It’s often said that most cardio capability (VO2Max) declines with age at a price of about 10% per decade in sedentary individuals, however that those that proceed to do health coaching will solely lose this capability at about 5% per decade. A typical examine upon which this rule of thumb relies is ref. 1. This is without doubt one of the causes for the maxim “use it or lose it”. It seems to be “actually use it so that you lose it extra slowly”. However it’s vital as a result of the distinction between 5% and 10% is big for high quality of life. Actions of each day dwelling like with the ability to go up stairs grow to be very tough or inconceivable if VO2Max goes beneath about 20. This could occur by the point you might be about 70 or 80 if sedentary, however could be delayed till greater than 100 years of age should you maintain coaching.
One other vital issue is that it has been proven that cardio capability could be regained considerably over just a few months of coaching in older individuals who have beforehand been sedentary (Ref 2). So should you get to a sure age, and understand you’re slowing down (“Why am I beginning to get winded strolling over to the mailbox?”), you’ll be able to readily flip the clock again just a few many years, fitness-wise, by getting severe about coaching to get in form.
However a 2022 meta-analysis [2] appeared on the information from quite a lot of earlier research to reexamine this matter. I realized of this from Alex Hutchinson’s “Sweat Science” in Exterior Journal (there could also be a pay wall on the hyperlink however they often permit you just a few free peeks at articles). Crucial discovering is that even severe athletes who proceed coaching, have a tendency to cut back their coaching quantity (variety of hours per week) over time. Amongst those that sustain their quantity, the speed of loss in VO2Max is even smaller, extra like 2.5% per decade. Alex identified that coach Alan Couzens, based mostly on information from his personal athletes, goes additional to recommend {that a} decline in health could also be prevented solely if we enhance our coaching quantity as we age. Coach Couzens got here up with the rule of thumb that we’ve to coach our age, in hours, every month, to attain this. So when you find yourself 80 you simply have to coach 80 hours per thirty days, or 20 hours per week. It is a lot, clearly, and nicely past the 150 minutes (2 1/2 hours) per week of coaching sometimes advisable by well being authorities.
However this may increasingly truly be possible for a few of us who’re retired and for whom health is our passion. By coincidence, I at the moment do practice for about 2 1/2 hours per day on common, as a result of I get pleasure from it, which precisely meets Couzens’ rule. If I simply bump it up a bit every year, and by the point I’m 80 I do about 3 hours per day, does that imply I’ll lose no health in any respect? I’ll be excited to search out out 10 years from now.
All of this has oversimplified the problem by solely contemplating coaching quantity and never depth. Varied strategies exist for bettering VO2MAX considerably with decrease quantity and better depth coaching. In all probability probably the most well-known is the Tabata protocol, which takes solely 4 minutes complete however includes 8 rounds of 20 seconds of sprinting with solely 10 seconds of restoration in between. Time-efficient, however very powerful! I’d speculate that those that practice with significantly much less quantity, however maintain their depth excessive sufficient, might additionally battle off the decline in health with age fairly nicely. I’ve additionally seen the alternative impact. There are cyclists within the membership I trip with which have stored their coaching quantity fairly excessive for many years, however their depth has decreased over time (they’ve both gotten slower or are doing fewer climbs). So I think protecting quantity excessive and persevering with to do some high-intensity work are each vital to forestall getting slower.
What about for these of us for which health is not a passion and aren’t notably excited on the prospect of coaching for hours per day? I’d say simply attempt to get the general public well being suggestion of two 1/2 hours per week of exercise. And throw in some higher-intensity stuff like strolling up stairs or biking up hills at the least as soon as per week (different facets of health like resistance coaching and stability coaching are additionally vital). Your health could decline some over time, however so much lower than for a sedentary individual, and also you’ll nonetheless be capable to do actions of each day dwelling at 100. Not a foul outcome.
References
- Rogers, M, et al, “Decline in VO2max with growing older in grasp athletes and sedentary males”, J Appl Physiol, 1990
- Burtscher, J, et al, “The Affect of Coaching on the Lack of Cardiorespiratory Health in Growing older Masters Endurance Athletes”, Int J Environ Res Public Well being, 2022
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