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 LondonI 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, butIwas interested to try the first class I’d seen marketed around VO2 max.
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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.
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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.
The class involved switching between an assault bike and ski machine.
Kim Schewitz
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.”
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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.
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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.
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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.
Kim Schewitz during the VO2 max-boosting class that lasted 50 minutes.
Kim Schewitz
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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?
Actress Jennifer Aniston has launched a new four-week challenge with fitness app Pvolve to help people get into the right mindset to exercise.
The Worth It Everytime campaign, created in collaboration with mental wellness app Headspace, encourages people to view exercise as something that energizes them rather than punishes them.
Pvolve members can access 30-35 minute exercise classes—both in person and online—as well as 30 days of free access to the Headspace app, which offers guided meditations and stress-busting tools to build lasting habits and emotional resilience.
Members who complete all 16 workouts will receive a limited edition Everything Pouch, created exclusively for the challenge.
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Aniston, a Pvolve partner and fitness enthusiast, admits she doesn’t always feel in the mood to exercise.
“People assume I’m always motivated, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. I have plenty of days where I don’t want to work out at all.”
However, she says training with Pvolve keeps her going on down days because the app makes exercise feel good rather than a punishment.
Start your week with achievable workout ideas, health tips and wellbeing advice in your inbox.
“What I’ve learned is that the conversation in your head is actually part of the work. You show up for yourself anyway, you move a little, and then something shifts. You feel better. That feeling is what brings me back.”
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“I know I’m doing something good for my body long term, and that makes showing up feel worth it every time.”
Pvolve head trainer Dani Coleman adds that, “when movement and mindset work together, something clicks.
“Consistency becomes natural and a workout stops feeling like something you push through and starts feeling like something that truly supports your total-body health.”
To help new members get started, Pvolve is offering 10% off sitewide.
After a period of inactivity, getting your fitness back can feel like a tough slog.
Jason Smith, a personal trainer, nutritional advisor and founder of Fit in Midlife, knows this from personal experience. He got fit again at 50 after years of inactivity, then started training people of a similar age, helping them to do the same.
One type of client that Smith often works with is the ex-athlete—someone who was sporty in their teens or 20s, but became less active with age.
These people are often ready to jump back in at the deep end: running long distances or lifting heavy weights, but find their brain is writing checks their body can’t cash.
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“Your brain still thinks that you can do the things that you used to do,” says Smith.
“Your body has had the longest rest period it’s ever going to have and during that period of time, your muscles have gone into atrophy, your cardiovascular system has diminished and you won’t be as capable as you were when you were in your 20s. This is just an unfortunate fact of life.”
“It can be really demotivating because you don’t feel capable,” adds Smith. “You don’t feel as though you’re actually able to do anything. But of course, the truth is very different.”
Start your week with achievable workout ideas, health tips and wellbeing advice in your inbox.
And in Smith’s experience, there are two things that will help you overcome the dejection that can come when expectations meet reality.
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1. Find something you enjoy
Smith tells me that the first run he went on after deciding to move more turned into a walk. “Once I’d run about 300 meters, I realised it was much harder than I thought it would be,” he says.
Instead of stopping, Smith decided he was going to do the distance he planned, but by walking, breaking into a jog now and then.
“Despite not being able to do what I intended to do when I left the house, I enjoyed being out in the fresh air, moving my body and being active,” he says.
Now he runs because he loves experiencing beautiful places.
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“You don’t have to set a personal best every time that you go for a run,” he says.
“It doesn’t hurt to enjoy the environment while you’re out there,” says Smith. “If you see something that you want to stop and look at, stop and look at it.
“You are still doing the run. You are still improving your cardiovascular fitness. You are still burning calories. You are still getting your heart rate up.”
2. Be consistent and add small challenges
Because he enjoyed his first outing, Smith tried again, and crucially, he tried to do a little more running than last time.
“The next time I went, I was able to run a little bit further and walk a little bit less,” he says. “And I went again. Over time, walks turned into proper runs.”
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“By being consistent, you will build up the strength, endurance and stamina that make you more capable,” says Smith. “Start easy and gradually increase the challenge.
“Go to that next lamppost if you’re running, or an additional repetition on each of your sets if you’re weight training.”
“These things add up and make all the difference.”
Three weeks later, he ran up his nearest hill without stopping at all. “It was such a great feeling,” he says.
And that’s how Smith advises formerly athletic midlifers to return to exercise. Find a form of movement they enjoy and aim for achievable, consistent progress. These two simple things will set you up for success in the future.
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“You will feel stronger. You will feel fitter. You will have probably lost a little bit of weight as well,” says Smith. “This will also mean you’ll feel a little lighter and more energized. Then you will feel good about the progress that you’ve made.”
You don’t need a gym to exercise. Here’s how to work out at home.
ProblemSolved, USA TODAY
Whether you’re focused on building muscle, improving your balance or working on your ability to complete longer, sustained workouts, one thing’s for sure: you’ll need to take small, actionable steps to reach your fitness goals.
Remember, you don’t need to drastically overhaul your life on January 1. In fact, before making any major changes to your dietary pattern and exercise routine, it’s best to have a conversation with your doctor first, especially if you live with any chronic conditions. In the long run, you’ll most benefit from taking small, actionable steps to help achieve your fitness and nutrition goals, the experts say.
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We asked fitness experts to break down their top tips to help you kick off 2026 stronger than ever.
How to fit exercise into a busy schedule
If you’re hitting the reset button on your fitness routine, start small and choose an exercise you enjoy, says Dr. Kimberly Burbank, a primary care sports medicine fellow and team physician at UCLA Athletics. You don’t necessarily need to do the movements traditionally associated with exercise to get a good workout in, either. “I really encourage people to choose (a movement) they actually enjoy doing, because they will probably stick with it more,” she says.
To help set attainable fitness goals, one route is to use the SMART framework of goal setting, recommends Dr. Brandee L. Waite, a professor and vice chair of Wellness & Community Engagement Department of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation at UC Davis School of Medicine, the medical director of the UC Davis Health Sports Medicine Clinic and the director of Lifestyle & Longevity Medicine Innovation.
The SMART acronym stands for goals that are specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and time bound, and what’s great about using this framework in an exercise context is that you’re able to approach fitness as you would any other appointment — if it’s scheduled on your calendar, there’s a greater likelihood you’ll honor it, Waite says.
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We all know physical fitness is crucial. But how many days weekly should you work out?
When it comes to fitting exercise into a busy schedule, “I try to encourage consistency over perfection,” Burbank says. Often, her patients will express frustration that they’ve missed a week of exercise — and therefore their entire workout schedule has been thrown off. While it’s important to “be as consistent as you can, (understand) that you don’t have to be perfect to still make a meaningful difference,” she says.
If you’re someone who prefers to exercise in the morning, try to make it easy for yourself when you wake up. “It’s so easy when that alarm goes off to just ignore it and move on. But if you have laid out your clothes the night before, have your coffee prepped (and) have your bag packed, then there’s so many (fewer) variables and barriers,” Burbank says.
How often should you exercise?
There’s no perfect cadence as to how often you should exercise. “What works really well for one person, will not work at all for another person. So, it does need to be personalized and realistic,” says Waite. However, there is something to be said about shorter, more frequent workouts. There’s a lower risk of injury, and they’re faster to complete and generally easier to stay consistent with, Burbank says.
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Ultimately, what’s most important is to meet a certain number of goal minutes every week, says Dr. Julia L. Iafrate, a sports medicine physician at NYU Langone Health and a team physician for the U.S. Ski Team. The Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans and the American College of Sports Medicine recommend adults participate in 150-to-300 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise a week. While this might sound intimidating, that breaks down to only 30 minutes of exercise a day over the course of five days, and could consist of a mix of pilates, yoga or brisk walking.
More: What were the popular workout classes of 2025? See ClassPass report
If you prefer vigorous-intensity aerobic exercises (like HIIT or running), it’s recommended you complete at least 75 minutes a week, which evens out to a little more than 20 minutes of exercise a day over the course of three days. On top of these exercises, the organizations suggest adults should partake in muscle-strengthening workouts at least two days a week.
What are the most beginner-friendly exercises?
There are a few forms of exercise that should be a central focus of your workouts: cardio, muscle strengthening and balance work. Practicing each type of exercise can help improve your ability to do the others and also reduce your risk of injury, Iafrate says.
Cardio. Incorporating aerobic exercises that get your heart rate up (such as running, swimming or cycling) is key to improving endurance, supports heart and lung health, and lowers your risk for a number of chronic diseases, Iafrate says.
Muscle strengthening. Resistance training with weights stimulates two types of muscle contractions: eccentric loading and concentric loading. When you perform a bicep curl with a dumbbell in hand, that’s considered a concentric motion. As you lower the dumbbell and your arm straightens, that is an eccentric motion, Iafrate says. Both movements are important for strength building, tendon health and bone mineral density, she explains.
Balance work. Functional movement training, including tai chi and yoga, is especially beneficial for maintaining flexibility, stabilizing your body and limiting the likelihood of falls down the line, Iafrate says.
Weight-bearing exercise. “Walking, especially for beginners, is super underrated,” Burbank says. Getting your step count up to 7,000 steps a day offers immense benefits for health, including lowering your risk for cardiovascular diseases and type 2 diabetes, according to a 2025 study published in Lancet Public Health.
If you’re relatively new to exercise and don’t know what is helpful or harmful, Waite recommends having at least two-to-three sessions with a physical therapist to develop the right type of exercise program. For instance, if someone has a medical condition like hip arthritis, a professional can provide “modifications for a regular fitness training program that won’t further exacerbate the problem that is currently bothering them,” Waite says.
How can nutrition support fitness goals?
“Nutrition and exercise have such a symbiotic relationship,” Burbank says. Throughout your week, prioritize whole, fiber-rich foods, including fruits, vegetables and whole grains. Americans aren’t consuming nearly enough protein, which is essential to muscle building, muscle recovery and satiety, Burbank notes. Your minimum daily intake of protein should hover between 0.8 grams to 1.2 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight. To increase your protein intake, the Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2020-2025 recommends incorporating more lean meats, poultry, eggs, seafood, legumes, nuts, seeds and soy into your diet.
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More: Functional strength training provides many health benefits. But you need to be careful.
Hydration is particularly important, especially prior to working out. “When you’re dehydrated, (it will) increase your likelihood for fatigue and poor peak performance,” Iafrate says. Ideally, we should be drinking between 2.5 to 3 liters of water a day, Burbank says.
More: Consider these 4 doctor-approved tips to help maintain strong, healthy bones
