#407 How to Improve VO2 Max and Why It's Important for Longevity - Brady Holmer MSc

Brady Holmer (0:00)

VO2Max is something you can't really game the system with VO2Max. You're either fit or you're not fit. Say yes, maybe you have a strong part, but if your lungs are weak, if your mitochondria are impaired somehow, your VO2Max is going to be low.

So having a high VO2Max really means that all of your systems are kind of operating on all cylinders, and I think that's one of the reasons why all of these studies are coming out showing, oh, it's very, very highly linked to healthspan and lifespan.

Siim Land (0:29)

Welcome to the Siim Land Podcast. I'm your host Siim Land, and our guest today is Brady Holmer. Brady has a master's degree in human performance from the University of Florida. He's a science author, marathon runner, and he posts information online about exercise, performance, VO2Max, and nutrition.

Brady, welcome to the show.

Brady Holmer (0:48)

Siim, thanks for having me on. I'm excited to chat.

Siim Land (0:51)

Yeah, I'm also excited to talk with you because I was following you on Twitter, so you had some nice posts about exercise and VO2Max. That were interesting. And I also noticed that you were following me.

So I figured out why not have a conversation and we'll have some interesting things to talk about.

Brady Holmer (1:08)

Yeah, definitely. I think it's happened to me a lot where basically people I meet on Twitter or X then become either guests on my podcast or I go on their podcast. So it's a great place to meet people and exchange ideas.

Siim Land (1:23)

Yeah, so you're kind of new to this online collaboration, I guess, then.

Brady Holmer (1:29)

A little bit, I think. I mean, I've been on podcasting for a while. I've been on X for quite a while, I think, but just kind of in terms of interacting with science and health influencers, I guess we can call them. I feel like I'm pretty new in that space, but it's been interesting over the past five to 10 years to see X evolve into somewhere that people can share information rather than just argue about stuff. But of course, a lot of that goes on as well, the arguing.

Siim Land (1:59)

Yeah, yeah, and I found your content on Twitter or X, and yeah, it was very interesting, specifically about things related to VO2max and cardio and endurance. And you've written a book about it as well, VO2max Essentials. So yeah, I'm mostly interested and excited to talk about VO2max because it's one of those really trendy topics over the past few years in the longevity space that is considered a very important biomarker for longevity.

And obviously many people want to increase it and know how to do that. So why don't we maybe start with what is VO2max and what does it actually measure or what does it mean?

Brady Holmer (2:43)

Yeah, for sure. So VO2max, it is, I would say, one of the most common or if not the most common measure of your cardio-respiratory fitness. And what the actual number represents is the maximal rate of your body's oxygen consumption during exercise to exhaustion. So if you were to go into a laboratory and start running on a treadmill and they increase the treadmill speed and maybe even the incline, and you ran and ran and ran and walked until you couldn't walk anymore, the point, your oxygen consumption at the point of exhaustion would be your VO2 max.

And what it reflects is the integrative ability of your lungs, so your respiratory system, your cardiovascular system, your skeletal muscles and your mitochondria to take in oxygen, deliver that oxygen to your mitochondria, and then turn or use that oxygen to produce energy or ATP.

And I think, you know, we'll get into this probably, but I think that that is one of the reasons why it's so strongly linked to healthspan, longevity, lower rates of morbidity and mortality, is because it's not just something like hand grip strength, where, oh, that means your grip strength is stronger, which is still, you know, associated with longevity, interestingly. But Vio2Max is something you can't really game the system with Vio2Max. You're either fit or you're not fit. And say, yes, maybe you have a strong cart, but if your lungs are weak, if your mitochondria are impaired somehow, your Vio2Max is going to be low. So having a high Vio2Max really means that all your systems are kind of operating on all cylinders. And I think that's one of the reasons why all of these studies are coming out showing, oh, it's very, very highly linked to, you know, health span and lifespan.

Siim Land (4:41)