I often say, “I do all the same things I did when I was 20… I’m just worse at them and I hurt more afterwards.” But given that people with the highest cardiorespiratory fitness tend to have the lowest risk of all-cause mortality (80% less risk than those with low fitness levels in this study), I strive to have mitochondrial function that’s at least in the same zip code as pro athletes. And at the very least, I can take solace in the fact that, according to the Cross Country kids that I coach, I’m “really fast for an old guy.” (On a side note, my laboratory-measured VO2 max was 78 ml/kg/min when I was running in College…my watch currently “estimates” I’m at 63 using its Mystery Algorithm). Whatever my true VO2 max, it’s worse than when I was in my early 20s!
But then I got to wondering…how does my Lipid Panel compare to Olympic Athletes? This study looked at 977 Olympians from 2012 to 2022, and here were the average results of males in this study (I don’t live in California, so I typically don’t try to compete with females):
| Olympic Male Athlete | Josh the Lipid Guy |
| Total Cholesterol: 177 | 160 |
| Triglycerides: 80 | 68 |
| HDL-C: 60 | 67.4 |
| LDL-C: 101 | 79 |
| VLDL-C: 16 | 14 |
| Non-HDL-C: 117 | 93 |
So far, I’m looking pretty good for Los Angeles 2028! But there’s a big difference between shot putters and marathoners, so when looking at the 264 endurance athletes (both male and female this time), these were the averages:
| Olympic Endurance Athlete | Josh the Lipid Guy |
| Total Cholesterol: 181 | 160 |
| Triglycerides: 69 | 68 |
| HDL-C: 72 | 67.4 |
| LDL-C: 95 | 79 |
| VLDL-C: 14 | 14 |
| Non-HDL-C: 109 | 93 |
ApoB metrics were not obtained in this study, but you can read about that important metric HERE. Also, remember that no one, including me, was on any cholesterol-lowering medication in these studies.
So what was the point of this? Mainly for fun, since Lipids are awesome! And now, the next time I meet an Olympic runner and he wants to talk about my race times, I’ll just divert the conversation to my “World Class Lipid Panel” rather than my comparably pedestrian athletic prowess…it’s the only way I might be able to compete!
