Do you have a V-8 engine driving a sports coupe body or a V-4 struggling to power a SUV body? In fitness terms, that’s your VO2 score, a measure of the working capacity of your heart, lungs and muscles. In poetic terms, a VO2 test measures your life force, your internal candle burning brightly, hopefully, for as we age, that candle burns down a little each year, from a relative VO2 of 40 to 46 for fit women in their 20s, to 28 or 29 for menopausal women, to 15, which will likely land you in a retirement home as that’s considered the minimum required to live independently. But here’s the thing: Your life force need not decline so drastically, and you can spark up your VO2 by as much as 15 percent in just four months, at any age. The magic elixir? Exercise, of course. Stuff that makes you move. That’s why masters runners can sport a VO2 in the same range as very fit 20 somethings; and, sadly, why so many couch-potato 20 somethings now score a VO2 in the range of sedentary 50 somethings. Show me the VO2 of a 70 year old and a 20 year old, and I’ll tell you who will win the race – and age has nothing to do with it. Click for more tips.
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