If you’re a runner or an endurance athlete, you’ve probably heard that having a high VO2 max is a big deal, and it is. It’s a key indicator of your cardiovascular fitness and shows just how well your body is trained aerobically.
Even though we know it’s important, most of us aren’t completely sure what it is or how to improve it to boost our running performance. That’s where we come in.
As a running coach, improving VO2 max is often at the top of my list to get my athletes faster and more efficient. By altering your training and adding specific high-intensity workouts and intervals to your plan, you can increase your VO2 max and get well on your way to becoming a better runner.
In this guide, we’ll break it all down for you—how to measure your VO2 max, why it’s essential, and, of course, practical tips to help you improve it and take your training to the next level.
What Is VO2 Max?
VO2 max, also known as maximum oxygen intake, is a metric that quantifies your aerobic capacity.
It refers to the maximum amount of oxygen (in milliliters) your body can use (oxygen consumption) per minute per kilogram of body weight while running or performing other intense exercise.
The units of VO2 max are milliliters per kilogram per minute (mL/kg/min). So, for example, if your VO2 max is 42 mL/kg/min, it means that when exercising at maximum aerobic capacity, your body can take in and use 42 mL of oxygen per kilogram of your body weight.
Your VO2 max quantifies the maximum rate at which you can take in oxygen (via the respiratory system), transport it to your muscles (through the circulatory system), extract it from the blood, and use it efficiently for aerobic energy production (via aerobic metabolic pathways in the mitochondria in your muscles).
Thus, the higher your VO2 max, the more oxygen you can effectively use during high-intensity exercise through your cardiorespiratory system.
A high VO2 max theoretically enables you to produce more ATP (cellular energy) per minute, so your muscles can do more “work” or support faster running or higher-intensity exercise before crossing your anaerobic threshold.
VO2 max is considered to be the gold standard measurement of aerobic fitness.1Habibi, E., Dehghan, H., Moghiseh, M., & Hasanzadeh, A. (2014). Study of the relationship between the aerobic capacity (VO2 max) and the rating of perceived exertion based on the measurement of heart beat in the metal industries Esfahan. Journal of Education and Health Promotion, 3(55), 55. https://doi.org/10.4103/2277-9531.134751
Because your VO2 max is a measure of how much oxygen you can take in and use during high-intensity exercise, it is a measure of your aerobic fitness or aerobic capacity (as aerobic means “with oxygen”).
How Can I Measure My VO2 Max?
You can measure your VO2 max (maximal oxygen uptake) at an exercise physiology laboratory through a graded VO2 max test (usually on a treadmill or stationary bike).
However, there are also ways to estimate your VO2 max.
Examples of VO2 max estimation protocols include the Rockport Walk Test, the 1.5-mile Test, the Cooper VO2 Max Test, and the YMCA Cycle Ergometer Test.
Some premium running watches now have algorithms to estimate your VO2 max based on your heart rate, pace, and relative effort level.
Examples include Garmin watches such as the Forerunner 45, 55, 245, 745, and 945, all Garmin Fenix watches, and Garmin Vivoactive 4/Venu watches, which have VO2 max, as does the Polar Pacer.
How to Increase VO2 Max
Even if you are not a competitive endurance athlete, increasing your VO2 max will help you improve your performance during your cardio workouts and make aerobic exercise more comfortable at higher intensity levels.
When you think about the elements that are involved in your VO2 max, there are essentially three arms:
- The amount of oxygen you can take in (which is essentially a product of your breathing efficiency)
- The amount of oxygen your heart can deliver to your muscles (which is dependent on how much blood your heart can pump per minute)
- The amount of oxygen your muscles can take up and use effectively to produce ATP through aerobic energy metabolism.
Therefore, to improve your VO2 max, you can target any or all of these three factors in your training.
#1: Do Short High-Intensity Intervals At VO2 Max Pace
High-quality interval sessions improve aerobic power, speed, and performance. They strengthen your heart muscle and improve the efficiency of your cardiovascular system in delivering2Bruss, Z. S., & Raja, A. (2022, September 12). Physiology, stroke volume. National Library of Medicine; StatPearls Publishing. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK547686/ oxygenated blood to working muscles.
Studies have found3Bacon, A. P., Carter, R. E., Ogle, E. A., & Joyner, M. J. (2013). VO2max Trainability and High Intensity Interval Training in Humans: A Meta-Analysis. PLoS ONE, 8(9), e73182. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0073182 that interval training workouts are often slightly more effective at improving VO2 max than continuous aerobic exercise at a steady state, such as tempo runs.
VO2 max workouts target the upper end of your aerobic capacity. These sessions are run at 3K–5K race pace or around 90–95% of maximum heart rate. Because they are very demanding, include them only once per week, and ensure easy or rest days before and after.
Here are some great workouts to improve your VO2 Max:
Track Repeats:
200-Meter Repeats
- Warm-up with a 15-20-minute easy jog
- 12–16 × 200 meters @ 90–95% max HR
- Recovery: 200 meters walk/jog OR 60 seconds easy jog
- Finish with a 10–15 minute easy jog to cool down
400-Meter Repeats
- Warm-up with a 15-20-minute easy jog
- 8–12 × 400 meters @ 90–95% max HR
- Recovery: 200 meters easy jog OR 60–90 seconds easy running
- Finish with a 10–15 minute easy jog to cool down
600-Meter Repeats
- Warm-up with a 15-20-minute easy jog
- 6–10 × 600 meters @ 90–95% max HR
- Recovery: 200–300 meters easy jog OR 90–120 seconds easy running
- Finish with a 10–15 minute easy jog to cool down
Time-Based Intervals
Time-based intervals are ideal if you don’t have access to a track or if you prefer using time instead of distance to control the length of your session better.
1×1 Intervals
- Warm-up with a 15-20-minute easy jog
- 8–10 × 1 minute hard at VO2 max pace
- 1 minute easy jog recovery
- Finish with a 10–15 minute easy jog to cool down
2×2 Intervals
- Warm-up with a 15-20-minute easy jog
- 5–6 × 2 minutes hard at VO2 max
- 2 minutes easy
- Finish with a 10–15 minute easy jog to cool down
Pyramid Intervals
- Warm-up with a 15-20-minute easy jog
- 1 min – 2 min – 3 min – 2 min – 1 min at VO2 max pace
- Recovery: Equal time easy jog for each interval
- Finish with a 10–15 minute easy jog to cool down
Key pacing tip for all workouts:
You should be able to repeat the last interval at the same quality as the first. If you fade, shorten the fast interval or lengthen the recovery.
#2: Do Longer Intervals At VO2 Max Pace
Long VO₂ max intervals—lasting 3 to 6 minutes—are highly effective for experienced runners because they keep you working at or near your maximal aerobic capacity long enough to create a powerful training stimulus.
They also train you to maintain efficient form and mental focus under fatigue.
1K Repeats
- Warm-up with a 15-20-minute easy jog
- 4–6 × 1 kilometer at VO2 max pace with a 400–600 m recovery jog in between each
- Finish with a 10–15 minute easy jog to cool down
1200-Meter Repeats
- Warm-up with a 15-20-minute easy jog
- 3–4 × 1200 meters at VO2 max pace with a 400–600 m recovery jog in between each
- Finish with a 10–15 minute easy jog to cool down
Mile repeats
- Warm-up with a 15-20-minute easy jog
- 2–3 × 1600 meters at VO2 max pace with an 800 m recovery jog in between each
- Finish with a 10–15 minute easy jog to cool down
#3: Do Long Runs
As important as interval training is for improving your aerobic capacity and endurance, steady-state workouts are also necessary.
Indeed, studies have found4Bacon, A. P., Carter, R. E., Ogle, E. A., & Joyner, M. J. (2013). VO2max Trainability and High Intensity Interval Training in Humans: A Meta-Analysis. PLoS ONE, 8(9), e73182. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0073182 that training programs that incorporate both interval workouts, as well as steady-state efforts, are the most effective way to improve VO2 max.
Continuous aerobic workouts condition your cardiovascular system by strengthening your heart and lungs and stimulating other favorable cardiovascular adaptations, such as increasing the elasticity of your blood vessels and maintaining a higher blood plasma volume.
Moreover, long runs, other long-endurance aerobic workouts, and zone 2 workouts help stimulate the production of new capillaries and mitochondria.
These adaptations, in turn, improve the oxygen uptake and aerobic energy production aspect of your VO2 max.
Long Run Workout Examples
Classic Steady Zone 2 Long Run
A classic long run lasts 60 to 120 minutes at an easy, conversational pace, typically in Zone 2. This steady, low-intensity effort is the foundation of aerobic training.
Long Run With a Moderate Finish
A progression-style long run of 90 to 120 minutes starts with roughly 70–80% of the total time at an easy Zone 2 effort, followed by the final 20–30% in Zone 3 at a steady but controlled pace.
This structure allows you to settle into a strong aerobic rhythm early, then finish with a purposeful push that challenges your cardiovascular system to maintain form and efficiency under fatigue.
By gradually increasing intensity toward the end, this long run boosts aerobic capacity, strengthens fatigue resistance, and prepares you for harder efforts later in your training cycle.
How Long Does It Take to Improve Your VO2 Max?
The good news is that improvements to your VO2 max are possible at almost any fitness level or experience level.
However, increasing your VO2 max is definitely a physiological variable that follows the law of diminishing returns.
In other words, the longer you have been consistently running or performing some type of aerobic exercise, the fitter and higher your VO2 max will be, the slower and less significant your improvements in VO2 max with training will be.
Beginners and untrained individuals can see significant increases in VO2 max after just 4 to 6 weeks of training.
Increases in VO2 max for highly trained or elite athletes are hard-won, and they are typically much smaller, even with highly effective training methods.
This is largely because some portion of your VO2 max is genetically determined,5The Genetics of VO2: What is the impact of endurance genes on VO2 max in athletes? (n.d.). CSFJ. and there is a relative feeling for VO2 max for all humans, as well as for each individual, based on their own genetics and physiology.
To continue improving, you will need to increase the difficulty of your workouts, either by modulating the intensity itself, the distance or time for the intensity, the overall distance for mileage you are doing, and the frequency of your workouts.
Your cardiovascular system will adapt to the demands of your training program over time, so if you are not progressing in your workout program, you will hit a fitness plateau, and your improvements will stagnate.
If you are planning to use your heart rate for these workouts, check out this next guide to calculate your zones:
