VO₂ MAX:

Obtain a snapshot of your cardiovascular health! Measure how efficiently your body uses oxygen, predict your longevity, and work toward your goals with a VO₂ max test at the CHAMP Center!

VO₂ Max: What It Is

VO₂ max represents the highest amount of oxygen your body can take in, transport through the bloodstream, and utilize in working muscles during intense exercise. It reflects the efficiency of the lungs, heart, blood vessels, muscles, and mitochondria working together to support aerobic performance and is expressed as milliliters of oxygen per kilogram of body weight per minute (mL·kg⁻¹·min⁻¹). Widely regarded as the gold standard measure of aerobic capacity, VO₂ max captures the integrated performance of multiple systems.

Testing involves progressively increasing exercise intensity until maximal effort is reached or the participant can no longer continue at a given workload. Oxygen uptake is measured continuously using a metabolic cart, and heart rate is monitored with a separate heart rate monitor, allowing precise identification of maximal aerobic output. Assessments typically last 20–45 minutes, including warm-up and cool-down. Further preparation details can be found on the CHAMP Center Prepare Page.

At the CHAMP Center, VO₂ max testing is available on a treadmill or stationary cycle ergometer, with options for a personal bike or rowing machine if client provided. All testing is conducted using the TrueOne® Parvo Medics metabolic cart, trusted by NASA, U.S. Olympic Training Centers, and leading research institutions worldwide.

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VO₂ Max: Why It's Important

VO₂ max reflects the upper limit of the aerobic system and provides a comprehensive measure of how effectively the body delivers and uses oxygen during exercise. Higher VO₂ max values indicate the ability to sustain higher intensities before fatigue, making it a powerful indicator of endurance capacity and training responsiveness.

Beyond performance, VO₂ max is strongly associated with long-term health, including lower risk of cardiovascular disease, metabolic disorders, and all-cause mortality. Even modest improvements in VO₂ max are associated with meaningful gains in health, functional capacity, and longevity.

Understanding an individual’s VO₂ max allows participants to:

Evaluate overall aerobic capacity and cardiovascular fitness
Establish accurate heart rate, pace, or power targets for high-intensity training
Monitor adaptations in cardiac output and aerobic efficiency over time
Track responses to structured training programs

Whether the goal is performance optimization, general fitness improvement, or long-term health, VO₂ max testing provides objective insight into how the body performs under maximal aerobic demand.

At the CHAMP Center, we can customize the VO₂ max testing protocol to match each individual’s fitness level, ensuring accurate results that align with personal goals so that training and health strategies are meaningful.

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VO₂ Max: Who Should Do It

VO₂ max testing measures the body’s capacity to deliver and utilize oxygen during exercise. This test benefits anyone seeking a clear, objective assessment of aerobic fitness and cardiovascular health, including:

Health and Longevity Focused: Gain insight into cardiovascular health and longevity. VO₂ max is one of the strongest predictors of long-term health outcomes.
Endurance Athletes: Track aerobic development and optimize training intensity with precise training data.
Field and Court Athletes: Understand conditioning and work capacity for repeated efforts.
Recreational Exercisers: Establish a fitness baseline and monitor progress over time.

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VO₂ Max: Interpreting Results

Your VO₂ max results act as a performance profile of your aerobic engine, showing how effectively your heart, lungs, blood, and muscles work together to deliver and use oxygen during exercise. While population-based norms can provide helpful context, the most meaningful insight comes from how your values change over time and how they align with your training goals, sport demands, and health priorities.

After testing, CHAMP Center staff provide interpretation using established ACSM-based normative data to place results in context relative to similar populations. Participants may also reference published norms, such as those from the Cooper Institute, while keeping in mind that individual training history and physiology significantly influence results.

Key Metrics Include:

VO₂ max (mL·kg⁻¹·min⁻¹)
Ventilatory Thresholds (VT1/VT2)
Heart Rate Data
Respiratory Quotient (RQ) Data
Peake Pace/Power
Ratings of Perceived Exertion (RPE)

View the other tabs to read more on each metric.

Ventilatory Thresholds (VT1 & VT2):

These thresholds identify key transition points in breathing and metabolism during exercise and are used to define individualized training zones.

VT1:
Reflects the intensity where your breathing begins to increase noticeably - usually at 50-60% of VO₂ max - used for aerobic training zones. Higher VT1 indicates the ability to sustain moderate intensity longer before fatigue.

VT2:
Reflects the intensity where breathing increases a second time and sharply - usually at 80-90% of VO₂ max - used for high-intensity and interval training zones. Higher VT2 reflects better tolerance for sustained hard efforts.

VO₂ Max (mL·kg⁻¹·min⁻¹):

Represents the maximum amount of oxygen your body can deliver and utilize during intense exercise. Higher values generally indicate greater aerobic capacity, enhanced endurance potential, and lower risk of cardiovascular disease. Tracking changes over time is more informative than comparing a single value to population norms, as improvements reflect cardiovascular and metabolic adaptations to training.

Click here to view a VO₂ max data chart from the Cooper Institute, showing age- and sex-specific normative values, hosted on Garmin’s website.

Heart Rate at Key Intensities:

Shows how your cardiovascular system responds as intensity progresses throughout the duration of the test. Specifically, you can compare your heart rate against VT1, VT2, and maximal effort to guide precise heart-rate-based training prescriptions. A lower heart rate at the same workload over time suggests improved efficiency, while upward shifts in workload at the same heart rate reflect aerobic development.

Respiratory Quotient (RQ):

RQ reflects the relative contribution of fat versus carbohydrate used for energy at different exercise intensities. It is calculated by dividing carbon dioxide production (VCO₂) by oxygen consumption (VO₂).

Lower values (~0.70–0.80): indicates greater fat utilization.
Mixed fuel (~0.85): represents a balance of fat and carbohydrate use.
Higher values (~0.90–1.00): indicates increasing reliance on carbohydrate.

Lower RQ at submaximal intensities suggests strong fat oxidation and metabolic efficiency, while higher values indicate a shift toward carbohydrate use. Tracking RQ across intensities helps contextualize energy demands, fuel selection, and endurance efficiency for different training zones.

Ratings of Perceived Exertion (RPE):

Links subjective effort with physiological responses. When a given workload feels easier over time despite similar heart rate or oxygen consumption it signals improved efficiency and conditioning. At the CHAMP Center we use the Borg scale which rates perceived exertion from 6 (no exertion) to 20 (maximum exertion). As your aerobic capacity improves the same workload should feel easier. You can view an example Borg scale here.

How to Use Your Results:

Establish individualized training zones for aerobic, tempo, and high-intensity workouts.
Monitor aerobic adaptations every three to six months to assess training effectiveness.
Evaluate efficiency improvements by tracking shifts in thresholds, heart rate, and workload.
Align data with different metrics (HR, RPE, VT1/VT2) for smarter pacing and self-regulation.
Pair VO₂ max results with Lactate Threshold and Substrate Utilization testing for a comprehensive aerobic performance and energy profile. Check out our Aerobic Performance Package which combines all three!