One of the key indicators of health, and therefore longevity, is what is called your VO2 max. In fact, recent research shows that VO2 max is one of the strongest predictors of overall health and longevity, even more than blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, smoking and cholesterol levels.
In a nutshell, cardio is one of the best exercises for longevity.
What is VO2 Max?
The V stands for volume, and the O2 is oxygen. In such, VO2 max is the maximum volume of oxygen your body consumes while exercising. The higher the number, the more oxygen that is getting to your muscles, the better the shape you are considered to be in.
When you breathe, your lungs absorb oxygen and transport it your red blood cells, which carry the oxygen to all of your body’s organs and muscles. Your muscle cells need oxygen to generate adenosine triphosphate (ATP). ATP provides the main energy source your muscles need to do their work. The more oxygen you can breathe in, the more ATP your muscles produce, creating the energy to fuel your muscles and power your workout. (This is also why you breathe faster while exercising.)
If you have a higher VO2 max, that means your heart and lungs are more effectively supplying blood to your muscles, and that your muscles are efficiently extracting and using oxygen from your blood. That’s why a high VO2 max is a good indicator of a high fitness level.
Benefits of Improving your VO2 Max
Increasing your VO2 Max is associated with reduced risk of heart disease, diabetes, cancer and stroke. Plus better fitness is associated with improved sleep and quality of life.
How to Improve Your VO2 Max
The best way to improve your VO2 max is to get your heart pumping! And the fastest way to do that is with high intensity or sprint interval training. But those brisk walks I am always recommending? They provide an essential foundation for those HIIT sessions.
You see, brisk walking falls into the category of what we call Zone 2 training. It is one of the safest and most accessible ways to get your heart pumping, and if you do it with enough intensity that your heart rate rises and you get slightly out of breath then you will be improving the size and strength of your heart and you will actually be producing more mitochondria. Those cellular powerhouses that take all that oxygen you are breathing in and turn it into usable energy.
And so, this type of exercise sets your body up for harder more challenging forms, like HIIT and SIT.
What is HIIT?
High Intensity-Interval Training (HIIT) is done at 80-95% effort. • Interval duration ranges from 20 seconds to 4 minutes with variable recovery periods in between. There is usually a 1:1 work to rest ratio because the intervals are not as hard as SIT intervals (supramaximal). • Typically, the shorter the work interval the higher the effort level.
Benefit’s of HIIT
Improves cardiovascular health, even in postmenopausal women • Preserves lean muscle and metabolic flexibility during menopause • Helps improve body composition and fat-burning potential • More effective than moderate-intensity cardio for driving adaptation • Supports hormonal balance and healthy stress response with proper recovery • Time-efficient and effective.
Examples of HIIT
TABATAS: These are a form of HIIT workout that alternates between 20 seconds of work and 10 seconds of rest repeated eight times. Your session ends up lasting only four minutes (not including a warm-up or cooldown) long. I usually do two rounds of this, equaling 8 minutes of HIIT, with a warm up and a cool down added on top of course. Because of the short nature of these the intensity is usually quite high and I pick an exercise I can stop and start quite quickly like jump squats, skipping, burpees, ball slams, kettlebell swings or spinning.
NORWEGIAN 4×4: This is a HIIT workout that alternates between 4 minutes of high intensity exercise and three minutes of active recovery, repeated four times. Like all workouts, you need to start this with a warmup. Assuming yours is 5 minutes long, and your cool down is 5 minutes long this workout should take you 35 minutes total. And so it would be a 5 minute warm up, four minutes of high intensity exercise, three minutes of recovery, repeated four times and then a cool down. Intense and amazing! This is my preferred form of HIIT and I love to do it on a spin bike. I find it hard to maintain any type of intensity doing anything else personally!
What is SIT?
Sprint Interval Training (SIT) involves a 110% supramaximal effort for the work interval, think: as hard as possible! • The interval is 30 seconds or less with variable recovery. The recovery can be as little as 30 seconds or as much as 3-4 minutes. • The goal of the rest interval is to completely recover to be able to hit the supramaximal effort again. • Because these are so hard, it’s advisable to start with 2-3 efforts when beginning this type of training. As your body adapts and you get fitter you can increase the number of efforts. Progressing to 8-10 efforts is ideal.
Benefits of SIT
Improves aerobic fitness and power • Improves cardiovascular function; research has shown it can help improve blood pressure in postmenopausal women • Strengthens and increases the amount of mitochondria • Can help increase total lean mass and reduce fat mass • Improves resting metabolic rate and insulin sensitivity • Time efficient—a highly effective way to build/maintain fitness on a time-crunched schedule.
Example of SIT
Because of the intensity, a SIT interval should be done on something that can get you up to speed quickly like a spin bike, sprinting on a track or using a weighted skipping rope. You can also do this with a weighted barbell and do power cleans or thrusters or even kettlebell swings . A treadmill, that takes time to get up to speed or a stair climber that would be difficult to navigate at at high speed would not be ideal.
Warmups and Control Are Key
Whether you are doing HIIT or SIT, being warmed up before you start it absolutely essential. I suggest you do A 5 – 10 minute warmup and be sure to include the activity you are about to do for your interval just at a lesser weight and/or a slower speed, ie squats, if you are doing squat jumps, jogging if you are about to sprint etc.
Control is also essential. Due to the fast nature of these exercises it is essential that you know how to perform them with skilled movement, and no ‘energy leaks’ or you risk getting injured. A good rule of thumb, if you can’t do it slowly with control, you shouldn’t do it quickly!
