VO₂ Max: Building a Bigger Engine for Longevity & Happiness

There are a lot of numbers we’re told to pay attention to as we get older. Our weight. Blood pressure. Cholesterol. Blood sugar. But there’s another measurement — and it can tell us something pretty important about how well our bodies are equipped to keep moving, working and living independently as we age. It’s called VO₂ max. And before your eyes glaze over at the science-y name, stay with me. This one is actually pretty simple.

What is VO₂ max?

VO₂ max is a measure of how effectively your heart, lungs, blood and muscles work together to deliver and use oxygen during exercise.

More specifically, it measures the maximum amount of oxygen your body can use during intense exercise, while also taking your body size into account. The measurement is written as mL/kg/min — or, more simply, how many millilitres of oxygen your body can use per kilogram of body weight each minute. For example, a VO₂ max of 30 means your body can use about 30 millilitres of oxygen per kilogram of body weight each minute when you’re working at your maximum capacity.

The most accurate way to measure VO₂ max is in a laboratory. You exercise on a treadmill or stationary bike while wearing a special mask that measures the gases you breathe in and out. The exercise gradually becomes more challenging as your oxygen use is measured.

The more oxygen your body can effectively use, the higher your VO₂ max — and generally, the greater your aerobic fitness.

But what does oxygen have to do with fitness? Think of oxygen as part of the fuel system for your working muscles. When you walk quickly, climb stairs, hike up a hill, cycle or exercise, your heart and lungs work to get oxygen into your bloodstream and deliver it to your muscles. Your muscles then use that oxygen to help produce the energy needed to keep you moving. VO₂ max gives us an indication of how well that entire system works; in simple terms:

The better your VO₂ max, the bigger your aerobic “engine.”

Why should I care about my aerobic engine?

Because we use it in real life.

Carrying groceries up a flight of stairs. Walking through an airport with luggage. Keeping up with children or grandchildren. Hiking. Climbing. Rowing. Pushing. Pulling. Exploring somewhere new.

Your aerobic fitness helps determine how demanding those activities feel.

Imagine two women walking up the same hill. For one woman, that hill requires almost everything her cardiovascular system has available. She’s breathing heavily and needs to stop. For the other woman, the exact same hill uses only part of her available capacity. Same hill. Different-sized engines. That’s why improving cardiovascular fitness isn’t simply about getting better at “cardio.”

It’s about creating more capacity for life.

Why does VO₂ max become more important as we age?

Our aerobic capacity tends to decline as we get older, and inactivity can accelerate that decline.

But there’s an important flip side to that story: Ageing doesn’t mean we have to simply accept becoming less capable.

Regular cardiovascular exercise can improve aerobic fitness well into later life.

We’re not exercising because we’re trying to pretend we’re 25.

We’re training the body we have today so it’s better prepared for the life we want tomorrow.

Do I need an expensive VO₂ max test?

No. A laboratory VO₂ max test can provide a more precise measurement, but most of us don’t need lab testing to start improving our cardiovascular fitness — or to recognize that we're becoming fitter. Fitness watches can provide estimates, and fitness professionals can use various walking, cycling and exercise tests to help estimate aerobic fitness, but there is a simpler place to begin:

Pay attention to what your body can do.

Can you walk continuously for 10 minutes? Fifteen? Thirty?

Can you walk a little farther than you could a few months ago?

Can you maintain a faster pace?

Can you climb the stairs with less effort?

Can you carry something while walking without becoming completely winded?

Can you recover more quickly after climbing that hill?

These aren't laboratory measurements of VO₂ max, but they are meaningful signs of improving fitness — and many of them are absolutely measurable.

If you’re the detail-oriented type — someone who likes to ask why? and enjoys seeing progress in black and white — track them.

How long did the walk take? How far did you go? How difficult did it feel? How long did it take your breathing to return to normal?

Sometimes progress shows up in everyday life before it ever appears as a number on a watch.

How do I improve my VO₂ max?

Here’s where people sometimes make cardio unnecessarily complicated. You don’t need to destroy yourself on a treadmill. A well-designed cardiovascular program can combine comfortable, sustained aerobic exercise with shorter periods of more challenging effort.

That might mean brisk walking, cycling, swimming, hiking, dancing, rowing or another activity you genuinely enjoy.

For example, you might begin with a comfortable walk and periodically increase your pace for a short interval before slowing down and recovering. As your fitness improves, those harder intervals can gradually become longer or more challenging.

The key word is gradually. We’re not trying to prove how fit we are during today’s workout.

We’re giving our bodies a reason to become more capable for the next one.

One number isn’t the whole story

VO₂ max is valuable, but it isn’t a report card on your health.

Healthy ageing requires much more than cardiovascular fitness.

We also need strength, balance, mobility, power, good nutrition, recovery, sleep and meaningful connection with other people.

Think of VO₂ max as one important piece of your longevity puzzle — not the whole picture.

The Empower 360 perspective

At Empower 360, we’re not interested in exercise simply for the sake of burning calories.

We’re interested in building capacity.

Capacity to travel.

To play.

To carry things.

To climb.

To explore.

And perhaps most importantly, the capacity to say yes when life presents an opportunity.

So instead of always asking:

“How many calories did I burn?”

Maybe there’s a better question:

“What am I training my body to be able to do?”

Because ultimately, VO₂ max isn’t really about oxygen.

It’s about building a body with enough reserve to keep participating fully in your own life.

And that is something worth training for.