Your essential guide to VO2 max—what it is, why it matters, and how to train smarter to raise your aerobic ceiling and run faster at every distance.
If you gather a group of runners together, you’ll often hear the same kinds of chatter. Sure, race PRs and training niggles will probably predominate, but there’s another topic that’s been consistently gaining steam: VO2 max.
Or, more specifically: What’s your VO2 max? Which inevitably leads to: Is my VO2 max any good? And what can I do to improve my VO2 max?Lots of runners are talking about it, but for many, what that sciency term actually means remains a little hazy—as does what they should be doing with the number. So we’re breaking it down for you. For everything you need to know about this trendy and telling metric, keep on scrolling.What is VO2 max, anyway?Basically, VO2 max refers to the maximal amount of oxygen your cells can consume in order to produce energy to power through whatever hard task is at hand. It’s a collaborative process, with your lungs, heart, and muscles working together to get it done, Grace Horan, MS, a certified run coach and exercise physiologist at Hospital for Special Surgery tells Runner’s World.Think of your body like a car: VO2 max is your horsepower. “With VO2 max, you’re essentially asking yourself, how much horsepower do I have?” Mathias Sorensen, MS, an exercise physiologist at UCSF Human Performance Center, tells Runner’s World. Having more “horsepower” can help runners hold faster paces longer with less strain.Workouts to Improve Your VO2 MaxThe best way to improve your VO2 max is to tap into the right heart-rate zone during intervals. These workouts are a great start:Who should care about VO2 max?The general population has taken a vested interest in this metric—particularly those looking to biohack their health.“In recent years, it’s come up a lot in the literature as one of the leading indicators of overall health and longevity,” says Horan. In fact, research has linked higher VO2 max levels to healthier hearts, better blood sugar control, and longer lives.Runners care about VO2 max for those health perks—but also because it can offer clues about performance.The more oxygen you’re able to take in, the more work you’re able to put out. “People with high VO2 maxes are able to sustain submaximal efforts like a marathon effort for longer periods of time at a lower relative intensity,” says Horan.A high VO2 max will make all of your daily tasks feel easier, from walking up a flight of stairs to shoveling snow to, yes, that hard workout on tap. And when those tough sessions feel less draining, you’re more likely to complete them successfully and remain consistent, which brings its own training benefits, too.That means runners who have PR goals or who are looking to hit certain times may want to keep an eye on their VO2 max, says Horan. On the flip side, those who are just running for enjoyment may not feel quite as pulled to the metric.Important Limitations of VO2 Max to ConsiderOne key performance point: Your VO2 max doesn’t necessarily define your ceiling as a runner.“Your VO2 max is ultimately a quantifiable representation of your current best fitness,” Sorensen says. That means with focused training, you can nudge it up higher. Likewise, if you step off the gas, you can expect to see it drop.Plus, like all easily accessible metrics—most wearables now give a VO2 max reading—it can be tempting to let the number loom a little too large in your day to day. While the number’s important, “it’s not a be-all, end-all,” says Sorensen. “Sometimes you get too fixated on a value and let that define who you are as an athlete as opposed to letting it inform you.”The Science of VO2 MaxVO2 max involves a lot of important parts of your body working together—heart, lungs, and muscles—so it’s not surprising it can tell us a lot about your general health along with your running. But because it’s such an intricate systemic process, it can also be a confusing one to understand, especially when held up against other running-related metrics. Breaking VO2 max down into its components can help demystify it—and help you understand what that number actually means for your running life and outside it.VO2 Max TestingVO2 max tests done in the lab are often considered the gold standard for accuracy, but they can cost hundreds of dollars and aren’t exactly a breezy process. Your watch, wearable, or other fitness tracking device, on the other hand, can spit out your VO2 max much more easily and inexpensively. But can you trust them? Here’s what to know about all the ways to estimate your number.Improving Your VO2 Max VO2 max isn’t stagnant—it can increase or decrease based on the work that you’re putting in, along with other factors. If you’re looking to boost your number, high intensity intervals will come in clutch. This strenuous work causes systemic adaptations in your heart, lungs, and muscles that can increase your VO2 max.What to Know About VO2 Max as You Age Age is one of the factors that influence VO2 max; numbers start to drop after age 30 or so. But there are things you can do to stave off the decline, and a lot of it has to do with your exercise routine as you hit those important years.FAQs1. What factors influence VO2 max?VO2 maxes aren’t the same across the board. Genetics is the overlying determinator, says Horan, but other factors come into play, too:Age: VO2 max starts to decline after age 30 or soBiological sex: Men generally have higher VO2 maxes than womenBody composition: People with higher muscle mass tend to have higher VO2 maxesTraining: High intensity training can lead to a higher VO2 max2. How do you improve your VO2 max?Like we mentioned, high intensity work is going to be key here. “The high intensity intervals need to be pushed to a very hard, like near max or past max, effort to foster those adaptations to your VO2 max,” says Horan. That means if you’re getting to a 7 or an 8 on the 1-10 effort scale, you’re likely not pushing hard enough.Of course, you shouldn’t be doing HIIT all the time. It’s important to keep enough easy, zone 2 running in your program to prevent injury and build endurance.3. Is someone with a high VO2 max always going to win in a race over someone with a lower VO2 max?Theoretically, this should be the case. “When looking at VO2 max only, we can say with relatively high confidence that the person with a higher one, especially if it’s significantly higher, is going to be the better performer,” says Horan. But in real life, it’s not that simple: Other things come into play, especially as distances get longer, including running economy, muscular strength and power, and psychological components, she says.“There are other factors involved here,” says Sorensen. “Otherwise we wouldn’t even have sports. We’d just bring people to the lab, and whoever has the highest VO2 max, give them a medal and skip the Olympics.”4. What’s the most accurate way to measure your VO2 max?Metabolic testing at the lab is going to be your “gold standard,” says Horan. You’ll wear a mask while you run on a treadmill and providers measure your oxygen usage. These VO2 max tests generally cost several hundred dollars or so.While the VO2 max readings on wearables like watches or arm bands aren’t as precise as a lab’s, “they do a relatively good job at calculating it and estimating it,” says Horan. Just make sure you’re wearing it for all of your efforts so it can gain a full picture of your fitness, says Sorensen.5. Can you stop VO2 max from declining with age?Your VO2 max naturally declines as you get older, but you can help minimize the drop. The biggest thing? Keep exercising—and don’t ease up on the intensity. “The only way to keep it high is through the kind of exercise that elicits that adaptation to continue to raise VO2 max, or just keep it high to combat the decline,” says Horan.
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