VO2 max or maximal oxygen consumption is a significant equipment to know your physical fitness. It indicates the amount of oxygen your body can absorb during exercises. Thus, it determines the aerobic fitness of your body. Also, it measures the performance of your body during intense activities and exercises. So, VO2 max plays a vital role in calculating your fitness level.
Read on to know what is vo2 max, how to improve it, and utilise it to get great fitness in your body.
What is VO2 Max?
From the above section, it is clear that VO2 max helps you understand your body’s strength. So, you must know how to calculate vo2 max as it evaluates the quantity of oxygen you can utilise while breathing during the exercise.
When you breathe, you inhale oxygen into the bloodstream. The heart pumps and delivers the blood and oxygen to muscles. Oxygen accelerates the chemical reactions that provide energy to your muscles. That’s why when you inhale oxygen, you produce more energy. So, a higher VO2 max indicates you can inhale a better amount of oxygen and produce higher energy. Hence, VO2 max indicates physical fitness.
Potential Benefit
VO2 works as a measurement of the maximum oxygen intake level attainable during physical exertion. VO2 offers numerous advantages to the body:
- Enhanced athletic performance: More VO2 max rate is incorporated with enriched endurance and overall performance. Athletics with higher VO2 max rates show great aerobic activities and greater intensities of physical exertion for longer durations.
- Optimal cardiovascular health: It is important to increase VO2 max level for overall improvement in health. VO2 max is associated with improved cardiovascular health. Practising aerobic exercise can elevate the health of your heart and blood vessels.
- Optimal oxygen utilisation: This can signify the body’s ability to consume and utilise oxygen during physical exercise. A higher VO2 max rate signifies higher oxygen delivered to the muscles of your body, more energy production, and a decrease in dependence on anaerobic metabolism.
- Increased energy production: An increased VO2 max promotes improved ATP production in the body. An increase in vo2 max is associated with more oxygen delivery to the body cells and working muscles, resulting in more energy.
- Weight management: You can engage yourself in those physical activities that increase heart pumping, weight loss, and reduction in body fat. You can successfully manage your body weight and burn body fat.
- Longevity and better quality of life: Researchers have proved the link between VO2 max and longevity. People with higher VO2 max tend to have a lower rate of premature death. Therefore, you should know how to increase vo2 max level and keep following the method.
How to Measure VO2 Max?
Measuring VO2 max is associated with specialised tests that can measure the optimal amount of oxygen utilisation by the body during extreme exercises. Here are the methods of how to calculate vo2 max:
- Laboratory-Based Tests
This is a comprehensive assessment process conducted in a laboratory or a controlled system using special equipment. The tests will yield the exact level of VO2 max using various methods involved with exercise assessments on a treadmill or stationary bike. It needs a breathing mask or a mouthpiece linked with a gas analyser for measuring the oxygen and carbon dioxide levels during the inhalation and exhalation process. This gives accurate data on the consumption level of oxygen. The laboratory-based tests are usually conducted under the custody of professional physiologists or any other healthcare experts.
- Field Tests
The field tests are more accessible and trustworthy methods of knowing how to calculate vo2 max. The ways of this methods include-
- Copper Test: You need to run as far as possible in 12 minutes for this test. The distance that you have covered can be used to measure VO2 max level with the help of the formula: (22.351 X Distance in Kilometres) – 11.288/ (35.97 X Distance in Miles) – 11.291.
- 2.4 kilometre Run: You need to cover a distance of 2.4 kilometres as fast as possible. The estimation of the required time is conjugated with other factors for estimating the VO2 level.
- Yo-Yo Intermittent Recovery Test: This involves running back and forth within a marked area. The speed is increased gradually and should be continued till the person is completely exhausted.
What is a Good VO2 Max?
A good value of VO2 max depends on some factors, age, sex, and fitness level of an individual. It is written as millilitres of oxygen content in 1 kilogram of body weight in 1 minute (mL/kg/min).
- VO2 Max for Men
Based on the activity and fitness level, below are discussed the ranges of VO2 value for men between the age group of 18 to 45.
- Sedentary- 35-41 mL/kg/min
- Active- 42-46 mL/kg/min
- Very active- <85 mL/kg/min
- VO2 Max for Women
Based on the body activity level, here are the ranges for VO2 max for women between the age group of 18-45
- Sedentary- 27-30 mL/kg/min
- Active- 33-36 mL/kg/min
- Very active- <77 mL/kg/min
How to Increase the VO2 Max level?
Researchers state that intense workout improves the VO2 max rate. Here are some methods to increase the value:
- High-intensity training: This training helps you increase your VO2 max level efficiently. Many coaches recommend continuing high-intensity training at 90%-95% of your maximum heart rate. It empowers the muscles of your heart and increases the blood volume with a pump of your heartbeats. To get an approximate calculation of your maximum heart rate, you must subtract your age from 220. This is how to increase vo2 max with high-intensity training.
- Low-intensity training: You can perform this training at a comparatively lower intensity or with a few more breaks than usual. Thus, it becomes easier than high-intensity training. It includes biking, rowing, running, and hiking. However, low-intensity training is less effective than high-intensity training. So, you need to continue it regularly to see the results.
- Interval training: This training alternates short periods between high-intensity and low-intensity exercise or rest. It improves your VO2 max level by using a higher amount of oxygen during high-intensity training.
- Cardiovascular training: It improves your heart and lung health. Also, it effectively supplies oxygen to the muscles. Cardiovascular training includes swimming, biking, and running.
- Weight training: It expands muscle mass and assists the body to use oxygen more effectively. Thus, it supports improvement in the VO2 max.
- Combining continuous and interval training: You will get a better result than performing single training when you combine continuous and interval training. Many studies have found that 10 weeks of combined training programs result in a potential increment in VO2 max level.
- Know your 5K and 10K running time: You can calculate your running times of 5 kilometres and 10 kilometres. The paces you cover these two distances are correlated to the spaces you can cover to achieve 90%-95% of your maximum heart rate. So, it’s another impactful method of how to increase vo2 max.
- Track your progress: Always track the number of sit-ups, push-ups, and other exercises during a session. If you are used to running, biking, or swimming, then track the speed and distances.
- Adequate rest and recovery: Take sufficient rest to recover your energy levels. Also, remember that excessive training causes a negative impact.
Conclusion
Vo2 max is the measure of the maximum amount of oxygen which your body utilises during exercise. The best method for increasing your Vo2 max level is high-intensity training. Generally, athletes have high Vo2 maxes. But don’t worry! If you are a non-athlete, you can take advice from the trainers and sports coaches to organise a training program suitable for you and improve your cardiovascular health.
