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"Power of positive thinking" extracted from "Fit to Go the Distance" by Susan K. Lewis

It's possible that some of the positive change evident in Team NOVA's scores has little to do with red blood cells or mitochondria or any other physiological factor. Perhaps some psychological "X Factor" contributed to the improvement. VO2max is, after all, oxygen consumption at "maximum" exertion, measured when people run on a treadmill as fast as they think they can.  Did NOVA's runners, at the end of their adventure, have greater willpower and confidence to keep going on the treadmill at points where, nine months earlier, they might have felt they were too exhausted?

Whatever the answer, if the men and women of Team NOVA can retain some of the exercise practices and the mindset they gained through this experience, they likely will be not just fit to go the distance of future marathons, they will be better fit for life.  A mountain of medical studies has shown that regular exercise decreases risk of heart disease, high blood pressure, and Type II diabetes, helps people maintain a healthy body weight, and can ward off mild depression and possibly even Alzheimer's.

Do you have to train for a marathon to see such health benefits?  Not at all. For Team NOVA, taking on the challenge served as an impetus to get some of them off the proverbial couch. However, as Tufts University physiologist and Team NOVA advisor Roger Fielding notes, even brisk walking five or six days a week for 30 to 40 minutes at a time can impart many of the same health benefits. And that's something almost all of us can do.

Refer Section 16.(j)(i) and Section 16(j).