• VO2 max is a buzzy measure of heart health and fitness.
• I tried a class that promised to boost my VO2 max through cardio and breathwork.
• I don't typically do cardio, and I realized taking classes could help me make it a habit.

I have a strange question, but stay with me: Have you ever thought about how long you can run without breathing through your mouth? In a dark basement in central London I recently discovered that, for me, the answer is: Not for very long.

Apparently, that means my VO2 max, or ability to send oxygenated blood to my muscles, and how well my muscles can use that oxygen during intense exercise, is quite low.

Translation: I'm unfit.

I do low-impact strength training like yoga and pilates most days, but no cardio. I've tried to get into running, but it never sticks, and I find cardio machines boring.

I learned specifically how bad I am at cardio at V02:MAXED, a new class at London's GymBox. I knew one session wouldn't transform my health, but I was interested to try the first class I'd seen marketed around VO2 max.

I wondered if exercising with a specific goal might motivate me to finally form a cardio habit, and if the class — and the nose strips we had to wear while working out — was just a fad.

Once the preserve of high-level athletes, in recent years, VO2 max has become a buzzy measure of cardiovascular fitness among runners, fitness competition enthusiasts, and health optimization bros. People are obsessed with it because it's said to be a strong predictor of longevity.

As I'm not an endurance athlete, my low score may not seem like a big deal, but having a high VO2 max is linked to a longer life, and a reduced risk of conditions including cardiovascular disease, cancer, and diabetes.

I don't care that I can't run five kilometers in under 30 minutes, but I do care about staying active and healthy as I age.

To increase your VO2 max, you have to do a mixture of shorter high-intensity and longer, easier workouts. VO2:Maxed is a 16-week course where clients train at a range of intensities. The class I did was the fourth in the series.

Feeling nervous about entering a gym that uses the words "gnarly," "sadistic," and "savage" to describe some of its classes, I descended the staircase from the reception area to the dimly lit bodybuilder's playground below with trepidation.

We had to breathe through our noses for as long as possible

In the 50-minute class, we repeated three-minute sets on a stroke machine (ski or rower) and a cycle machine (bike or treadmill), with 45-second breaks in between. I used a ski machine and an assault bike.

What made the class unique was the breathwork. Our instructor, Firas Iskandarani, a Hyrox and Crossfit coach, explained that we should aim to breathe through our noses for most of the class. He called this type of breathing "gear one," and breathing in through the nose and out through the mouth "gear two."

We were told to note when we had to "switch gears." Iskandarani said this should happen after around 90-seconds to two-minutes, but I struggled to get to one minute.

As a rough guide, the longer you can stay in gear one, the higher your VO2 max is likely to be, he said. The idea is that, over time, you will need to switch gears less quickly, which indicates your aerobic capacity has increased.

About halfway through the class, we were given nasal strips to stick on the fleshy part of our noses, and encouraged to notice if it helped us stay in gear one for longer.

It's thought that widening the nasal canal could help to increase endurance by allowing more air through the nose. But one 2020 meta-analysis published in the European Archives of Oto-Rhino-Laryngology found that wearing a nasal strip while exercising didn't improve VO2 Max or heart rate. Still, lots of runners and athletes swear by them, like the elite tennis player Carlos Alcaraz, who wears them during his matches.

I felt that the nasal strip helped a little, but it kept peeling off as my nose got sweaty.

Breathing through your nose while exercising is thought to help you stay in Zone 2

Nasal breathing is not directly linked to improving VO2 max, but is thought to help the body use oxygen more efficiently.

It also encourages you to stay in Zone 2, or at 60-70% of your maximum heart rate, while you're exercising. Your muscles have more access to oxygen in Zone 2, making it an effective way to increase aerobic endurance.

Once you enter Zone 3, 70% to 80% of your max heart rate, you're moving at an intensity that's too much for the available oxygen supply, which causes you to get out of breath.

Breathing through my nose and doing cardio at the same time was hard

I found there was a lot to remember and focus on in this class: not only understanding the different gears, but trying to stay in gear one while checking the clock to see when I started mouth breathing.

All of this mental arithmetic was required on top of the three-minute sets of cardio, which, I think is fair to say, is a long time. My mind kept wandering and I kept accidentally mouth breathing before I'd actually reached my threshold.

It was also tricky to go at a slow enough pace to stay in gear one for even a minute. After about thirty seconds I started to lose my breath. I suppose that tells me I have some work to do in this area.

That being said, I wasn't huffing and puffing or red in the face afterwards like I usually am after a 35-minute run. But my arms did get very tired from pulling the ropes on the ski machine and moving the handles on the assault bike back and forth.

A structured class made working on my cardio feel more achievable

If I did this class again I would pace myself better so that I wouldn't get out of breath so quickly. But I think for a cardio beginner like me, it was a little too technical and advanced.

Iskandarani said that part of the demand for the class came from Hyrox fans and CrossFitters, who are already pretty fit and looking to increase their endurance for competitions.

But I found doing cardio in such a structured way and with a group of people much more fun and motivating than doing it alone. Going forward, I think I'll stick to cardio classes rather than running every once in a while, getting bored, and trying again when enough time has passed for me to forget how arduous I found it.

By focusing on my breath, it became apparent that my cardiovascular fitness is lower than I'd like, and I'm only 28. I wondered how it would inevitably deteriorate over time, and if I'm struggling to get through a class like this now, it's only going to get harder when I'm in my 50s, let alone 80s.

As for the VO2 max workout, I don't think it was the right cardio class for me, but it's motivated me to continue my search. Anyone for Zumba?

• The CEO of Crunch said a routine of weightlifting, walking, and Pilates keeps him healthy at 58.
• His supplement stack includes creatine, a hot trend for muscle-building, brain health, and longevity.
• He said long-term fitness is about functionality, with a balance of strength, mobility and cardio.

Marine Corps. vet Jim Rowley has been lifting heavy weights for decades, but his first few Pilates classes left him frustrated, sweating, shaking — and eager to go back for more.

Rowley is the CEO of worldwide gym franchise Crunch Fitness, and has more than three decades of experience in the fitness industry. After his military service, he rose through the ranks at 24 Hour Fitness, becoming division president before going on to help launch UFC Gym, later taking the lead at Crunch.

He told Business Insider that the lengthening, strengthening effect of Pilates has helped him ease the achy joints and tight muscles from decades of hard work in the gym and at the office.

"It changed my life, to be honest with you. I became much more limber," he said.

Crowley, who recently turned 58, said Pilates is now one of the foundational building blocks in his four-part longevity routine.

He also changed up his weightlifting routine, honed his supplement stack, and has a cardio routine rooted in his military experience.

"As you're active and aging, why would you not want to have more strength, more muscle, and greater mobility?" he said.

Pilates classes: to build muscle and mobility

Rowley said starting Pilates about three and half years ago helped him focus on muscles that hadn't gotten much attention over the years, including stabilizers in the the hips.

"Pilates was an opportunity for me to try to lengthen, strengthen, and activate some of the smaller muscles," he said.

Now, he goes to class twice a week for an hour per session, often with his wife.

The Pilates classes he takes are mostly attended by women, Rowley said. He expects to see the gender balance shift: the challenge and resistance training in the workouts offer a lot for men who want to work on building muscle and athleticism.

"There's a strength component instead of just the mobility and the balance," he said. "The biggest benefit for me has been my core strength has gotten through the roof."

The improved stability has helped relieve back pain, which can come from muscle imbalances.

Dumbbells: for better range of motion during strength training

Rowley still lifts weights, but has tweaked his routine so that instead of focusing on a big bench press as a point of pride, he's working more with dumbbells and machine exercises.

Dumbbells allow for a greater range of motion, which can help promote mobility and joint health. Exercise machines provide stability and a fixed range of motion, so you can focus on targeting specific muscle groups.

Both types of exercise are good for building muscle, with less strain or injury risk than intense barbell work.

"I don't lift for ego anymore," Rowley said.

Creatine supplements: for a healthy brain and body

Rowley is a self-proclaimed "supplement freak" who takes an estimated 40 pills a day, from a multi-vitamin for nutritional balance to probiotics for a healthy gut.

The list is carefully curated from his decades of experience in the fitness industry.

At the top of his must-have list is creatine, a naturally-occurring compound in the body that provides energy to the muscles so you can push through a few more reps. It's also a hot trend for longevity thanks to recent research suggesting it helps support a healthy brain and heart as we age.

"There's a lot of supplements out there that are pure garbage," Rowley said. "Creatine to me is like a life source. I can tell you that my muscles feel better, my muscles fill up, I have the ability to go longer in the gym."

Rowley's supplement regimen also includes:

• Vitamin D, which supports energy and the immune system.
• Magnesium, linked to better sleep and muscle health.
• Glutamine, for improved muscle recovery.

10,000 steps a day: for cardio without joint pain

Fitness for a long, healthy life isn't just about lifting big weights, or even having sculpted and lean muscles. Good cardio health is a crucial part of longevity, and benchmarks of aerobic fitness like VO2 max are increasingly a source of bragging rights in the fitness world.

For Rowley, it comes down to functionality, and whether you can keep up with the activities of your life.

"We look at the aesthetic of lean muscle and muscle mass as, wow, that person spends time in the gym, but could they run a mile? Could they run two miles or three miles?" he said.

His definition of peak fitness goes back to the Marine Corps. standard of military fitness: the ability to do 20 dead-hang pull-ups, rep out 100 crunches in a minute (or hold a plank for more than three minutes) and run three miles in 18 minutes.

However, as we age, running can put stress on the joints, so Rowley said he focuses on walking as much as possible, aiming for 10,000 steps a day for low-impact cardio and to reduce his time sitting. Walking is cardiologist-approved exercise, and the benefits for a healthier heart start at as few as an extra 500 to 1000 daily steps.

Hitting the full 10,000 steps a day is a big commitment to stick to consistently, but Rowley said the payoff is better resilience and functionality as you age.

"It's not easy to do, but what's harder: making that decision now or dealing with negative health in your older years? So choose your hard," he said.

Exercise is generally good for you, but a new high-quality clinical trial finds that it's so good, it can even knock back colon cancer—and, in fact, rival some chemotherapy treatments.

The finding comes from a phase 3, randomized clinical trial led by researchers in Canada, who studied nearly 900 people who had undergone surgery and chemotherapy for colon cancer. After those treatments, patients were evenly split into groups that either bulked up their regular exercise routines in a three-year program that included coaching and supervision or were simply given health education. The researchers found that the exercise group had a 28 percent lower risk of their colon cancer recurring, new cancers developing, or dying over eight years compared with the health education group.

The benefits of exercise, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, became visible after just one year and increased over time, the researchers found. The rate of people who survived for five years and remained cancer-free was 80.3 percent among the exercise group. That's a 6.4 percentage-point survival boost over the education group, which had a 73.9 percent cancer-free survival rate. The overall survival rate (with or without cancer) during the study's eight-year follow-up was 90.3 percent in the exercise group compared with 83.2 percent in the education group—a 7.1 percentage point difference. Exercise reduced the relative risk of death by 37 percent (41 people died in the exercise group compared with 66 in the education group).

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