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It has long been known that aerobic exercise is incredibly good for you. One way to measure your progress in terms of cardio, as aerobic exercise is sometimes affectionately known, is to track and try to improve your VO2 Max, or the maximum rate of oxygen you are able to use while exercising.
A Way to Check Cardiorespiratory Health
Your VO2 Max is the measurement of the amount of oxygen your body uses during exercise, according to Healthline. As your lungs take in oxygen, they turn it into adenosine triphosphate (ATP) energy, essentially a type of energy that powers cells and releases the carbon dioxide you breathe out. The more oxygen your body can absorb, the more efficiently it can create energy.
Tracking VO2 Max is especially important for athletes looking to improve their performance, but not only. Doctors can use it to check a patient’s general cardiorespiratory health. In general, your VO2 is dependent on a number of things, such as your age, gender, and what elevation you are at. For instance, the older you get, the lower your VO2 Max, and generally speaking, men can use more oxygen while exercising than women.
“VO2 max would out-predict anything else you could possibly measure. Blood work, blood pressure, scans of any type, nothing will tell you more about your life span than VO2 max,” Dr Andy Galpin, a performance coach, told mindbodygreen.
Challenging Your VO2 Max
While there are factors regarding VO2 Max that are uncontrollable, there are also ways in which to improve it, explined mindbodygreen. The more you challenge it, the more it will improve, according to mindbodygreen. This means getting an idea of your baseline VO2 Max and working to push it higher.However, it is very important to do this cautiously.
When you first begin, try and reach your maximum rate only once a week, and not for very long. This could mean 30 seconds of sprinting followed by a slower jog, or try swimming and race to the end of the pool followed by a lazy backstroke.
With time, your VO2 Max will get higher and higher, and with it not only will your ability to exercise efficiently grow, other aspects of your life will become easier as well: climbing stairs, carrying groceries, and more. So if you want to be healthy to the max, don’t forget your VO2 Max.
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