VO2 Max, Part 2

Quote: “The greatest wealth is health”

- Virgil, Roman poet < 2000 years ago

Higher VO2 Max = Much Lower Risk of Dying…….Get off your ass! Let's illustrate this point:

ICU Patient

68 year old man with diabetes type 2 presenting with weakness and shortness of breath found to have sepsis due to pneumonia. This man is critically ill with sepsis. 

His vitals:

Heart Rate 150 (100% of estimated max heart rate: 220 – Age)

Respiratory Rate 54 breaths per minutes

Sweating and looks exhausted.

This man is literally fighting for his life. Can you see why fitness matters so much? How long can he hold on? Many of us will have to fight for our lives in this way at some point. FITNESS REALLY REALLY MATTERS

The Gold Standard for measuring cardiorespiratory fitness = VO2 Max

What is VO2 Max

VO2 Max = the maximum volume of oxygen that can be utilized per kilogram of body weight during maximal exertion

Most often Expressed as: 

ml/kg/min (milliliters per kilogram of body weight per minute) [1ml = 1cm3]

This is the gold standard for measuring cardiorespiratory fitness in medicine, exercise science, and research. 

Humans range from of VO2 max of 5 (bedbound) to 90s (elite endurance athletes)

Hummingbirds VO2 max = 600 ml/kg/min

Exercise training will improve VO2 Max

So, I hope since listening to part 1 you have gotten “off your ass”

 
Check out Longetrics.org or Fullscope.org for the complete post!