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Dr. Mitch Schulman breaks down the VO2 max test, the gruelling treadmill and mask assessment that measures how well your heart, lungs, and muscles work together, and explains why researchers see it as one of the strongest predictors of long-term health. Anyone curious about their own numbers will want his plain language rundown of what a good score actually looks like.

He argues that the real goal isn't just adding years but staying sharp and mobile through them, pointing to healthcare cost data that shows most spending happens in a person's final months.

A study on brain health rounds things out, showing that consistent daily effort, not age, was the biggest factor in whether people saw real cognitive improvement, even well into their eighties and nineties.

Topics: VO2 max test, healthy aging, lifespan predictor, brain health study, fitness science

GUEST: Dr. Mitch Schulman

Originally aired on 2026-07-28