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A Modern Pharmacist · October 11 · 27 min

Is VO2 Max More Important Than Strength?

I come from lifting, so I wanted the answer to be strength. In this episode, I go through the biggest studies on fitness, strength and mortality to answer one question: if you could only train one, which matters more for living longer? I start with what VO2 max really measures, and why a MET is based on the resting oxygen use of one man. Then the cardio evidence: the Cleveland Clinic study of 122,007 people, where elite fitness was linked to an 80% lower risk of death than low fitness, and why "being unfit is worse than smoking" misreads it. Then the case for strength, from Ruiz's bench and leg press data to grip strength across 1.9 million people. The UK Biobank head-to-head brings both together, and I finish with Generation 100, the largest exercise RCT on mortality, and why its result isn't as clean as it looks. My verdict: cardio edges it, but the lowest risk belongs to people who have both. Sources: Mandsager 2018 (JAMA Netw Open), Lang 2024 (BJSM), Ruiz 2008 (BMJ), García-Hermoso 2018 (Arch Phys Med Rehabil), UK Biobank 2018 (Eur J Epidemiol), Generation 100 (BMJ, 2020), Byrne 2005 (J Appl Physiol), UK CMO Physical Activity Guidelines 2019. This is informational purposes only, not medical advice. If you can't get seen by your own physician, by all means do so, but always speak to your own healthcare provider. New episodes every week.

0:00-27:36
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I come from lifting, so I wanted the answer to be strength. In this episode, I go through the biggest studies on fitness, strength and mortality to answer one question: if you could only train one, which matters more for living longer?

I start with what VO2 max really measures, and why a MET is based on the resting oxygen use of one man. Then the cardio evidence: the Cleveland Clinic study of 122,007 people, where elite fitness was linked to an 80% lower risk of death than low fitness, and why "being unfit is worse than smoking" misreads it. Then the case for strength, from Ruiz's bench and leg press data to grip strength across 1.9 million people. The UK Biobank head-to-head brings both together, and I finish with Generation 100, the largest exercise RCT on mortality, and why its result isn't as clean as it looks.

My verdict: cardio edges it, but the lowest risk belongs to people who have both.

Sources: Mandsager 2018 (JAMA Netw Open), Lang 2024 (BJSM), Ruiz 2008 (BMJ), García-Hermoso 2018 (Arch Phys Med Rehabil), UK Biobank 2018 (Eur J Epidemiol), Generation 100 (BMJ, 2020), Byrne 2005 (J Appl Physiol), UK CMO Physical Activity Guidelines 2019.

This is informational purposes only, not medical advice. If you can't get seen by your own physician, by all means do so, but always speak to your own healthcare provider. New episodes every week.

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