Field notes · Heart and cardio
VO2 max after 40: what it is and how to raise it
Your watch probably gives you a VO2 max number. Here is what it means and why it is worth caring about.
Dai Manuel · Coach Moose · Vancouver
What it is
VO2 max is the most oxygen your body can use during hard exercise. It is the standard measure of cardiorespiratory fitness, and higher levels are strongly linked with a longer life in large studies. Watch estimates are rough, but the trend over months is useful.
How it changes with age
It declines with age, faster if you stop training. But training raises it at any age, and a fit 50-year-old can easily have a higher VO2 max than an inactive 30-year-old.
How to raise it
Build a base of easy cardio first. Then add one session a week of intervals: for example, four efforts of three to four minutes hard, with three minutes easy between. Hard means breathing heavily, not all-out. Keep it to once or twice a week and let the easy sessions carry the rest.
If you have a heart condition or symptoms, check with your doctor before starting hard intervals.
Common questions
- Can you increase VO2 max after 40?
- Yes. Consistent aerobic training, including some interval work, improves VO2 max at any age.
- How accurate is my watch's VO2 max estimate?
- Wearable estimates are approximate. They are more useful for tracking your trend over time than as an exact number.
This is coaching, not medical advice. If something here sounds like you, talk to your doctor.
Sources
- Association of cardiorespiratory fitness with long-term mortality among adults undergoing exercise treadmill testing. Mandsager et al., JAMA Network Open, 2018.
- Cardiorespiratory fitness as a quantitative predictor of all-cause mortality. Kodama et al., JAMA, 2009.