VO2 Max: The Fitness Metric That Can Help You Run Faster and Work Out Harder
Your VO2 max can give you important insights about your cardiorespiratory fitness, such as how long you can sustain a certain intensity of exercise, which relates to fitness hallmarks like your mile run time. Here’s how to measure it and how to improve yours.
VO2 max
The maximum amount of oxygen you can utilize during exercise
- Measured in milliliters of oxygen consumed in one minute, per kilogram of body weight (mL/kg/min).
- Not the same thing as heart rate, but can be used to track fitness progress.
How to Increase Your VO2 Max
High-intensity interval training is one of the best ways to improve your VO2 max
- Train your body to work at incredibly high levels for a period of time just long enough to push or surpass your anaerobic threshold before returning to a steadier, aerobic state
- In a theoretical sense, any exercise that pushes your limits can increase your VO 2 max
How to test VO2 max
Usually reserved for elite athletes and health professionals.
- To test, wear a mask and heart rate monitor hooked up to a treadmill or stationary bike. The mask is connected to a machine that collects and measures the volume of oxygen you inhale, and the amount of air you exhale.
VO2 max should be 42.5-46.4 mL/kg/min
There’s no one VO2 “good” max: it varies based on age, gender, fitness level, and altitude.
- The average sedentary (inactive) male achieves a VO2max of about 35 to 40 mL/ kg/min, while the average sesentary female scores approximately 27 to 30 mL/ kilogram/min. e.g. elite male runners have tested up to 85 mL/g/min and elite female runners have scored up to 77 mL/kG/min
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