The conventional wisdom is this: the body reaches its physical peak at 25, and it’s an uphill battle from there. But in the race for longevity with its accessories, Oura trackers, Pilates reformer and sleep score, conventional wisdom seems a bit out of step.
The most famous phrase these days is “keeping fit”: maintaining your peak performance for years longer than your parents would. A better approach to sports science, with more “total health packages” and “fitness DNA tests” than you can shake a stick at, means Gen X (ages 44 to 59) are sticking around.
There are now 6.3 per cent more active people aged 55+ in the UK than seven years ago (while there are 320,000 fewer 16-34 year olds in the workforce).
For example, at 48, I am fitter and stronger than I was in my 20s. My gym is increasingly busy with super fit people in their 50s, 60s and 70s crushing deadlifts and burpees (though not taking gym selfies – you have to draw a generational line somewhere).
So, which generation in Team YOU has the greatest fitness retention? We had to borrow a lab to find out. “It’s never too late to start a health and fitness journey, and that’s what I tell patients in their 80s,” says Dr. Gaurav Sabharwal, Private Sports Practitioner and Founder and CEO of One5 Health.
He had us use his preventive health clinic to run a range of blood tests measuring hormones, vitamins, cholesterol and diabetes risk, body fat and muscle percentage analysis, balance tests and grip strength tests (a key indicator of overall health). ).
What is the longevity test that everyone who is interested in “keeping fit” stumbles upon? And VO₂ Max. Sabharwal describes it as “one of the strongest predictors of health length” as well as “the strongest independent predictor of future life expectancy”.
You’d be forgiven for not having heard of VO₂ Max. Six months ago they only had running nerds. But Sabharwal swears by it. Fitness and wellness experts—among them Peter Attia, a Canadian physician and podcaster who wrote Outlive: The Science and Art of Longevity in 2023—have touted it as the most beneficial measure for all exercisers. Searches for the test have skyrocketed since then.
VO₂ Max is a numerical score that expresses how efficiently your body metabolizes oxygen. To solve this, you’re placed on a treadmill with your face strapped to a mask that measures the amount of oxygen you breathe in and use up, and you’re asked to run to the point of exhaustion (hence the “max”).
The more oxygen you use efficiently, the more energy your muscles will have, increasing the time and intensity at which you can exercise.
Most usefully, this score can be adjusted for genetics, gender, age and body composition: the same score may be considered high for one person and low for another. And since we are a competitive bunch at VÁS, we decided to test which generation of our employees is most at the top. For fun, we gave everyone a school exam-style written grade loosely tied to their maximum VO₂ score.
GEN Z
Maggie: Top and leggings, Goodmove from M&S; Socks, The Sock Shop; Trainers, Asics at Schuh
‘Skinny hips mean I can’t squat’
name Maggie John
Age 23
VO₂ Maximum Score (ml/kg/min) 43.1 (that puts Maggie in the top 25 percent of VO₂ scores after adjusting for age and gender).
Bio health I recently started walking 8-10km a day – I love the positive impact it has on my mental health.
Fitness brag The tests showed that my strength was absolutely fine and I surprisingly scored the best points for fitness.
Fitness failure Social media is full of people doing extreme fitness challenges and it always makes me feel like I’m not doing enough. The testing team told me that walking is the best form of exercise for me when it comes to maximizing fat burning.
A hidden health defect I can’t squat very low due to poor hip mobility. Now I try to fix this with daily(ish) pilates exercises.
Scarlett: Top and shorts, New Era; Socks, The Sock Shop; Trainers, Nike at Schuh
‘I’m a spin-class fan who vape’
name Scarlett Dargan
Age 25
VO₂ Maximum score 52 (that puts Scarlett in the top 10 percent of VO₂ scores).
Bio health I’m a spin-class fanatic and marathon runner who loves to drink, vape and can’t cook, won’t cook.
Fitness brag My VO₂ Max rating was high. Marathon training probably makes me fitter than the average Gen Zer.
Fitness failure I like to drink alcohol five nights a week; more than almost all of my Gen Z friends, many of whom are abstinent—yet my liver is apparently fine.
A hidden health defect My strength was very poor – I mean “bottom 20 percent for my age” poor. This means that I am more prone to injury during exercise and proves that I need to diversify my training.
Millennials
“My muscle to fat ratio is terrible”
name Luisa Avietti
Age 30
VO₂ Maximum score 46 (that puts Luisa in the top 5 percent of VO₂ scores).
Bio health Naturally slim, but I absolutely don’t work out – I don’t like how it feels when you sweat, and sometimes when I go to the gym with my boyfriend, we talk rather than work out.
Fitness brag During the VO₂ Max test on the treadmill, I felt like I could go on forever. I swam competitively as a teenager, so maybe my body remembered that it once had good endurance.
Fitness failure I’m only in the 3rd centile of strength, so practically everyone else my age is stronger than me.
A hidden health defect My muscle-to-fat ratio, as it turns out, is terrible—I’m skinny-fat, in a nutshell.
Samuel: T-shirt and shorts, Goodmove from M&S; Socks, The Sock Shop; Trainers, New Balance at Schuh
“I could lift a suitcase for a move”
name Samuel Fishwick
Age 33
VO₂ Maximum score 34 (that puts Sam in the top 50 percent of VO₂ scores).
Bio health Chubby millennial who snacks a lot.
Fitness brag When I run, I burn a lot of fat calories at a lower heart rate—but also, unfortunately, a lot less the harder I run. So rather than HIIT training, I have to do steady cardio.
Fitness failure I’m a wimpy heavyweight. I already knew – my wife beat me to the punch – but no one likes to have these things explained.
A hidden health defect Tests have shown that I can get the amount of force you need to lift a trunk under duress. Adjusting for my weight and height, 94 percent of other men can make it. I am also overweight. Hmm.
Kerry: Top, bralette and leggings, Sweaty Betty; Trainers, Saucony at Sweaty Betty
Gen X
‘I was lousy at the jump test’
name Kerry Potter
Age 48
VO₂ Maximum score 43 (this puts Kerry in the top 5 percent of VO₂ scores).
Bio health A stereotypical Gen X hedonist in recovery – I traded in raving for running and am now a dedicated gym bunny (and cookie eater).
Fitness brag My cardio fitness and strength were impeccable. All that iron pumping is paying off: my grip strength is excellent, my muscle mass is good, and my squat strength is in the 65th percentile for my age.
Fitness failure As someone who was always applauded slowly by the other students during the high jump in school PE, it was no surprise that I did poorly in the high jump test.
A hidden health defect I’m iron deficient so I need a supplement.
Rosie: Top and leggings, Vuori; Trainers, New Balance at Schuh
“I run with my dog three times a week”
name Rosie Green
Age 50
VO₂ Maximum score 45 (meaning Rosie is in the top 5 percent of VO₂ scores).
Bio health I’m working out. I run with my dog three times a week and work out twice a week. But – full disclosure – I never push myself too hard.
Fitness brag The team said I had “impressive” fitness and recovery levels, plus the heart age of someone seven years younger. My stroke risk is half that of the average 50-year-old.
Fitness failure My grip strength was normal to low.
A hidden health defect Despite my super healthy diet, it turns out I have significantly high cholesterol. Come to think of it, I like to see teeth marks on my buttered toast.
AND the winners are… Gen X! middle age they have it
Dr Gaurav Sabharwal
To compare the health and fitness of different generations, we used the following parameters: VO₂ Max, percentage of muscle mass, grip strength score and average blood glucose levels.
Gen Xers are in excellent health, and there are several better outcomes for this group—both in terms of health and fitness—compared to Gen Z and millennials. VO₂ Max tends to peak in adults in their 20s and then decline by about 10 percent per decade. Gen Z had the highest score, as you’d expect.
However, there is a 25-year age difference between the Gen X and Gen Z couples, so we would expect VO₂ Max scores to be at least 20 percent lower for the older women—yet it was only eight percent.
As a result, after adjusting for the expected age-related decline, Gen X couples maintain higher levels of cardiorespiratory fitness than their younger counterparts.
Interestingly, Gen X had by far the highest grip strength of any generation – apparently boosting Kerry and Rosie is paying off. Key takeaway from the project? Age should not be a barrier to adopting and maintaining health and fitness.
A One5 Health Well Woman or Well Man screening starts from £250; a fitness testing package costs £450. See one5.health for more details
Stylist: Sairey Stemp
Hair: Julie Read at Carol Hayes
Makeup: Levi-Jade Taylor in Carole Hayes