite endurance athletes like cyclists, runners and triathletes. But, what relevance does it have to the every day person? Here’s a breakdown of some very important need to knows about how our learnings from elite endurance athletes has led to uncovering why VO2max is such a strong predictor of how well you’ll live out the rest of your life.
References mentioned (in order):
[1] Strasser B, Burtscher M. Survival of the fittest: VO2max, a key predictor of longevity?. Frontiers in Bioscience-Landmark. 2018 Mar 1;23(8):1505-16.
[2] Laukkanen JA, Zaccardi F, Khan H, Kurl S, Jae SY, Rauramaa R. Long-term change in cardiorespiratory fitness and all-cause mortality: a population-based follow-up study. InMayo Clinic Proceedings 2016 Sep 1 (Vol. 91, No. 9, pp. 1183-1188).
[3] Mandsager K, Harb S, Cremer P, Phelan D, Nissen SE, Jaber W. Association of cardiorespiratory fitness with long-term mortality among adults undergoing exercise treadmill testing. JAMA network open. 2018 Oct 5;1(6):e183605-. - กีฬา
Have you ever considered the impact of a higher VO2max beyond just on your sports performance?
From my experience, the total VO2 max doesn’t change much with training. But we usually measure VO2max/kg of bodyweight. So a decrease in bodyweight or body fat makes the number go up. Example: one man has a VO2 max of 3800ml/min. At 80 kg, he has 47,5 ml/kg/min. If he drops 15kg to 65kg, he would jump to 58.5 ml/kg/min. The difference in longevity might have more to do with the lower body fat, rather than the vo2 max itself
I’ll be honest, that’s false.
Having administered over 1500 tests in the lab I can say with absolute certainty VO2max can and will improve when weight remains constant.
Yes weight reduction will influence the relative VO2 number but unless you’re peaking your genetic potential VO2 can increase.
@@NJSportSciencewhat do you consider a relevant improvement? I said it doesn’t improve much, but of course that’s subjective. Improving 1% of total vo2 max is not that much in my opinion, but for other people might be a valuable improvement.
Spot on, definitely highly contextual to who we’re talking about. Most recreational/amateurs could easily see 2-5% or possibly more (had a few cases of 10% and more in pretty quick time) but then you have the top end amateur/elite who might struggle to find 1-2% at times.
My weight's been a constant 140lb +/- for almost 2 years now through an elevated amount of pretty heavy bicycle training load. I use power meters and accurate HR on a strap with Garmin. Started at around 50 and the graph has trended up and down to 64 at the highest. I had a couple Max vo2 tests in the lab when I was young (I'm 53 now) so I know what my biological limits, are/were, and I know the Garmin might not be accurate TO the number, but it should be accurate in showing a change in Max v02. The change I observed correlated directly with increase in power in watts over my efforts as well. Physiological changes, mitochondrial size and numbers, muscle mass, capillary density, all going to affect your ability to utilize oxygen in your system, logically.
Can we trust a Garmin watch VO2 max value? Mine has been I the 48 to 52 range and I'm in my 60s. I was a couch potato for 20 years before taking up cycling for health reasons in the early 2000s. I'm so far from an elite athlete it's not funny 😢😂
If you entered your correct maximum heart rate into your garmin device, it should be reasonably close to your actual VO2max. For me it was off by 1 ml/kg/min after i did a lab test. I would habe to add that i am also using a power meter and an edge 530 with a chest strap, which might increase the accuracy compared to a watch.
@@lorenzo6176 I'm using a Garmin 1040 and a power meter combined with a chest strap for HR so maybe it's in the ball park. Thanks!
Wondering as well... I'm in my 70's and I'm the same(Garmin - 52 VO2 at present) I weigh 70kg and have a Zwift FTP of 231 and I don't consider myself elite. I do ride a lot >250km a week.
Elite general population vs elite athlete is a very different category, but the numbers you mention there I’m not surprised you’d still have a pretty solid VO2max and in the 50’s makes a bit if sense.
Hey Nick, do you have the citations for the articles :)?
Just added to the description, didn’t save when I first hit publish. Go check them out in there.
@@NJSportScience Thank you!
Not to be this person, but aren’t these just statistical correlations? A high vo2 max may mostly be an indicator of a specific lifestyle. A statistical reduction with an overall mortality rate ist probably causally related to this lifestyle, not this metric, right?
I mean an increase in 1 ml/kg/min already decreased mortality by 9% but there is no significant change in lifestyle required to achieve this. But i do agree that for larger increases in VO2max this might hold true to some extent. And the end result is also still the same no matter what causes it.
@@lorenzo6176 I also wonder about the testing itself. A vo2 max test takes time, equipment, facilities and personell. The sample size is quite significant and I wonder if all of those were truly tested, or if they were just asked to submit their Garmin data
The metric is representative of the lifestyle for sure. Good luck having a higher than average VO2max by being sedentary.
Most the of the changes that lead to these significant mortality reductions are when you go from low to below average on the norms, in reality most with some level of consistent weekly aerobic training would be well above these categories and ultimately wouldn’t experience the same relative improvement.
"In a multivariate analysis adjusted for baseline age, VO2max, systolic blood pressure, smoking status, low- and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol and triglyceride levels, C-reactive protein level, body mass index, alcohol consumption, physical activity, socioeconomic status, and history of type 2 diabetes mellitus and ischemic heart disease, a 1 mL/min*kg higher DVO2max was associated with a 9% relative risk reduction of all-cause mortality" from one of the studies. I guess the only thing missing to control for is diet?
Think of it this way: the most damning diseases currently affecting us today all share some degree of metabolic dysfunction and dysregulation of aerobic metabolism. VO2max is a measure of the capacity and functionality of that metabolism. Improve VO2max, reduce risk of said diseases. I wouldn't get caught up in the semantics. In the end of the day there is NO assessment that correlates more strongly with longevity than VO2max. That should be enough to warrant knowing this number.