Why VO2 Max Is The GREATEST Predictor Of Lifespan | Dan's Journey Back to Health and Fitness (Pt. 2)

How has your health and fitness journey been going lately? 🏃‍♀️

I wish Dan would go back to presenting more vids; he's a really good presenter and I think that gets forgotten now that he mostly just does the GCN show.

For the vast majority of us cyclists, this is probably GCN's most important series that they have done. Great work Dan and i'm looking forward to watching your journey.

I'm 42 and have always had a sedentary life and poor diet. I was morbidly obese and struggled to even get upstairs. In July 2023, I overhauled my diet and started Zwifting. Since then, I have lost 105lbs. My VO2 max was low. It's now above average, very nearly high. I'm still classed as obese but I have so much more energy and I sleep better. It's never too late to change your life!

I was genuinely quite saddened (though not really surprised) by reading some of the comments on your last video about this endeavour. I know that you probably have a thick skin and that likely most of these people were only trying to make a good ol’ (crude) joke, but still, it says a lot about today’s world... I am 31 and doing a lot of sport, including cycling and running so one might think this series isn’t for me, but to be honest, that is quite the contrary, I find it fascinating. The reason for this is that what you are doing, and doing it in front of a camera for thousands of people to see, is just super brave. And pretty sure that none of these mockers would have the guts to do anything like that, acknowledging their flaws publicly and trying to simply become a better version of themselves. To be honest, there are parts of these videos, especially the first one, that I just found moving. I wish you all the best Dan, and will be rooting for you for the next coming months and beyond because what you are doing is fantastic and brave and I can’t wait to see the results! Also, if this ends up being a source of encouragement or inspiration for only one person to do something similar to what you’re doing, I think you’d have won plenty already (and I am quite sure that there will be many of these). We can all think of at least one person that is dear to us, but not in a really good shape physically, and that we’d like to hang around with a bit longer, if only they could take a little bit better care of themselves…

Dan, i think what makes this series so compelling is your candor and full disclosure. We're all human, and you've managed to inject some humanity into these videos in a powerful way.

This is some of the best content GCN have created. It's interesting, useful and, as someone speeding their way through middle age, extremely relevant to me. Good work Dan and the team.

14:30 a mediocre plan you can stick to is better than a perfect plan that you can't

I'm 70, & Garmin tells me because my VO2 max is 46, I have "a fitness age of 20". Getting to 47 is proving tricky, but your Robert Marchand anecdote, gives me hope🫡

This series of videos is single most important and best series GCN ever made.

The smile on Dans face when he was talking about the Monday runs and said I'm moving. It says it all‼️♥️

I'm a 67 year old woman. I was an NHS Midwife which I loved but I felt it had a negative impact on my health. When I retired at 60 I decided to get myself as fit as possible, so I could enjoy my retirement and try and prevent health issues from arising. I go to 6 exercise classes a week (cardio, strength and flexibility), cycle or walk everywhere. My V02 max is 30 which I'm told is very good for my age and gender. Blood pressure, weight, blood glucose and cholesterol all normal range. I'm not saying it's easy to keep it going but I think it's definitely worth it, physically and mentally I feel great. Good luck with your journey Daniel. Don't be too hard on yourself and remember why you are doing it. It's your future.

I saw this comment recently, you don’t stop moving because you grew old, you grew old because you stopped moving! It’s been a great motivation for me Thanks Dan for this video series 🤗

I shall be following this series with interest. As a 73 years old grandfather of eight - soon to be nine - grandchildren, I need to keep myself healthy and fit. Over recent years my cycling has taken a back seat and the amount of exercise I take has been minimal. I'm back on the bike and also doing brisk walks and hope to get back into swimming soon. This series has given me the motivation to get moving! Thank you Dan for putting yourself up for scrutiny. The production and editing of this video was excellent - as was Dan's presentation. Full marks to GCN!

Dan Lloyd’s journey to health is the most meaningful and relevant content on GCN for a considerable amount of time. Dan, thanks for sharing what has obviously been a period in your life that has been a struggle and how you are going about turning it around.

As an older cyclist, I am seriously enjoying this series and Dan's presentation.

About ten years ago my wife was undergoing significant surgery and while waiting for her to return to the ward I collapsed on the floor. I woke up in emergency with monitors taped all over me. They decided that I'd fainted and needed to eat then and there and see my doctor the next day. My doctor sent me for a stress test to rule out heart trouble. I was running on a rising and accelerating treadmill and while they were not monitoring VO2 they were continually taking my blood pressure etc. At the end of it the technician said "If I can get results like this when I'm your age I'll be very happy." I've ridden all my life and now at 75 and riding three mornings a week I can feel my capacity dropping. I ride with my eye on heart rate and cadence, holding my heart rate up in the 130s for significant distances. My Dad died of a stoke he had at my age and my brother turned 70 having a triple bypass. So I'm not in any hurry to let the family history catch me napping. The idea of getting a VO2Max test to total exhaustion sounds very daunting.

Dan, this is by the far the best and most important series of videos ever to appear on GCN. Motivating those of us who have fallen off the health wagon to get back on it again is vital. But even sharing all the expert advice about why certain things are important no matter what your health is equally important. Thanks for doing this, and I will be looking forward to your future videos.

Started cycling in my 30s. Now in my 50's having done 100,000+ ks on the bike. Have been very happy with how aerobically fit I've been, but recently have realised how important strength is also. So instead of cycling 6 hours a week and only being aerobically fit, I now cycle 3 hours a week, jog 2 hours a week and do about 3 hours a week of strength and mobility. My goal has shifted from being fast on the bike (fun, but not important) to maintaining v02max and strength as I age (life changing). I'm much. much fitter at 50 than I was at 30 and hope I can also say that at 60, 70, and so on. I guess my main point is I changed my goal to make it more relevant/important and haven't looked back.

For a non-cycling nerd moment, I watched this video kind of as if I was reading a research article. I'm not sure how much of a hand Dan has in writing these videos but whoever does it, kudos. So many authors of research articles never seem to get to their point with this rambling and jumpy narrative style. I really appreciated how this flowed from "what is VO2 max" to how it relates to the everyday person and onwards. Great flow and and it really told a story. On top of that, I'll second so many others comments of how good a presenter Dan is, especially with this subject and to see how obviously invested he is in his own health journey. Very well done!