With modern-day tools to determine the status of our bodies and the average lifespan of individuals, it’s easy to get lost in the wide variety of stats and graphs of various health metrics. Dr. Peter Attia, therefore, revealed how measuring one’s VO2 max was the ultimate indicator of understanding longevity and making changes to one’s lifestyle accordingly.
In a conversation with international sports scientist and coach Olav Aleksander Bu, Dr. Attia discussed in length how VO2 max worked and its efficiency in measuring one’s lifespan. Amidst various nuances of the metric, including the exception of its performance for extreme athletes, the duo dived deeper into its workings.
VO2 max is the volume of oxygen consumed by an individual during intense or maximal exercise, often scrutinized in the case of athletes to get a better look into their performance. Being a triathlete coach, Olav vouched for the metric’s quality and ability to paint a better picture of the body’s condition.
Dr. Attia kickstarted the conversation by listing some of the claims about VO2 Max’s surprising superiority over other metrics. These factors included chronic illnesses, habits, diseases, etc. that could otherwise give an easy indication of one’s lifespan.
“…whether you smoke or don’t smoke, whether you have diabetes or don’t have diabetes…all of those things play an important role in predicting the length of your life but not as much as having a very high VO2 Max.”
It’s no secret that the amount of oxygen consumed and the body’s ability to retain and work with that oxygen determines how good one’s health can get. Biologist Gary Brecka has also spoken about this phenomenon in extensive detail. This is primarily the basis of upholding VO2 max as the best health indicator among all others.
“The more oxygen you are capable of turning around per time, the more calories, or let’s say, the more fats, proteins, carbohydrates…you are able to break down and release energy that you can use for forward propulsion in the process. And that’s why VO2 measurement is a Holy Grail metric…”
This process is especially useful when an individual fights health issues or sickness since they utilize more oxygen to produce more energy to deal with it. VO2 max is crucial to keep a check on and improve as and when one can.
Dr. Peter Attia once revealed the best way to improve one’s VO2 max levels
In a conversation with physiologist Dr. Mike Joyner, Dr. Attia stressed the importance of maintaining one’s health and longevity chances with the help of VO2 max. For this, he suggested a simple ‘four-on-four’ protocol that included exercise and rest.
The protocol essentially involves four minutes of an incline run or a session on the bike that includes resistance. After four minutes of exercise subsides, one must immediately follow it up with four minutes of rest, involving no activity. The individual should continue this process in a loop for better results.
