Fitness is full of numbers meant to help you get faster and stronger. There’s your mile run time, your resting heart rate, and measures of strength and flexibility. But perhaps the gold standard is VO2 max.
A few years ago, the test – which tracks how much oxygen your body absorbs – was an obscure tool used mostly by elite athletes. Today, it is touted by fitness professionals and wellness experts like Peter Attia as a useful measure for all exercisers.
But getting an accurate number requires an expensive and exhaustive laboratory evaluation. And estimates provided by mobile devices may not tell you much. So how useful is it to invest time and money in the full workout, and how important is it to know your VO2 max?
For everyday people who want to be healthy and live long, the measurement is “the best empirical information we have about health and longevity,” said Kate Baird, a clinical exercise physiologist and coordinator of running and metabolic services at Hospital. for Special Surgery in New York.
The key, he said, is to act on what the data tells you.
What is VO2 Max?
“VO2 max” is a two-digit number that expresses how efficiently your body metabolizes oxygen. The measurement itself is the milliliters of oxygen consumed in one minute per kilogram of body weight.
As you exercise, your body needs more and more oxygen. The more you can efficiently consume, the more energy your muscles will have, increasing the amount of time and intensity you can exercise. In general, someone with a higher VO2 max will be able to sustain a run or aerobic activity at a given pace longer than someone with a lower VO2 max.
The test has participants exercise to exhaustion to measure this threshold, essentially measuring the size of one’s internal aerobic machine.
Most VO2 max tests are performed with a doctor in a laboratory, with a specialized mask that measures the amounts of oxygen and carbon dioxide inhaled and exhaled. Participants then exercise with the goal of reaching maximal aerobic capacity, or the point of complete exhaustion.
The same score may be considered high for one person and low for another, depending on their genetics, gender, age and body composition.
The test is difficult, which can be a windfall for those who don’t want to push themselves, and it costs a few hundred dollars, which is generally not covered by insurance.
What does it tell you about longevity and performance?
Studies have shown that a higher score is a strong predictor of longer life.
Your VO2 max can drop by about 10 percent per decade starting around age 25, but it’s possible to increase or maintain it with activity. A 2021 study of 2,000 middle-aged men and women found that small amounts of activity could improve VO2 max. The more effort you put in, the higher the benefit. moderate to vigorous physical activity increased this number even more dramatically.
Checking your VO2 max annually can tell you if you’re slowing this decline, Ms Baird said. For serious athletes, proper rest and nutrition are also key to maintaining or improving your score. Measuring your VO2 max before and after a few months of focused training can reveal whether you’re training too hard or whether you’re fueling properly during your workout, among other things, according to Luke Greenberg, physical therapist and co-founder of MotivNY. a physical therapy and training studio.
What about VO2 max on wearables?
Not everyone can afford to spend their time and a few hundred dollars on a lab test. As a result, dozens of wearables have recently entered the market that claim to measure VO2 max with algorithms that use heart rate and GPS data to calculate the value.
Some worry that these estimates may not be accurate, but it is difficult to assess their accuracy because the algorithms are not published, according to Dimitris Spathi, a researcher at the University of Cambridge.
In 2022, Dr. Spathis co-authored a study in which researchers developed a model to better predict VO2 max using data from 11,000 participants. He hopes that most athletes will one day be able to rely on wearables instead of paying for testing.
If you don’t have the time or interest to take a lab test or use a wearable device, Ms. Baird advises finding other ways to set goals to improve your fitness. There’s a good chance a VO2 max test will give you information you already know.
“The best predictor of performance is your performance,” he said. If you enjoy running, set a time or distance goal. If you’re more sedentary and aim to get more exercise, start moving in a way that feels tolerable and safe, starting with just a 10- to 15-minute walk.
And above all, be patient.
“Each person will respond differently to training based on their genes and other lifestyle factors,” Ms Baird said. “It can take years to move your body in the direction you want to go.”
