The internet has once again found a perfectly useful physiological metric...

...and turned it into a religious war fought by GooRoos with ring lights.

One camp treats VO₂ max like the final boss of human health.

Get it higher.

Then higher again.

Keep going until your Garmin grants immortality and your mitochondria begin speaking Latin.

The other camp says VO₂ max is overhyped, badly measured, and mostly useless because many studies used estimated METs instead of strapping every subject into a metabolic cart until they saw God.

Both camps are yelling.

Neither is being especially helpful.

​That is why I was stoked to return to the Wise Athletes Podcast with Joe Lavelle for our fourth conversation:

#183 | VO₂ Max or What?​

Joe asked the question that actually matters:

Now we are cooking with oxygen.

Because yes...

VO₂ max is one of the strongest predictors of longevity we have ever measured.

Dragging yourself out of the basement of the fitness range may buy you more risk reduction than almost anything else you can do.

But the curve does not rise forever like some enchanted escalator to immortality.

Eventually, the return starts shrinking.

At that point, grinding for another tiny increase may cost a metric ton of time, fatigue, and recovery that would be better spent attacking your actual weak link.

Strength.

Muscle mass.

Body composition.

Balance.

Blood pressure.

The cardiovascular engine is only one part of the machine.

A darn tooting important part—but still one part.

We also crawled deep into several other metabolic tunnels:

Why the “VO₂ max is overblown” controversy is mostly people arguing about measurement details while missing the practical conclusion.

How VO₂ max can be limited by oxygen delivery from the heart and circulation...

...or by oxygen use inside the working muscle.

Why Zone 2 is useful for recovery and burning calories, but sucks enormous moose ballZ as the primary strategy for driving aerobic adaptation in a time-crunched hooooman.

How to program intervals so they improve performance instead of becoming weekly reenactments of your own death.

Why declining maximum heart rate may be partly a use-it-or-lose-it issue.

And how your sleeping respiratory rate can quietly expose problems with breathing, recovery, or oxygen delivery while your watch is busy awarding you a readiness score of “purple banana.”

If you have ever stared at the VO₂ max estimate on your wearable and wondered whether to celebrate, panic, or launch the watch into a nearby lake...

...this episode is for you.

Listen here:

>> #183 | VO₂ Max or What? <<

Much love, oxygen, and fewer internet holy wars,

Dr. Mike

PS- The doors close tonight at midnight PST to get into the

Flexible Meathead Cardio for $100 off

Use code CARDIO here:

​https://miket.me/cardio​

Mike T Nelson CISSN, CSCS, MSME, PhD
Associate Professor, Carrick Institute
Owner, Extreme Human Performance, LLC
Editorial Board Member, STRONG Fitness Mag

Mike T Nelson is a PhD and not a physician or registered dietitian. The contents of this email should not be taken as medical advice. It is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any health problem - nor is it intended to replace the advice of a physician. Always consult your physician or qualified health professional on any matters regarding your health.

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