If you’re a seasoned fitness enthusiast, you may have heard the term ‘VO2 max’ before. Maybe you’ve asked yourself the question ‘What is VO2 max?’. Not only that, but how does it affect athletic performance? In this article we will look at what exactly VO2 max is, the effect it has, and how to improve yours. So lets get into it with some good old science.
The Science…
VO2 max is a measurement of the maximum amount of oxygen someone can use during physical exercise. When we train, or compete with high effort, we push our bodies hard. This in turn forces our heart rate to increase to pump blood, and therefore oxygen, around the body. Obviously there is a limit to how much we can utilize – that is our VO2 max!
VO2 max is measured in millilitres of oxygen per kilogram of mass per minute. If you study that terminology it’s easy to break down and understand it. Very simply, how much oxygen can our bodies use in 1 minute, per kilogram of mass.
So how do we measure it?
VO2 max is most accurately measured under laboratory conditions. Pro athletes in many endurance sports are regularly tested. They use it to understand how training has positively affected their measurement.
These days we can all get a rough guide of our VO2 max thanks to fitness watches. Products such as Fitbit will measure yours (roughly) and provide you with a fitness score. It is worth mentioning that these scores will never be as accurate as laboratory testing.
Athletes wear a mask and their oxygen consumption is measured accurately. They will complete a physical test until failure. These tests get incrementally harder as the body tires. You may have done your own version of this test without knowing it. The beep test is widely used to measure aerobic capacity.
Aerobic capacity is the less scientific term for VO2 max. The beep test incrementally increases the amount of effort you put in at each level. As you get more and more tired, the test gets harder and harder. This is so that your maximum level can be ascertained, when you reach the peak of your athletic performance.
In the beep test, you are awarded a score based on what level of the test you reach. This is much the same as measuring your VO2 max. It is a fantastic way of measuring aerobic fitness. There’s also no need for thousands of pounds worth of equipment.
Many sports teams use the test to see what standard their players are at, physically. Military and police forces use these tests in various capacities to test potential candidates’ physical fitness.
So What Does My VO2 Max Mean?
Measure you own VO2 max by using your Fitbit. Or complete a beep test and get a score for that. This will show you how fit you are. This can be a great way to determine how you stack up physically against your age group. If you compete in endurance events like marathons or triathlons, it is a good idea to know your score. By measuring it regularly, you can monitor if your training is improving your endurance.
How Do I Improve My VO2 Max?
Improving your VO2 max is not the same for everyone. Your aerobic capacity increases quite easily when you are new to training. A low level of fitness when you start, will improve quickly. In relation to this, when you start training, your score will improve. Going for a run when you are new to fitness training will push you hard and you will get fitter.
For more advanced and seasoned fitness fanatics and athletes, this is not the case. Consistently performing at the highest level of our aerobic capacity will improve VO2 max.
This is why high intensity interval training (HIIT) is so useful to even the most seasoned athletes. HIIT forces us to perform with max effort, followed by recovery periods. Working as hard as we can during these max effort periods increases our ability to utilise oxygen.
Another form of HIIT that runners often use (myself included), are Fartlek workouts. Conducted as a sprint session, or as part of a longer running session. Fartlek workouts are where we alternate between high effort running and lower effort recovery running. It may be that you sprint 200 m or 400 m and then lightly jog back to the start to recover. Another way is to sprint for 1 minute, jog for 1 minute. Either way, when performing these sets multiple times over a workout period, they positively impact VO2 max.
Finally…
Now that you know the answer to the question ‘What is VO2 max and how can you improve it?’ you can improve your fitness massively. Why not check out the ToughsHIIT Workouts for a mix of HIIT and Fartlek workouts.
If you enjoyed this article why not post about it on social media using the hashtags #ToughsHIIT #VO2Max. It’s always great to hear from you! And be sure to follow us on Twitter and Instagram to keep up to date on everything HIIT!
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