Login | May 20, 2025
VO2 max and health Part 2
PETE GLADDEN
Pete’s World
Published: May 19, 2025
Last week I talked about how VO2 max is now being used as a critical metric to not only access one’s current health status, but also to predict one’s vulnerability to the ravages of chronic age-related diseases.
Also discussed in last week’s column were the several methods that are used to obtain this VO2 max number - physical tests and predictive formulas.
So if you have obtained a VO2 max number through one of the aforementioned methods you can easily plug it into an age/gender VO2 max chart to see where you rate (poor, average, good, excellent, elite) in your peer group.
Thus, if your VO2 max number is pretty good then you’re most likely already doing cardio workouts that might incorporate VO2 workouts, typically called Zone 5 efforts.
Conversely, if your VO2 max number is poor to average, then you’re likely not doing much in the way of cardio workouts.
And all of this brings us to the $64,000 question: Just how do you go about improving that VO2 max number?
Well, there’s a gazillion different paths with which to improve your VO2 max number.
And the path you embark upon is going to be critically linked to your current health status, your age and your fitness level.
Those three factors are going to dictate where and how you’d begin a program that will lead you up to Zone 5 VO2 workouts.
If for instance you’ve been inactive for a significant period of time and you’re a man over 40 or a woman over 50 and/or you have one or more medical situations or maladies, then your first step wouldn’t even involve exercise.
Nope, these such scenarios necessitate that you schedule a thorough check-up at your doctor’s office prior to taking on any type of cardio program, let alone strenuous Z5 VO2 workouts.
And if your doc gives you the go-ahead to do cardio exercises your starting point, volume, intensity and workout selection would/should be programmed by a fitness specialist.
Now that strategy is vastly different than for men under 40 and women under 50 who are somewhat physically active and don’t have any medical contraindication for intense cardio exercise.
In these such scenarios cardiorespiratory activity could be safely taken on in a gradual manner where the individuals can participate in training protocols that eventually lead to Zone 5 VO2 efforts.
But remember, even apparently healthy and somewhat active individuals can’t just jump straight into VO2 workouts.
It takes time to prepare the cardiorespiratory system for this level of physical intensity.
But the good news is this: Most everyone can begin to improve their VO2 max number simply be doing virtually any type of aerobic exercise that gets their heart pumping in a vigorous manner.
Over time you can gradually incorporate more intense exercise sessions (80+% of VO2 max heart rate) into your weekly workout sessions until your body is capable of tolerating full blown Zone 5 VO2 sessions where you achieve HRs of 90% or more of your VO2 max heart rate.
Once you’re safely able to achieve Zone 5 HRs you might shoot for exercising at Z5 for round about a minute for several reps.
Then you gradually bump the time up to two minutes, to three minutes, etc., until you can attain the kinds of Zone 5 sessions that Dr. Peter Attia prescribes in his books and podcasts.
Dr. Attia is a proponent of the 4x4 Protocol, which goes like this: You’d shoot for four minutes of Zone 5 intensity exercise followed by four minutes of recovery for anywhere from three to six sets.
This kind of workout can be done two times a week maximum if you’ve built up a super good cardio base.
But let me tell you, Zone 5 VO2 workouts are painful endeavors, and getting to the point to where you can achieve even one to two sets of 4x4 in Zone 5 takes a fair bit of time and experience.
Also realize that these 4x4 sessions are sandwiched between a very concerted warm-up (my Zone 5 WU is 30-45 minutes or more long) and a warm-down that is at least 10-15 minutes long.
You have to have your body super prepped and ready to fire on all cylinders when attempting Zone 5 VO2 workouts.
Good luck.