Campus News
October 6th, 2026
Wright: We should all want to live longer and better
Frostburg State assistant professor opens Garrett College JCLS season
McHenry, MD – Lifespan isn’t the only way to judge longevity. It may not even be the best way.
That was one of the key messages John Wright, an assistant professor of exercise science at Frostburg State University, emphasized during last Wednesday’s Joan Crawford Lecture Series presentation at Garrett College. His presentation – Built for Adventure: The Science of Strength, Mobility, Recovery, and Longevity for the Adventure Athlete – offered several other longevity indicators.
“Lifespan just measures time you are alive,” said Wright. “We’re living longer than ever before, but we’re not living as well.”
Wright suggested that health span – “how many years you are thriving and living well” – serves as a better evaluative tool. He also offered performance span (“how long can you do things you like to do and perform demanding physical tasks”) and adventure span (“how long you can keep saying ‘yes’ to activities that you love”) as ways for people to measure what they are getting out of life.
Wright also recommended that people consider what they want to be able to do in their senior years while they are still young enough to prepare for life as seniors.
“How old will you be when you ski or ride or hike or paddle or climb for the last time?” Wright asked rhetorically. “Adventure sports are lifetime sports – but they’re something you have to be prepared for. They are high risk and have a pretty high fitness requirement. It’s so important to have a base level of fitness to do these sports.”
Adults who aren’t interested in adventure sports, but still have activities they want to be able to continue doing as seniors, also have to plan how to be fit enough to do those activities. Wright noted that most of the factors that inhibit activity as seniors result from lifestyle choices people make years earlier.
“The things that used to kill us – infectious diseases, tuberculosis, malaria, dysentery – stuff that used to kill us by the millions, we’ve got a pretty good handle on those in this country,” said Wright. “The things that are killing us now – high blood pressure, heart disease, dementia, strokes – are all influenced by the choices that we make.”
While noting those factors abound, he singled out four of them: industrialized food, sedentary lifestyle, stress, and pursuit of comfort. These are also complicating factors for adults looking to stretch their health, performance, and adventure spans.
Wright said one of the best ways to measure current and future capabilities involves an individual’s VO2 – volume of oxygen consumed. He offered several ways to estimate VO2, including the Rockport 1-Mile Walk. To use this measure, an individual should:
- Walk one mile as fast as safely possible;
- Record total time;
- Record heart rate immediately at the finish;
- Enter age, gender, weight, duration of 1-mile walk, and heart rate at the end of the walk into the calculator at https://www.icliniq.com/tool/vo2-max-calculator.
According to Different Health, the average VO2 max for a 50-year-old male is generally between 30 and 35 milliliters/kilogram/minute. VO2 declines as people age, but staying fit can reduce the decline. According to Wright, a masters athlete’s VO2 declines about 5.5 percent per decade after age 30 compared to a 12 percent decline per decade in sedentary peers.
Wright said regular aerobic exercise and strength training are both necessary as adults age in order for them to remain as active as they wish to be in advancing years. He noted VO2 max, muscle/power, bone strength, and stability all play roles in extending health, performance, and adventure spans.
Note: Professor Wright’s lecture is available on Garrett College’s YouTube channel (https://www.youtube.com/garrettcollege).