The more you practice, the better you become. Your VO2max, sometimes called a “cardio fitness” metric on wearables, is a number that tends to be higher among people with healthier cardiovascular systems. But it's not the only measure of fitness, and you should know what it really means.
What VO2max Really Is (Measured in a Lab)
Smartwatches and fitness trackers don't actually measure VO2max; they're just evaluate This. To actually determine your VO2max, you need to go to an exercise lab and do a treadmill or bike test connected to equipment that measures your heart rate and the air you exhale. I did just such a test to compare my actual VO2max with the numbers produced by nine different devices. You can read about my experience and why it's important here..
VO2max, correctly visualized VO2Max, – maximum volume (V) of oxygen (O2) your body can use per minute during exercise, depending on your body size, because larger people will naturally use more oxygen. This is considered a good indicator of aerobic fitness because—remember high school biology—your body uses oxygen and food to create a useful form of chemical energy called ATP. You then use this ATP to move your muscles. The amount of oxygen directly correlates with the amount of energy produced. Or, simply put, the more work you do, the more oxygen you need.
Thus, a person who is aerobically fit—say, an elite marathon runner—can get more work done (run faster) than someone who is not. As a result, while running, they will take in much more oxygen per minute than, say, me.
What is a “good” VO2max?
A typical healthy person will have a VO2max somewhere in their 30s or 40s. If you exercise a lot, you can increase this number. Elite cyclists, skiers and ultra-distance runners may have numbers from the 70s or 80sand several people scored there in the 90s. I would call myself an amateur athlete (I run a bit), and my laboratory tested VO2max I was 43 years old. Most of my fitness wearables gave me numbers between 30 and 40—a good reminder that these estimates can be useful, but they aren't necessarily correct.
Why is a high VO2max good?
To be able to use large amounts of oxygen, you need more than just good lungs. You also need a strong heart and a healthy circulatory system to deliver oxygen to your muscles. And you need big muscles that can do more work per minute, which means you are strong and can do more athletic work. VO2max is a way of condensing a lot of important things about cardio into one simple number.
But it is important to know that this number is not All about fitness or even aerobic fitness. First, there's little point in comparing your VO2max to other people's, since it's affected by factors like blood volume and muscle mass. For example, men typically have a VO2max that is about ten points higher than women of similar fitness. There are also many aspects of fitness that No captured by VO2max. Compare two athletes with the same VO2max and you may find that one can continue an endurance race longer than the other. Or one may be better at sprinting and the other at medium-complexity work. One person may be stronger than another, have better technique, or be more resistant to injury.
There are studies linking VO2max to life expectancy, but that doesn't mean raising your VO2max a few points will add years to your life. Fitness tends to correlate with longevity and overall health. Scientists who want to study this relationship usually choose one or two simple parameters to measure, such as VO2max or grip strength. But in real life, we don't have to choose one number to maximize; we can work on multiple aspects of fitness. It's better to be well-rounded than to hyper-focus on just one metric.
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How can you measure your own VO2max?
The gold standard is a laboratory test. High level athletes sometimes take this test if they or their coach wants to know their actual and defined VO2max value. But we can measure aerobic fitness in other ways: There are workouts you can do to get an accurate estimate of your VO2max. If you are a runner you can find the time of a recent race on this graph to find your VDOT, which roughly correlates with your VO2max. (For example, my best time in the mile gives me a VDOT of 38.)
To estimate your VO2max during a workout, you need something that will take you to your absolute maximum aerobic performance. Race copes with this task perfectly; the same can be said about the test, for example, run as many laps around the track as possible in 12 minutes. I remember taking a physics test. One day during a lesson we had to climb up and down from a high box as many times as possible. These tests are unpleasant, but the results can provide a guide to whether you are improving your fitness over time.
How the watch measures VO2max
Smartwatches and fitness trackers typically estimate VO2max by comparing your heart rate during exercise to a measure of how much work you do during that exercise. Most often this happens through running or walking in the fresh air. Your running or walking speed is measured using GPS and the device compares it to your heart rate. If you can run fast at a low heart rate, you should be in good shape and your VO2max will be rated as fairly high. If your heart rate is high even when running or walking slowly, your VO2max will be lower.
These estimates are not always accurate. If your Maximum heart rate is not set correctly In your device settings, if it's hot outside, if your running route is hilly, or if you don't go out for runs or walks outdoors often, your VO2max will likely be off. However, your VO2max estimate doesn't have to be accurate to be useful. If this number increases over time, you are probably getting better. And if it decreases, you are likely to lose fitness.
