Really enjoyed reading this. Wanted to share some thoughts.
First, my wife is a primary care physician, and I totally agree with you on the healthcare system. I think she would too. It's wild to hear about her patients. The system is designed to keep insanely unhealthy people from dying sooner, not helping healthy people maximize their life and health span. It's really unfortunate. We basically need to do our own research and focus on the things that matter like VO2 max and body fat %. Luckily we have easy access to great information. I often listen to Peter Attia and Andrew Huberman with my wife so she can translate for me. She has high opinions of both of them.
Regarding your diet/body fat goals, I recommend checking out this Huberman episode. It's a little challenging to listen to, but it helped me understand nutrition better.
Like you, my cholesterol has jumped in the last two years. I go back in March for my annual physical, and if my levels are the same or higher, I'm going to try to get on a statin. This seems to be what Peter Attia recommends, and as long as it doesn't cause muscle pain, there really seem to be no other down sides. As you do, I eat pretty darn healthy, exercise 5-6 times per week, don't smoke, don't have high blood pressure, very rarely drink, and generally have no other risk factors. But if adding a statin is a no-risk way to stack the deck even more in my favor, I'm going to try it.
On VO2 max—this is something I've been paying attention to recently for the same reasons as you. I wear a Garmin watch which estimates my VO2 max at 53. I recently did the Cooper test (which was awful), and that put me around a 56. You basically run as fast as you can for 12 minutes and then plug your distance into a formula. I ran 1.89 miles in 12 minutes. It was so painful. Anyway, before doing this, I'd been doing regular VO2 max workouts for about a month. Once or twice a week I would do 4 rounds of 4 mins on/4 mins off on either an assault bike or treadmill. The 4 mins on are at the max effort you can hold for that time, and the 4 mins off I literally just spent sitting on the ground trying to get my heart rate back to 100. These workouts also suck, but I think they work. This is the protocol Attia recommends in his book (and on some podcasts).
I'm trying to get mine up to 60 this year. I think 45 is a great goal for you for this year, but I think you should continue trying to get it higher from there.
One other suggestion. I've been doing CrossFit for 2 years now, and I'm in the best all-around shape of my life. If you have any interest in this, I would highly recommend it. I can give you some pointers on finding a gym if you're interested. I typically try to do 4 CF workouts per week and run twice.
Sorry for the huge brain dump here. I love talking about this stuff. Happy to talk fitness any time you'd like. Good luck with your goals for the year, and thanks for sharing what you're working on. I enjoyed reading it!
Got a great email back here from an IW reader and friend, Joe W.
Shared below with his permission. I thought it was super-helpful. - GC
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Hey Greg,
Really enjoyed reading this. Wanted to share some thoughts.
First, my wife is a primary care physician, and I totally agree with you on the healthcare system. I think she would too. It's wild to hear about her patients. The system is designed to keep insanely unhealthy people from dying sooner, not helping healthy people maximize their life and health span. It's really unfortunate. We basically need to do our own research and focus on the things that matter like VO2 max and body fat %. Luckily we have easy access to great information. I often listen to Peter Attia and Andrew Huberman with my wife so she can translate for me. She has high opinions of both of them.
Regarding your diet/body fat goals, I recommend checking out this Huberman episode. It's a little challenging to listen to, but it helped me understand nutrition better.
Like you, my cholesterol has jumped in the last two years. I go back in March for my annual physical, and if my levels are the same or higher, I'm going to try to get on a statin. This seems to be what Peter Attia recommends, and as long as it doesn't cause muscle pain, there really seem to be no other down sides. As you do, I eat pretty darn healthy, exercise 5-6 times per week, don't smoke, don't have high blood pressure, very rarely drink, and generally have no other risk factors. But if adding a statin is a no-risk way to stack the deck even more in my favor, I'm going to try it.
On VO2 max—this is something I've been paying attention to recently for the same reasons as you. I wear a Garmin watch which estimates my VO2 max at 53. I recently did the Cooper test (which was awful), and that put me around a 56. You basically run as fast as you can for 12 minutes and then plug your distance into a formula. I ran 1.89 miles in 12 minutes. It was so painful. Anyway, before doing this, I'd been doing regular VO2 max workouts for about a month. Once or twice a week I would do 4 rounds of 4 mins on/4 mins off on either an assault bike or treadmill. The 4 mins on are at the max effort you can hold for that time, and the 4 mins off I literally just spent sitting on the ground trying to get my heart rate back to 100. These workouts also suck, but I think they work. This is the protocol Attia recommends in his book (and on some podcasts).
I'm trying to get mine up to 60 this year. I think 45 is a great goal for you for this year, but I think you should continue trying to get it higher from there.
One other suggestion. I've been doing CrossFit for 2 years now, and I'm in the best all-around shape of my life. If you have any interest in this, I would highly recommend it. I can give you some pointers on finding a gym if you're interested. I typically try to do 4 CF workouts per week and run twice.
Sorry for the huge brain dump here. I love talking about this stuff. Happy to talk fitness any time you'd like. Good luck with your goals for the year, and thanks for sharing what you're working on. I enjoyed reading it!