Everything to Know About VO₂ Max

VO₂ max refers to the maximum amount of oxygen your body can absorb and use during exercise. It measures your aerobic fitness levels.

If you’re looking to improve your aerobic fitness, you might consider maximizing your VO₂ max (sometimes called your oxygen uptake).

Read on to learn more about what VO₂ max is, how it’s measured, and how you can increase your VO₂ max.

What is VO₂ max?

VO₂ max is the maximum (max) rate (V) of oxygen (O₂) your body is able to use during exercise.

Oxygen is a critical ingredient in the respiratory process that’s involved in breathing. As you breathe in oxygen, your lungs absorb and turn it into energy called adenosine triphosphate (ATP).

ATP powers your cells and helps release the carbon dioxide (CO₂) that’s created during your respiratory process when you exhale.

The benefits are simple: The greater your VO₂ max, the more oxygen your body can consume, and the more effectively your body can use that oxygen to generate the maximum amount of ATP energy.

This means that your body can better handle aerobic fitness activities that require a lot of oxygen intake like running, swimming, and other types of cardio.

Who should improve their VO₂ max?

A high VO₂ max can be a good predictor of your athletic performance, especially if you’re a runner or a swimmer. Your VO₂ max amount can also act as a benchmark to track your progress as you improve your athletic abilities or if you’re trying to keep your VO₂ max at a certain level to maintain your performance.

But while oxygen uptake is more frequently used for athletes, is not just for athletes. It is a way to determine cardiorespiratory fitness in anyone. Medical professionals can use it to determine your heart and lung health.

Everyone — no matter their athletic ability — should try to increase their cardiorespiratory endurance. According to research, a higher VO₂ max is associated with a lower risk of death.

How is VO₂ max measured?

Typically, VO₂ max tests are conducted in a medical facility like a lab or hospital by a doctor, cardiologist, or fitness specialist.

Submaximal exercise tests

Some personal trainers and fitness instructors may also have certifications that allow them to conduct VO₂ max tests. These tests may be called “submaximal” because they are performed below (sub) max heart rate and below max exhaustion level, usually around 75%-85% max heart rate.

Submaximal exercise tests are still a useful way to measure your VO₂ max levels and your overall levels of heart and lung endurance during exercise.

The type of VO₂ max test that’s best for you depends on your fitness level. Your doctor or instructor may have you do one of the following tests if you exercise regularly or are a trained athlete:

You may do a simple walk/run test on a treadmill if you’re newer to exercise or have not exercised for some time. Other possible VO₂ max tests include:

How to determine VO₂ max METS

To turn VO₂ max into METS you simply divide your VO₂ max by 3.5.

What’s considered a ‘good’ VO₂ max?

VO₂ max depends on a few key factors:

Some of these factors, like age and sex, are uncontrollable. But the majority of your oxygen uptake depends on your fitness level, which can be managed.

There’s no one “good” VO₂ max that every single person should shoot for, but everyone should aim for a good or higher fitness score (60 and higher percentile).

Here are some averages based on sex and age that you can use for reference.

Typical VO₂ max for people born male measured in mL/kg/min:

Typical VO₂ max for people born female measured in mL/kg/min: