Last week I got my VO2 max tested at ACU in Brisbane. The number came back at 58.2.
For a 35 year old man, that's superior. Just under national level athlete territory. The tech in the lab said he'd estimated me at 56 based on the curve, my Whoop had me at 60, and the real number landed neatly between them. So I was happy. I went in curious about how accurate my wearables actually were, and curious about where I really sat from a training standpoint, because I know I've got more in the tank. The test gave me the answer.
And here's the part I want to talk about.
That number is a great data point. But it's not the story.
Because a strong body at 35 is not the same thing as a strong body at 25. And most men are still chasing a 25 year old definition of strength while their life has completely changed underneath them.
If you're a man with a career, a partner, kids, a mortgage, and the rest of life pulling at you, the question is not "how much can you lift" or "how fast can you run a 5k." The real question is bigger and harder.
Can your body actually do what your life is asking of it?
I work with men every week who look fit on paper. They train. They eat reasonably well. They look the part. And they feel flat, tired, irritable, and disconnected. They're "fit" by the old definition and broken by the new one.
So here's the framework. The 5 pillars of a strong body. Miss one and the whole thing wobbles.
Pillar 1: Capacity
Can you do what your life asks of you, without breaking?
Capacity is the foundation. It's the boring one. Nobody puts capacity on Instagram. But it's the difference between a man who shows up and a man who runs out of gas by Wednesday.
Lift the kid without your back going. Carry the bags from the car without being short of breath. Run a hard meeting and still have something left for your wife at dinner. Travel for work and not be wrecked for three days.
For a man between 35 and 45 with a kid, a business or career, and a marriage worth being present in, capacity is the whole game. You are constantly being pulled between saying yes to opportunities and wanting to be the kind of father and husband who is actually in the room, not just next to the couch.
Capacity is what lets you do both.
Pillar 2: Energy
A strong body doesn't crash at 3pm.
If you need coffee to function and wine to wind down, you're not strong. You're surviving.
I'm a big believer that energy starts with sleep. But it doesn't end there. Movement creates energy. The more I move my body, the more energy I have. If I sit on the couch all day, I feel tired. If I'm up, training, walking, doing things, I feel switched on. Emotion creates emotion. Movement creates more movement.
I don't depend on coffee. I'm not anti-alcohol, but I'm careful. I look at what I need to do tomorrow and I ask what's going to serve me best tonight.
The thing I've historically been worst at is eating. When I'm busy I forget. I under eat. And then I wonder why I'm flat. So now I schedule food into my calendar the same way I schedule meetings. Sounds basic. It changed everything.
If your energy is held together by stimulants and depressants, your body is not strong. It's running a deficit. And the bill always comes due.
Pillar 3: Resilience
Can you recover?
From the bad sleep. The hard week. The missed session. The late flight. The argument with your partner. The week your kid was sick and nothing went to plan.
Strength is not never falling. Strength is how fast you get back on.
Every man goes through tough stretches. The difference between the bloke who bounces back in two days and the bloke who takes two weeks isn't talent or genetics. It's the willingness to grab the steering wheel earlier.
The two week guy is still focused on what went wrong. He's spiralling. He doesn't feel like he has control, or he's not ready to take it back. The two day guy isn't pretending the bad week didn't happen. He's just decided faster that he's not going to let it dictate the next one.
Resilience is a skill. It's built in small moments. And it's the pillar that protects every other one.
Pillar 4: Longevity
Are you training for next month, or the next 40 years?
Most men train like they'll be 30 forever. The strong ones train like they'll be 70 soon.
When my son Freddie was born, my training philosophy didn't actually change much. I've always wanted to be fit, strong, healthy, and mobile. But what shifted was the time horizon. I'm prioritising sleep more. I'm prioritising eating well more. Not because I'm scared of getting older, but because I want to be active and switched on at 70. I want to be on the floor with Freddie's kids one day. I want to still be running.
I finished playing footy at 23. I look back now and I wish I'd known what I know now, that there would come a time I couldn't just pick the footy up and play again. That door closes quietly. You don't notice it shutting.
I don't want to make that mistake with anything else.
Longevity is about training for the man you want to be in 40 years, not the man you were 10 years ago.
Pillar 5: Performance
Yes. Performance still matters.
Not to win races. Not to prove anything to anyone else. To prove to yourself that you're still capable.
That number on the test. That time on the run. That weight on the bar. That's not vanity. That's the receipt.
There's going to come a time in my life when I can't compete at certain levels. I know that. While I'm still in the phase where I can, I want to give it everything. I want to know what my body is actually capable of. The VO2 max test was a baseline. Sub 1:20 at the Gold Coast Half is the next target. There will be more after that.
Performance is the pillar that keeps the other four honest. Capacity, energy, resilience, and longevity are easy to fake to yourself. Performance isn't. The clock tells the truth.
Five Pillars. One Body.
Capacity. Energy. Resilience. Longevity. Performance.
Most men have one or two of these on a good year. Maybe three if they're really dialled in.
The five together is what a strong body actually looks like at 35, 45, 55. Built to last. Built to live.
This is the Strong Body pillar of the Core 4. It sits alongside Calm Mind, Clear Purpose, and Confident Life. They all feed each other. A strong body without a calm mind is just a stressed man in good shape. A clear purpose without a strong body is a great mission your body can't carry.
The question isn't whether you train. The question is whether you're training the right thing.
Where Are Your Gaps?
If you read through those five pillars and one of them stung a bit, that's the work.
The Own Your Week Scorecard takes five minutes. Honest answers only. It shows you which of the Core 4 you're winning at and which you're drifting in, so you can stop guessing and start training what actually matters.
**Take the Own Your Week Scorecard →**
Built to last. Built to live.
Cheers
Lachlan Stuart
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*Lachlan Stuart is a Brisbane-based men's performance coach, keynote speaker, endurance athlete and founder of The Man That Can Project. He coaches high-performing men through The Life Locked In Blueprint and speaks globally on resilience, identity and standards-based living.*
