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7,000 vs 10,000 steps a day: what the research says
Is 10,000 steps a day necessary? Large meta-analyses link about 7,000 steps to much lower risk of death. What that means and how steps relate to VO2max.
#vo2max
Apple Watch VO2max: accuracy, levels and how to raise it
Apple Watch shows your VO2max as Cardio Fitness. Where to find it, what the four levels mean, how accurate it is and why it can read low.
Blood tests for athletes: which markers really matter
Which blood tests matter for endurance athletes, from ferritin and haemoglobin to vitamin D and thyroid, plus sports anaemia, timing and how often to test.
Cardio fitness score explained: Fitbit, Oura, WHOOP and more
Cardio fitness score is a wearable's VO2max estimate. How Fitbit, Oura, WHOOP, Apple, Garmin and Polar calculate and label it, plus scores by age.
Do supplements raise VO2max? Caffeine, beetroot and iron
Caffeine and beetroot juice can boost endurance, but they don't raise VO2max. What the evidence shows, doses, and why iron needs a blood test first.
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Exercise snacks: 1-minute bursts and your fitness
Exercise snacks and VILPA, the 1-minute bursts of vigorous daily activity, are linked to lower mortality. What the studies show and how to fit them in.
Fit but fat? Fitness vs fatness and mortality
Is it better to be fit and overweight than thin and unfit? What the fitness-vs-fatness research shows, where it falls short, and what it means for you.
Garmin VO2max explained: colours, accuracy, fitness age
What your Garmin VO2max number and colour mean, where to find it, how accurate it is, why it drops and how fitness age is worked out.
Gut microbiome and VO2max: does fitness shape your gut?
Fitter people tend to have a more diverse gut microbiome. What gut microbiome and VO2max research shows, from Veillonella to exercise trials, and its limits.
Heat training and VO2max: does training in the heat make you fitter?
Heat acclimation expands plasma volume and improves performance in the heat. What studies show for VO2max, practical protocols and hot-city safety.
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HIIT after 70: what the Generation 100 trial found
The Generation 100 trial tested five years of HIIT in 1,567 adults aged 70 to 77. What it found on mortality, fitness and safety, and how to train.
HIIT vs steady cardio: which raises VO2max more?
HIIT or moderate continuous training? What meta-analyses say about VO2max and health, how low-volume HIIT compares, and how to combine both in a week.
How does training increase VO2max? Heart, blood, capillaries
How training raises VO2max through stroke volume, plasma and red cell volume, capillaries and mitochondria, and how fast each adaptation happens.
How much training to improve VO2max? Volume vs intensity
How much weekly training it takes to raise VO2max, what dose-response studies show, how volume and intensity trade off, and sensible km per week by level.
How to increase VO2max without running: 7 options
How to increase VO2max without running, using cycling, rowing, swimming, stairs, incline walking or the ski erg, with pros, cons and a sample week.
How to measure healthspan at home: a yearly checklist
An at-home healthspan checklist: VO2max, resting heart rate, blood pressure, waist-to-height, grip, sit-to-stand, balance and sleep, tracked yearly.
Is fitness declining? Global trends in cardiorespiratory fitness
Children and adults are less aerobically fit than a few decades ago. What the data on millions of people show, why it happened and what you can do.
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Is VO2max overrated? Fitness, body fat and longevity
VO2max strongly predicts lifespan, but is it overrated? What it really measures, how body fat skews it, and why strength and activity matter too.
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Japanese walking: interval walking and your VO2max
Japanese walking alternates 3 minutes brisk and 3 minutes easy. What the Shinshu University trials found for fitness, strength and blood pressure.
Longevity biomarkers test: which ones really matter
The best longevity biomarkers ranked by evidence, from VO2max, grip strength and ApoB to blood pressure, waist and epigenetic clocks, and what to test first.
Mitochondria and VO2max: how to increase mitochondria
How training builds mitochondria, what PGC-1α does, why volume and intensity matter differently, and why more mitochondria barely move VO2max itself.
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New VO2max longevity research: 2025–2026 update
What the newest studies on VO2max and longevity add, from a 20.9-million-observation review to UK Biobank fitness changes and multi-marathoners, in one table.
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Ozempic, GLP-1 drugs and fitness: protect your VO2max
GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy cause large weight loss, but part of it is lean mass. How to protect muscle and VO2max while you take them.
Periodization for runners: base, build, peak and blocks
How to periodise endurance training: base, build and peak phases, block periodisation, deload weeks and how to plan a VO2max block the research supports.
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Rucking: does weighted walking raise VO2max?
Rucking means walking with a weighted pack. How load raises the oxygen cost of walking, what that may do for VO2max, and how to start safely.
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Sauna and heart health: what the Finnish studies show
Finnish cohort studies link frequent sauna use to lower cardiac and all-cause mortality. What the data show, why it is not proof, and how to sauna safely.
Testosterone and VO2max: low T in endurance athletes
Testosterone raises haemoglobin, but heavy endurance training and under-eating can lower it. What the research shows, and why boosters are not the answer.
VO2max and brain health: what fitness does for memory and dementia risk
Fitter people tend to have bigger hippocampi and lower dementia risk. What trials and cohort studies show, what they don't prove, and how to train your brain.
VO2max and cancer risk: what midlife fitness tells us
Fitter people get some cancers less often and do better after diagnosis. What the Cooper Center data show, what they don't prove, and why it matters.
VO2max and mental health: fitness, depression and anxiety
Low fitness is linked to higher risk of depression and anxiety, and exercise trials show real benefits. What the evidence says and how to use it.
VO2max and sleep: how fitness and sleep improve each other
Sleep loss hurts endurance and recovery, and regular exercise improves sleep quality. What the research shows in both directions, and a practical routine.
VO2max heart rate zones: zone 5, zone 2 and how to set them
What VO2max zones mean, how to set zone 2 and zone 5 with % of max heart rate, heart-rate reserve or lab thresholds, and why age formulas are a rough start.
VO2max in women: menstrual cycle, pregnancy and menopause
Why women's VO2max is lower on average, whether your cycle changes fitness, how to train through pregnancy, and how to protect VO2max after menopause.
VO2max test: cost, what to expect and how to prepare
Where to get a VO2max test, what it costs, how to prepare, what happens on the treadmill minute by minute, what the report shows and home alternatives.
VO2max vs lactate threshold, FTP, HRV and max heart rate
VO2max vs lactate threshold, FTP, VO2peak, HRV, max heart rate, anaerobic capacity and SpO2: what each measures, how to test it and how to train it.
VO2max workouts: 10 sessions for running, bike and rower
Ten proven VO2max workouts for running, treadmill, cycling, assault bike and rower, with reps, intensity, recovery and a weekly plan to fit them in.
VO2max, heart disease and blood pressure: fitness as medicine
Low fitness predicts high blood pressure and heart disease, and training lowers both. What the meta-analyses show and how much exercise it takes.
VO2max, insulin sensitivity and type 2 diabetes risk
Low fitness is one of the strongest predictors of type 2 diabetes. How aerobic training improves insulin sensitivity and blood sugar, and what the trials show.
Altitude training and VO2max: what the science says
Why VO2max drops at altitude, how the body adapts, what "live high, train low" showed, and whether altitude or heat training is worth it for amateurs.
Detraining: how fast do you lose VO2max when you stop?
What happens to fitness after a break for injury, illness or holidays — week by week — and how to come back after the flu without setting yourself back.
How accurate is your watch's VO2max estimate?
Watches estimate VO2max from heart rate and pace. Here is what validation studies show, why your number jumps around, and how to get a more reliable reading.
How to improve your VO2max: a 12-week plan
How to improve VO2max with a simple 12-week plan — the five principles that matter, a week-by-week table for recreational runners, and how to track progress.
The Norwegian 4×4 interval workout: how to raise your VO2max
The 4×4 interval session explained — the research behind it, how hard to run, treadmill and outdoor versions, how often to do it, and how to progress.
VO2max and ageing: how fast it declines and how to slow it
VO2max falls with age, slowly at first and faster after 60. What longitudinal studies show, why it happens, and how training keeps you decades "younger".
VO2max and longevity: what the research says about fitness and living longer
Large studies link cardiorespiratory fitness to lower risk of death, with no upper limit of benefit. What they found and what it means for you.
VO2max norms by age and sex: what is a good VO2max?
What counts as a good VO2max for your age and sex, where the norms come from, and how to read percentiles without fooling yourself.
VO2max of elite athletes: the highest values ever recorded
Which sports produce the highest VO2max, the famous values reported for elite athletes, and why the biggest engine doesn't always win.
VO2max tests explained: lab, field, heart-rate and watch methods
Every common way to measure or estimate VO2max — lab CPET, the Cooper test, the 1.5-mile run, the Rockport walk, the heart-rate ratio, race times and watches.
What is VO2max? A plain-language guide
VO2max explained simply — what it measures, why it matters for performance and health, how it is tested in a lab and estimated by watches, and what changes it.
What limits VO2max? Heart, lungs, blood or muscles
From air to mitochondria: which step limits your VO2max, what the Dallas bed-rest study showed, and why VO2max isn't the whole performance story.
Why some people improve their VO2max more than others
Genes, starting fitness and training dose shape how much VO2max improves. What HERITAGE found, and why non-responders respond to more training.
Why your VO2max drops when you gain weight (and rises when you lose it)
VO2max is expressed per kilogram, so a few kilos move the number and the effort of every run. Here is the maths, and what it means for training and racing.
Zone 2 training and VO2max: what it does and doesn't do
What zone 2 training really is, how to find your zone 2 with the talk test or heart rate, what it does for VO2max, and how to combine it with intervals.