May 26, 2026 • 32 mins
VO2 Max is everywhere, from fitness trackers and smartwatches to social media and even dating profiles. But what does this number actuallymean for your health?
In this episode of Health vs. Hype, we break down the science behind VO2 Max (maximal oxygen consumption) and whether it truly deserves its status as the ultimate fitness and longevity metric.
With insights from cardiologist Dr. Robert Maynard and real-world experiences from elite athletes and everyday runners, we explore:
- What VO2 max measures, and how it reflects cardiovascular, respiratory, and muscular health
- Whether smartwatch VO2 Max estimates are accurate (and how they compare to lab testing)
- How VO2 Max relates to longevity, heart disease risk, and overall fitness
- Why this single number doesn’t tell the whole story about your health or performance
- When VO2 Max testing is useful and when it might be unnecessary (or even overkill)
You’ll hear firsthand what it’s like to take a clinical VO2 Max test, why the metric has gone viral, and how to use it without getting obsessed with the number.
Bottom line: VO2 Max is one of the most powerful predictors of health but it’s not the only one that matters.
If you’ve ever wondered whether your fitness tracker’s VO2 Max score is meaningful, or just hype, this episode has your answer.
To learn more, visit: amahealthvshype.org
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:04):
Rube.
Speaker 2 (00:06):
I was really curious to find out what my actual
votwo max score was.
Speaker 3 (00:10):
There were a lot of influencers doing their VO two
max and then even like just sharing information on what
it means.
Speaker 4 (00:17):
I'm curious what this number actually is and how it
really affects me.
Speaker 5 (00:22):
Yeah, we're talking about VO two max specifically. It is
a very important number.
Speaker 1 (00:27):
You've probably heard the term before VO two max. Maybe
you follow fitness influencers who are constantly sharing their smart
watch stats after intense exercise. Maybe you've seen the testing
videos on your social media feed. You know the ones
where people are like running with a funny face mask
on and they're going really fast on a treadmill. VO
two max scores or even this is real showing up
(00:48):
on dating profiles as a fitness brag. VO two max
scores are in the spotlight, and it makes it seem
like it's the only metric that matters in your fitness
and health journey. But what all those tests and numbers
really mean for your health. It's a question lots of
people are trying to answer for themselves. From elite athletes
like Danny Serkin and Grace Hillsen who are figuring out
(01:09):
how it fits into their training and performance.
Speaker 2 (01:12):
There's a litany of other things that basically determine how
your performance as an athlete is, and it's not solely
determined by votwo max.
Speaker 3 (01:20):
I am a performance driven runner. But also like the
more you identify your performance in the form of numbers,
the less that you really find satisfaction out of what
you do.
Speaker 1 (01:31):
To average folks like Brandon Osborne, who is wondering if
knowing their VO two max score is meaningful for their
overall health and longevity, I.
Speaker 4 (01:38):
Not in my twenties anymore where I could just take
on the world and be fine. It could happen where
all of a sudden, all my dreams and ambitions go away,
all because I didn't pay attention to these numbers.
Speaker 1 (01:49):
To doctors like Robert Maynard who want people to understand
what this test is really about.
Speaker 5 (01:55):
Remember that you know the person who crosses the finish
line first, it may or may not be the person
with the best VO two max.
Speaker 1 (02:01):
Welcome back to Health versus Hype with the American Medical Association.
I'm your host, trace him. I guess today we're talking
about VO two max at its simplest VO two max
is a measure of how much oxygen your body can
use during exercise. It's often described as your body's horsepower,
or the maximum output you can sustain during physical activity
(02:22):
like running, for example. You might also hear it called
maximal oxygen consumption or aerobic capacity, but for now we'll
stick to the normal VO two max. We'll get into
the more technical definition in a minute. Lately, votwo max
has taken off online as a must know fitness metric.
But does this number really tell you how fit or
(02:44):
healthy you are? Is the VO two max score on
your fitness tracker accurate or should you rush out and
take that lab test with the mask and the treadmill?
And does your votwo max score even matter as much
as the hype suggests. Let's find out whether this viral
metric is all health or just heighten. While our goal
(03:17):
today is to separate health from hype, when it comes
to VO two max, there is another question kind of
floating around in the background. Is this metric useful for
everyone or just elite athletes. We're going to start on
one end of the athletic spectrum today with Grace and Danny.
Grace has a background in multiple sports and has completed
nine marathons. Wow. Danny was a collegiate swimmer at USC
(03:40):
through twenty twenty five and has recently transitioned into triathlon competition.
They're both considered elite athletes, a status confirmed by their
VO two max scores, which we will reveal later. On
the other end of the spectrum, we have Brandon. He's
getting back into running for general fitness after taking a
stretch of time off to focus on being a dad.
Relatable clinical VO two max tests are available at some
(04:03):
specialized sports medicine facilities, university exercise science departments, high end gyms,
and dedicated performance labs like the one Grace went to.
They typically cost between one hundred and two hundred dollars.
I was curious what the experience of going through the
test was like. So here they are describing it.
Speaker 3 (04:21):
View two maxes are available in many places. Find the
nearest one and they'll kind of walk you through what
to do.
Speaker 2 (04:27):
I got to a physical therapy clinic, signed all the
paperwork and went over to the treadmill area.
Speaker 4 (04:33):
Alright ready, and I set my stuff up and he
pulls out this I like to call it, and he
called it to a bane mask, like it was literally
like over your mouth, your nose, and it had a
nice suction all the way around. It straps in the
back and then it's sitting on there really tightly and
not so bad that it's like cutting off a circulation,
(04:54):
but it also needs to be tight enough that when
you're running, it's not going to bounce up and down.
Speaker 3 (05:00):
It's actually a little heavy, heavier than I thought, Like
just looking at the videos and pictures of it and
the way it sits on your face, it's kind of awkward.
You can't really see your feet, so like imagine running
on a treadmill and you're like, you're not looking at
your feet.
Speaker 2 (05:14):
They start it at a low speed and zero percent incline,
and every two minutes the speed will increase as well
as the encline.
Speaker 4 (05:23):
As you're like kind of running, you can hear it
like squeaking almost like as you're breathing out and breathing in,
it's taking that in and going out.
Speaker 3 (05:33):
And as it's getting faster, your heart rate's obviously like
going up, and they just kind of want to see
where you can max out.
Speaker 4 (05:39):
As we kept upping the numbers, it was just it
was getting harder and harder to.
Speaker 3 (05:43):
Breathe, and then like once you were just like completely gassed,
they'll take it off and then they'll show you where
the number lives.
Speaker 1 (05:51):
By the end, I was hurting pretty bad. And all
of that takes about ten to fifteen minutes. So after
hearing about it, I can imagine this might be a
test you don't really look forward to taking, So why
do it at all if you don't have to.
Speaker 3 (06:07):
There's something I always do before I go into a
marathon training, and it's kind of like doing some analysis
on ways to improve like my running, like you know,
just comparing it to like previous training. I think my
VO two max. I do believe that it probably has
changed based on the training I've put in from then
to now. And it's not the number. I just want
to make this clear, like it's not the number itself
(06:29):
that I want to chase. But I think what I
want to understand more is the data is okay, maybe
my heart rate has gotten even lower now, So what
does that mean for my zones? What does that mean
for my threshold?
Speaker 1 (06:43):
Danny had a similar reason.
Speaker 2 (06:45):
Like I mentioned before, I'm a little bit of a nerd,
So everything that I've done is basically anchored on data.
I have my best friend here on my wrist, my
garment watch. And the way I think of it is
you can look at your pace, you could look at
how much power you're putting through the bike.
Speaker 1 (07:02):
You could look at your swim times. But that's only
one factor.
Speaker 2 (07:06):
And I found that it's best to basically have a
pace or power couple with heart rate. So in my experience,
that was really the best way that I could gauge
if I was making progress.
Speaker 1 (07:20):
So, for example, let's say Danny was biking at a
certain number of watts at a heart rate of one for.
If he continued progressing along and holding a higher number
of watts at that same heart rate one for, that
means he's becoming more aerobically efficient. So what about the
rest of us, You know, the ones not training for
marathons or triathlons who get tired when they're biking, even
(07:42):
on a flat surface. That's not autobiographical. Why would we
want to know this VO two max number?
Speaker 2 (07:48):
For that?
Speaker 1 (07:48):
I wanted to hear what Brandon had to say.
Speaker 4 (07:51):
I'm an average dad, I have upside downs. I have
gained weight of lost weight to gain weight. I'm in
my mid thirties, I fell off dad. Life happened. Just
stop prioritizing myself. So last year was the first time
I've ever heard of VO two max. I have an
Apple watch that I track everything on, and my health
app gave me a notification that says your VEO two
(08:13):
max has increased, and I'm like, I have no idea
what that means, you know, So I'm like looking at it,
and I'm curious what this number actually is and how
it really affects me and how I can use it
to benefit myself. Is this just for professional athletes?
Speaker 1 (08:31):
Of course? Being an average dad, Brandon was also thinking
about family.
Speaker 4 (08:36):
My family kind of has a history of heart stuff.
VO two max isn't going to tell me if I
have blocked arteries or anything like that, but it is
telling me that my heart is pumping and that my
body is kind of built for this. So safety, health
and making sure that I'm not pushing myself too far
too quickly. I do want to be around for my kids,
and it would just be interesting to be like, oh, look,
(08:58):
I was running. And that was my downfall of all things,
because I wasn't paying attention to actual numbers.
Speaker 1 (09:06):
To test or not to test, That is the question.
To understand more about the science behind VO two max,
I asked doctor Robert Maynard, the director of the Cardiac
Rehabilitation Unit at Henry Ford Providence Hospitals in Detroit, to
join us. First up, we'll finally dive into the technical
definition of votwo max. I promised this earlier. Here we
(09:28):
are and this is doctor Maynard.
Speaker 2 (09:31):
So.
Speaker 5 (09:31):
VO two max is a test that we use in
a clinical situation to guide care. It can also be
used to evaluate athletes in their performance. And it measures
the oxygen consumption and it measures it per unit mass,
so that's going to be kilograms and per unit time
and per minute and so the average ranges of VO
(09:53):
two max are between thirty five and fifty five, and
they're very much related to a person's age, their weight,
their heredity, their trading status. And what we'll see is
a general decline in VO two max from our twenties
moving through the decades.
Speaker 1 (10:13):
VO two max very literally describes your highest that is
the max volume, that is the v of oxygen intake,
that is the two so maximum volume of oxygen intake.
There are a few ways to calculate it, which we'll
get to in a minute. But you may still be
wondering where this number actually comes from. So they measure
(10:34):
the volume of oxygen intake in millileaders while you're running
on that treadmill. So the milli leaders are then divided
by your body weight and the time to find your
average oxygen intake in a single minute. So an average
person usually has a max volume of about thirty five
to fifty five milliliters of oxygen for every kilogram of
(10:56):
their weight in a single minute, and that's where they
get the number. This number, of course, is affected by
a myriad of health factors like your age, your exercise routine.
Here's doctor Maynard again.
Speaker 5 (11:07):
So there's a premium we get for getting older, and
it's going to in general have a downward pressure on
our VO two max. But there's things that anyone can
do at any stage in their lives to modify this number.
And I'd say, just as a tangent quickly, that it's
a very important number. It's not the only way that
one person should assess their health and wellness, but just
(11:28):
saying that this is a very important number, it's one
of the more correlated numbers with outcomes there's a training volume,
whether it's going to be something in intensity like a
hit type training program, whether there's a more steady state
exposure to training. Each of these things collectively are going
to move your VO two max up as we become
(11:48):
more conditioned, as our muscle mass increases, and as our
ability to extract oxygen increases from the muscle level.
Speaker 1 (11:56):
Interesting, So, in the past few years VO two max
has become this kind of topic and longevity and wellness circles.
Why do you think it's trending all of a sudden.
Speaker 5 (12:05):
It's a great metric for health variables. It helps distill
those complex issues into a single number. So I don't
think people are wrong to be talking about it as
an important health metric.
Speaker 1 (12:18):
Yeah, when you see it talked about, or if you
see it talked about, what are usually people getting right
and what are you like? Maybe that's oversimplifying.
Speaker 5 (12:26):
Yeah, I mean I think people are right to bring
up this test in response to how it influences longevity
outcome and health and wellness. I think that part is
very real and we shouldn't underestimate its influence. But too
often people do get wrapped up in one particular variable,
and I think that that could be problematic. And you
(12:46):
have kids, you know, and they're coming into you and
they're asking you for advice or they're dealing with something
and they're just distrapped because they got to be on
a test. And you know, as a parent, you're sitting
there going listen. Life is more than just one test.
It's more than just one variable. And that's what I
want to I think it's what I want to tell
people is is that there's there's a whole gamut of
(13:07):
elements that go into how well you feel, how well
you perform your daily tasks, what your wellness and is.
And and so when they think when people get too
influenced by one particular variable, or they train to that
test and they forget all the other components of health
and wellness, I think that's a little bit problematic.
Speaker 1 (13:24):
That aligns with something Grace Hills and told us. Let
me play this clip for you now and get your
reaction to it.
Speaker 3 (13:30):
I feel that other runners also may have struggled with,
or and I have struggled with, is the number game.
And I think like because the numbers are so heavy,
especially as a performance driven athlete, you know, you see
your time goals the prs, and I think even the
VO two max number itself kind of puts you in
(13:51):
a ranking like almost like a status. And I think
originally that kind of got to me, that really did
affect me mentally more than a shit of I would
say that the numbers do not define you. That status
is not a reflection of who you are as a person.
And this doesn't apply to runners like I mean, it
applies to anyone and everyone, and so I just want
(14:15):
to emphasize that it's not you know, it does not
define you.
Speaker 1 (14:19):
Doctor Maynard. What's your reaction to what Grace is sharing here.
It kind of feels like she's getting to the heart
of what you were saying earlier.
Speaker 5 (14:26):
I see that, And we could talk about the context
of the particular the two max and people who are
athletes who overly emphasize this particular number. You can also
think about it just in general, that there are so
many things, whether it's academics or athletic performance, where you
get that single number, and your right to be concerned
(14:47):
because people are looking at it, and so it's valuable
because you care about their opinion, but you deep down
know that I'm not one metric I'm not one number
and I shouldn't do this, but boy, it's human tended see,
And so I just think this is a classic example
of human psychology on display.
Speaker 1 (15:06):
Expanding a little on the human psychology piece of this,
are there instances where a person could say, misinterpret the
score or you know, apply it to something that maybe
it doesn't quite fit.
Speaker 5 (15:16):
I think people might falsely ascribe to the test how
well they're going to do in a particular athletic event.
People compare themselves to other people with this one metric
they're and they're bothered that their VO two max might
be a little bit better than someone else. Someone else
is yet they're performing better on a physical feat or
a task or an athletic endeavor. And remember that you
(15:38):
know the person who crosses the finish line first, it
may or may not be the person with the vest
VO two max. So I think that's maybe a thing
that I would caution against, assuming that it's the sole
predictor of athletic performance.
Speaker 1 (15:53):
People love to have this kind of quantitative data about
their health or their athleticism, and it's an easy number
of like, oh what's your what's your max score? Oh,
what's your max score, and then you can you know,
compare them. But because it's like you said, there's so
many variables, are they really directly comparable between people?
Speaker 5 (16:12):
Well, some of that direct comparison from one person to
another is going to be related to the limitations of
the fidelity of the measurement. Right, So when we're using
say like a wearable technology to generate that VO two
max that you're comparing to someone else, I mean, what's
what's going to be the accuracy of that tool. What's
going to be the tool to tool comparison. You know,
(16:33):
wearable technology tends to underestimate votwo max by about point
one milligram provoxygen per kilogram permitted, so you know, on average,
for an average weight person, you're going to kind of
be about five ish, uh, you know, lower on your
VO two max.
Speaker 1 (16:47):
All of our guests mentioned wearing a watch to keep
an eye on their VO two max. And here's something
Danny shared with us that I would love for you
to respond to, doctor Maynard.
Speaker 2 (16:56):
I was really curious to find out what my actual
votwo max score was because the watch would say one number,
and I knew that Garman's algorithm is based off of
your run pace or your power on the bike relative
to what heart rate you were at. And that's of
course an estimation. So what's your reaction to that, Doctor Maynard.
Speaker 5 (17:18):
Your wearable technology is going to have fidelity issues. It's
not going to be perfect each time. So let's not
get too wrapped up in a particular number. Let's look
at this with more than just one or two pieces
of data. Let's get a sample size over a longer
period of time and then put it in context. You know,
you know, just because that watch is telling you that
I'm five percent less on my VO two max, and
(17:40):
yet I feel wonderful, you know, going out there hitting
my morning runs, I'm hitting all my targets, I'm doing
wealth my times. Lose the perseverance on this number, you know,
use it for what it's worth. Let's not get too
overly anxious about one particular variable.
Speaker 1 (17:56):
This feels like a good moment to zoom out and
talk about how VO two max is actually measured, because
not all tests are created equal. As doctor Maynard mentioned,
they're not even measuring the same thing. Most smart watches
estimate your votwo max using data like heart rate, pace
and GPS. Smart rings use a similar approach, although with
(18:16):
smaller sensors their estimates can be less precise. Then there's
the lab test, the one with the awkward face mask
that Grace, Danny and Brandon experienced. Instead of estimating, it
directly measures gas exchange, how much oxygen you are literally
taking in and how much carbon dioxide you are breathing out,
along with your heart rate to confirm that you are
(18:37):
truly at max effort. So while wearables can give you
an estimate, the treadmill and mask test is measuring your
body's direct performance, which raises the real question when is
a smart watch good enough and when does a full
test actually matter. Here's how doctor Maynard thinks about it.
Speaker 5 (18:55):
The most common circumstance where you're going to use a
VOTWO max a formal VOTWO max, and this involves the
complex use of a metabolic cart and all the equipment
and having a person who's highly trained administered the exam.
This is best in medical settings for medical determination of
treatment plants, and so a classic one would be for
people who have a heart failure and they're contemplating the
(19:18):
need for heart transplant. Another strong indication for using this
in a formal way would be people who are having
unexplained shortness of breath. If someone is a weakened warrior
type athlete who's just trying to get like, hey, where
am I compared to other people? Undergoing a full formal
caryopulmonary fitness examination is expensive, not necessarily easy to do.
(19:40):
It would probably be overkill in that particular situation because
you're going to be wanting to be able to track
where your performance is going, and it's just not super
easy to repeat these on a regular basis in a
cost effective manner. So this person might agree upon using
a wearable technology to kind of get maybe directionally which
way they're going with their fitness and use that tool
on a more routine basis and be very understanding that
(20:00):
the tool is not perfect and that they shouldn't get
so hung up on a particular number, but be more
interested in how they're doing directionally with their training plan
and how they're moving at their other health variables, and
maybe how this could guide them to a healthier position.
Speaker 1 (20:15):
Does it reflect other healthy behaviors as well? Like if
I change my diet, is my VO two max going
to change? Also?
Speaker 5 (20:21):
It could? You know, is the short answer. Say your
diet modification generates a weight loss, you will have a
higher oxygen utilization per weight. Right, So obesity is in
the equations is going to drive down your votwo max.
So in a way, whether your exercise pattern that you're
doing it generating effective weight loss, it's building lean muscle mass,
(20:42):
which is going to increase your votwo max. You might
get adaptation of the muscle because you're exercising more, right,
that's going to change your musculature, tissue level, oxygenation extraction.
So yeah, it's all these variables are tied into an
overall number. Number will likely get better as you work
upon each of these individual metrics in your health.
Speaker 1 (21:05):
Your VO two max score is a strong predictor for
heart failure, coronary artery disease, and other cardiovascular disease, and
it's also a good predictor of your longevity potential. VO
two max testing has been used in clinical settings for
over half a century, but doctor Maynard says all that
positive evidence doesn't mean that everyone needs to get tested regularly.
(21:26):
In fact, there are some people who shouldn't test, and
everyone should first consult their physician before signing up for
a VO two max test. Just to be on the
safe side, here's doctor Maynard again.
Speaker 5 (21:36):
I think for people who have decent cardiopulmonary backgrounds, there's
no ongoing medical problems, there's not a strong risk associated
with doing a test. Its exercise. For people who have
not had an assessment of their health, and they might
be a little bit older with some underrecognized cardiac conditions
and you decide that you want to start doing a
(21:57):
VO two max. This is a maximum effort test. And
just like if we were giving an exercise prescription to
someone who hasn't had any training recently, we wouldn't say, hey,
let's go full tilt, you know, we would say, let's
take a second, let's uh maybe if if you're old
enough or have enough risk factors, you might even say,
let's look at some cardiac testing prior to doing a
(22:18):
more vigorous exercise plan before incorporating these plans. So in
that way, it could be unsafe for people who are
not acclimated to exercise, who might have underrecognized cardiac conditions. Otherwise,
for the folks who are younger without any established problems
or risk factors for cardiac problems, you know, it's it's
a safe test.
Speaker 1 (22:38):
Yeah, I get what you mean. You're probably not going
to be like, all right, grandma, let's go run some
hills today, you know.
Speaker 5 (22:42):
Like yeah, I mean it's you know, max effort, whether
it's you know, like a single rep max or whether
you're out there just trying to really hit that that
really high level peak cardiac exercise No. A VO two
MAX is when you're at that maximum level and you're
sustaining it, and it's actually hard to get there. And
that's where the real administered by people who've been doing
this for a while. They are good at counseling people
(23:04):
up to get that high level of activity. It's not
easy to do, and it's where experience centers, you know,
add value.
Speaker 1 (23:10):
Yeah, So how does the average patient react with facing
this kind of test, right, because it can be intimidating
to show up and have a mask put on you
and say like, okay, we're going to run on a
treadmill and it's you're going to have to push as
hard as you can, and you know, how does the
average person react to that?
Speaker 5 (23:27):
I mean it really depends on the person, right, I
Mean some people are going to look at this like,
let's go and they're excited to see where they are.
They're probably someone who's been experienced with athletics for a
lot of time and they're interested in doing this, or
it's not their first rodeo. For someone who hasn't had
any real training experience or maybe athletic performance experience or not,
they're not used to high intensity athletics. I mean, this
(23:48):
is daunting. This is this is a this is a
big deal, and there's lots of anxiety surroundings its administrations.
It really depends a lot on who's coming to the
table or the treadmill. I should say.
Speaker 1 (24:01):
So, if somebody wants to improve their VO two max number,
what kind of training would people recommend?
Speaker 4 (24:06):
Right?
Speaker 5 (24:07):
Right, So now we're again we're talking about people who
are not really looking at this test for medical reasons
of clinical treatment plans. We're looking at how using this
test to maybe tweak their performance. It's going to be
training volume, training intensity, those are the primary drivers of
how we adapt, right, So, training load. There's studies that
look at people who've got training exposure at say two
(24:28):
to four times a week versus fourth six time a week,
and we know that training exposure is going to help
people adapt, so getting someone up to an appropriate training
volume would be a recommendation. And then training intensity high
intensity interval training is particularly helpful and a muscle adapting
to exercise. And then because the muscle's adapting to exercise
and we're improving our ability to get good cardiac output,
(24:50):
then you know your numbers are going to go up.
Speaker 1 (24:52):
Would you say it's like a meaningful indicator for overall
health or is it more targeted.
Speaker 5 (25:00):
A wonderful overall indicator of health. It's one of the
more validated techniques to assess health and wellness. We in
medicine use various techniques to validate procedures. We use statistics
to decide which variables influence the outcomes the most, are
most correlated with it, and when we look at things
that are important, even like important things like blood pressure
(25:21):
and cholesterol status and all these other very commonly used
health metrics. VO two max comes out on top is
one of the best predictors of longevity and outcome. If
we were to compare the people with the highest VO
two max compared to the lowest votwo max quartiles, there
can be a life difference of five years. So it's
a very important marker. Well, why is it so important?
(25:43):
What is it telling us that helps us with longevity
at things? I think it's because the test incorporates so
many different components of our body's health systems. It incorporates
the cardiac function. So like one of the important variables
inside how people do is cardiac output, you know, the
the ability of the heart to squeeze blood through our bodies.
And so since that's an important part of our health
(26:04):
and wellness, this test encapsulates that it's going to be
an important marker. Look at the other elements, like the
pulmonary status, whether our lungs can exchange gases appropriately. Some
people have health conditions in their lungs, say chronic exposure
to toxins, whether there's a physema, COPD, so their respiratory
fitness is needed to have better VO two maxes, they
(26:27):
need to exchange the gases from the environment. So if
you have a health limiting condition in the pulmonary situation,
that's going to be reflected on your VO two max.
And just as your cardiac status would be potentially impaired
by say heart disease or valvular heart disease or hypertensive
heart disease. So now we got the cardiac system, we
have a pulmonary system, and then we have a reflection
(26:47):
of the Then finally, for the VO two max, I
would say that it's how well the muscles use oxygen.
So here, if you have more musculature and that musculature
is conditioned to be more efficient at gas exchange, that's
reflected by a better VIEW two max. So I think
it's really it's an all around measurement that incorporates many
important health variables, and I think because those things stove
(27:08):
pipe up and give you that final number, it ends
up being a very predictive test of predictive number.
Speaker 1 (27:16):
Wow, Okay, So at its core, VO two max is
a comprehensive measure that reflects multiple key aspects of your
overall health and fitness, which sounds like a pretty important number.
So maybe now you're wondering, how are guests scored on
their VO two max tests? I know, drum roll for context,
Males who score over fifty five fall in excellent average
(27:38):
is thirty five to forty four. For healthy women, and
excellent score is forty nine or above, and average is
thirty one to thirty seven. Keep in mind VO two
max naturally declines with age, so a good score at
age sixty looks different than twenty five, and endurance athletes,
like runners or cyclists, they can often exceed these ranges.
Elite athletes can reach seventy or ninety plus. Norwegian triathletes
(28:00):
and Olympic gold medalist Christian Blumenfeldt recorded the highest known
VO two max in early twenty twenty six, with a
lab tested score that broke the one hundred mark for
the first time at one hundred and one point two.
He's considered the greatest triathlete in the modern age. Danny
competed against him in a recent Ironman competition. How'd you do, Danny?
Christian blumenfelt was in the race. He won. It was
(28:23):
honestly a lot of fun. Okay, So here it goes,
how did our guests score in their VO two max tests? Brandon?
Our normal average?
Speaker 4 (28:32):
Dad, My actual numbers were forty five, So I was like, wow,
that's crazy. I mean, and being like a VO two
max of forty five at my age was like there
was like good and then excellent. I was like right
on that line of the yant X access of being
right on the excellent lines I'm like, well, let's get better.
Speaker 1 (28:48):
And Grace our multi marathon runner.
Speaker 3 (28:51):
The VO two max that I had, so it's almost
a year ago, was sixty two, and apparently that number
falls within like the superior elite range. So it was
a good score, a really good score.
Speaker 2 (29:04):
And Danny, our triathlete the fig reveal, so I scored
eighty point two on my votwo max. Was a lot
higher than I expected. In that moment, I kind of
felt validated for all of the hard work that I
had put in in the preceding months, especially in trying
to get myself back into shape. So all of the
(29:25):
training volume, all of the healthy decisions that I made
when it came to diet, when it came to sleep,
I think all of that kind of set in and
it was a very very gratifying feeling.
Speaker 1 (29:36):
I'd say, but I think I want to give doctor
Maynard the last word.
Speaker 5 (29:40):
Don't put that pressure on yourself. Understand that your athletic
performance is more than a single number. We live in
a time period now where there's a lot of information online.
There's a lot of influencers that talk a great deal
about various things that predict health and wellness and VO
two max is one of them. Very right to consider
(30:01):
using this as an important test because it is, it's validated,
it's been around, there's tons of statistics and data that
support its use. But like many other metrics, it has
to be contextualized. So I'm encouraged that people are looking
at it. I think it's great that they're beginning to
understand this long held technology and incorporate it into their
predictions in encouraging people maybe to get a little bit
(30:23):
healthier by looking at this measurement.
Speaker 1 (30:26):
VOTWO max is one of the most reliable ways to
measure your overall fitness, whether you're an elite athlete or
someone just trying to live their best life. Higher scores
are linked to stronger cardiovascular health, lower disease risk, and
longer lifespan. Knowing your votwo max can also help you
train smarter by tailoring workouts to your actual capacity. That said,
(30:46):
you don't need to rush out and book a clinical test.
Your smart watch can help you keep track of your
VOTWO max just fine, but remember it's still a good
idea to check in with your physician if you're curious
about your VOTWO max score. After hearing about it. Did
we entice you to go run out and get a
VO two max score done or send you running away
at the thought of it. Let us know in the comments.
(31:07):
We're curious to hear what you have to share. And
thanks again to doctor Maynard for breaking down the science
and the technology behind VO two max scores, and also
thanks to Grace, Danny and Brandon for sharing their stories
and experiences with us as well. We did it again, y'all.
We got to the bottom of another popular health trend,
but there is still more to come. In the next episode,
we're going to answer your questions about the many detox
(31:30):
trends circulating online. If you haven't already, please hit the
subscriber follow button and join us next time on Health
versus Hype with the American Medical Association. For more information
on all the topics we're covering, visit Amahealth versus Hype
dot Org. That's am Health vs. Hype dot Org. Health
versus Hype is a production of Ruby Studio from iHeartMedia
(31:53):
and the American Medical Association. I'm trace to Mingez. Our
producers are Matt Stillo and Pamela Lawrence. Michael Poe Wilson
is our writer. The show is engineered and features original
music by Matthew Ernest Filler. Hels Versus Hype is intended
for educational and informational purposes only and does not constitute
medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of
(32:14):
your physician with any questions you may have regarding a
medical condition.
Rube.
Speaker 2 (00:06):
I was really curious to find out what my actual
votwo max score was.
Speaker 3 (00:10):
There were a lot of influencers doing their VO two
max and then even like just sharing information on what
it means.
Speaker 4 (00:17):
I'm curious what this number actually is and how it
really affects me.
Speaker 5 (00:22):
Yeah, we're talking about VO two max specifically. It is
a very important number.
Speaker 1 (00:27):
You've probably heard the term before VO two max. Maybe
you follow fitness influencers who are constantly sharing their smart
watch stats after intense exercise. Maybe you've seen the testing
videos on your social media feed. You know the ones
where people are like running with a funny face mask
on and they're going really fast on a treadmill. VO
two max scores or even this is real showing up
(00:48):
on dating profiles as a fitness brag. VO two max
scores are in the spotlight, and it makes it seem
like it's the only metric that matters in your fitness
and health journey. But what all those tests and numbers
really mean for your health. It's a question lots of
people are trying to answer for themselves. From elite athletes
like Danny Serkin and Grace Hillsen who are figuring out
(01:09):
how it fits into their training and performance.
Speaker 2 (01:12):
There's a litany of other things that basically determine how
your performance as an athlete is, and it's not solely
determined by votwo max.
Speaker 3 (01:20):
I am a performance driven runner. But also like the
more you identify your performance in the form of numbers,
the less that you really find satisfaction out of what
you do.
Speaker 1 (01:31):
To average folks like Brandon Osborne, who is wondering if
knowing their VO two max score is meaningful for their
overall health and longevity, I.
Speaker 4 (01:38):
Not in my twenties anymore where I could just take
on the world and be fine. It could happen where
all of a sudden, all my dreams and ambitions go away,
all because I didn't pay attention to these numbers.
Speaker 1 (01:49):
To doctors like Robert Maynard who want people to understand
what this test is really about.
Speaker 5 (01:55):
Remember that you know the person who crosses the finish
line first, it may or may not be the person
with the best VO two max.
Speaker 1 (02:01):
Welcome back to Health versus Hype with the American Medical Association.
I'm your host, trace him. I guess today we're talking
about VO two max at its simplest VO two max
is a measure of how much oxygen your body can
use during exercise. It's often described as your body's horsepower,
or the maximum output you can sustain during physical activity
(02:22):
like running, for example. You might also hear it called
maximal oxygen consumption or aerobic capacity, but for now we'll
stick to the normal VO two max. We'll get into
the more technical definition in a minute. Lately, votwo max
has taken off online as a must know fitness metric.
But does this number really tell you how fit or
(02:44):
healthy you are? Is the VO two max score on
your fitness tracker accurate or should you rush out and
take that lab test with the mask and the treadmill?
And does your votwo max score even matter as much
as the hype suggests. Let's find out whether this viral
metric is all health or just heighten. While our goal
(03:17):
today is to separate health from hype, when it comes
to VO two max, there is another question kind of
floating around in the background. Is this metric useful for
everyone or just elite athletes. We're going to start on
one end of the athletic spectrum today with Grace and Danny.
Grace has a background in multiple sports and has completed
nine marathons. Wow. Danny was a collegiate swimmer at USC
(03:40):
through twenty twenty five and has recently transitioned into triathlon competition.
They're both considered elite athletes, a status confirmed by their
VO two max scores, which we will reveal later. On
the other end of the spectrum, we have Brandon. He's
getting back into running for general fitness after taking a
stretch of time off to focus on being a dad.
Relatable clinical VO two max tests are available at some
(04:03):
specialized sports medicine facilities, university exercise science departments, high end gyms,
and dedicated performance labs like the one Grace went to.
They typically cost between one hundred and two hundred dollars.
I was curious what the experience of going through the
test was like. So here they are describing it.
Speaker 3 (04:21):
View two maxes are available in many places. Find the
nearest one and they'll kind of walk you through what
to do.
Speaker 2 (04:27):
I got to a physical therapy clinic, signed all the
paperwork and went over to the treadmill area.
Speaker 4 (04:33):
Alright ready, and I set my stuff up and he
pulls out this I like to call it, and he
called it to a bane mask, like it was literally
like over your mouth, your nose, and it had a
nice suction all the way around. It straps in the
back and then it's sitting on there really tightly and
not so bad that it's like cutting off a circulation,
(04:54):
but it also needs to be tight enough that when
you're running, it's not going to bounce up and down.
Speaker 3 (05:00):
It's actually a little heavy, heavier than I thought, Like
just looking at the videos and pictures of it and
the way it sits on your face, it's kind of awkward.
You can't really see your feet, so like imagine running
on a treadmill and you're like, you're not looking at
your feet.
Speaker 2 (05:14):
They start it at a low speed and zero percent incline,
and every two minutes the speed will increase as well
as the encline.
Speaker 4 (05:23):
As you're like kind of running, you can hear it
like squeaking almost like as you're breathing out and breathing in,
it's taking that in and going out.
Speaker 3 (05:33):
And as it's getting faster, your heart rate's obviously like
going up, and they just kind of want to see
where you can max out.
Speaker 4 (05:39):
As we kept upping the numbers, it was just it
was getting harder and harder to.
Speaker 3 (05:43):
Breathe, and then like once you were just like completely gassed,
they'll take it off and then they'll show you where
the number lives.
Speaker 1 (05:51):
By the end, I was hurting pretty bad. And all
of that takes about ten to fifteen minutes. So after
hearing about it, I can imagine this might be a
test you don't really look forward to taking, So why
do it at all if you don't have to.
Speaker 3 (06:07):
There's something I always do before I go into a
marathon training, and it's kind of like doing some analysis
on ways to improve like my running, like you know,
just comparing it to like previous training. I think my
VO two max. I do believe that it probably has
changed based on the training I've put in from then
to now. And it's not the number. I just want
to make this clear, like it's not the number itself
(06:29):
that I want to chase. But I think what I
want to understand more is the data is okay, maybe
my heart rate has gotten even lower now, So what
does that mean for my zones? What does that mean
for my threshold?
Speaker 1 (06:43):
Danny had a similar reason.
Speaker 2 (06:45):
Like I mentioned before, I'm a little bit of a nerd,
So everything that I've done is basically anchored on data.
I have my best friend here on my wrist, my
garment watch. And the way I think of it is
you can look at your pace, you could look at
how much power you're putting through the bike.
Speaker 1 (07:02):
You could look at your swim times. But that's only
one factor.
Speaker 2 (07:06):
And I found that it's best to basically have a
pace or power couple with heart rate. So in my experience,
that was really the best way that I could gauge
if I was making progress.
Speaker 1 (07:20):
So, for example, let's say Danny was biking at a
certain number of watts at a heart rate of one for.
If he continued progressing along and holding a higher number
of watts at that same heart rate one for, that
means he's becoming more aerobically efficient. So what about the
rest of us, You know, the ones not training for
marathons or triathlons who get tired when they're biking, even
(07:42):
on a flat surface. That's not autobiographical. Why would we
want to know this VO two max number?
Speaker 2 (07:48):
For that?
Speaker 1 (07:48):
I wanted to hear what Brandon had to say.
Speaker 4 (07:51):
I'm an average dad, I have upside downs. I have
gained weight of lost weight to gain weight. I'm in
my mid thirties, I fell off dad. Life happened. Just
stop prioritizing myself. So last year was the first time
I've ever heard of VO two max. I have an
Apple watch that I track everything on, and my health
app gave me a notification that says your VEO two
(08:13):
max has increased, and I'm like, I have no idea
what that means, you know, So I'm like looking at it,
and I'm curious what this number actually is and how
it really affects me and how I can use it
to benefit myself. Is this just for professional athletes?
Speaker 1 (08:31):
Of course? Being an average dad, Brandon was also thinking
about family.
Speaker 4 (08:36):
My family kind of has a history of heart stuff.
VO two max isn't going to tell me if I
have blocked arteries or anything like that, but it is
telling me that my heart is pumping and that my
body is kind of built for this. So safety, health
and making sure that I'm not pushing myself too far
too quickly. I do want to be around for my kids,
and it would just be interesting to be like, oh, look,
(08:58):
I was running. And that was my downfall of all things,
because I wasn't paying attention to actual numbers.
Speaker 1 (09:06):
To test or not to test, That is the question.
To understand more about the science behind VO two max,
I asked doctor Robert Maynard, the director of the Cardiac
Rehabilitation Unit at Henry Ford Providence Hospitals in Detroit, to
join us. First up, we'll finally dive into the technical
definition of votwo max. I promised this earlier. Here we
(09:28):
are and this is doctor Maynard.
Speaker 2 (09:31):
So.
Speaker 5 (09:31):
VO two max is a test that we use in
a clinical situation to guide care. It can also be
used to evaluate athletes in their performance. And it measures
the oxygen consumption and it measures it per unit mass,
so that's going to be kilograms and per unit time
and per minute and so the average ranges of VO
(09:53):
two max are between thirty five and fifty five, and
they're very much related to a person's age, their weight,
their heredity, their trading status. And what we'll see is
a general decline in VO two max from our twenties
moving through the decades.
Speaker 1 (10:13):
VO two max very literally describes your highest that is
the max volume, that is the v of oxygen intake,
that is the two so maximum volume of oxygen intake.
There are a few ways to calculate it, which we'll
get to in a minute. But you may still be
wondering where this number actually comes from. So they measure
(10:34):
the volume of oxygen intake in millileaders while you're running
on that treadmill. So the milli leaders are then divided
by your body weight and the time to find your
average oxygen intake in a single minute. So an average
person usually has a max volume of about thirty five
to fifty five milliliters of oxygen for every kilogram of
(10:56):
their weight in a single minute, and that's where they
get the number. This number, of course, is affected by
a myriad of health factors like your age, your exercise routine.
Here's doctor Maynard again.
Speaker 5 (11:07):
So there's a premium we get for getting older, and
it's going to in general have a downward pressure on
our VO two max. But there's things that anyone can
do at any stage in their lives to modify this number.
And I'd say, just as a tangent quickly, that it's
a very important number. It's not the only way that
one person should assess their health and wellness, but just
(11:28):
saying that this is a very important number, it's one
of the more correlated numbers with outcomes there's a training volume,
whether it's going to be something in intensity like a
hit type training program, whether there's a more steady state
exposure to training. Each of these things collectively are going
to move your VO two max up as we become
(11:48):
more conditioned, as our muscle mass increases, and as our
ability to extract oxygen increases from the muscle level.
Speaker 1 (11:56):
Interesting, So, in the past few years VO two max
has become this kind of topic and longevity and wellness circles.
Why do you think it's trending all of a sudden.
Speaker 5 (12:05):
It's a great metric for health variables. It helps distill
those complex issues into a single number. So I don't
think people are wrong to be talking about it as
an important health metric.
Speaker 1 (12:18):
Yeah, when you see it talked about, or if you
see it talked about, what are usually people getting right
and what are you like? Maybe that's oversimplifying.
Speaker 5 (12:26):
Yeah, I mean I think people are right to bring
up this test in response to how it influences longevity
outcome and health and wellness. I think that part is
very real and we shouldn't underestimate its influence. But too
often people do get wrapped up in one particular variable,
and I think that that could be problematic. And you
(12:46):
have kids, you know, and they're coming into you and
they're asking you for advice or they're dealing with something
and they're just distrapped because they got to be on
a test. And you know, as a parent, you're sitting
there going listen. Life is more than just one test.
It's more than just one variable. And that's what I
want to I think it's what I want to tell
people is is that there's there's a whole gamut of
(13:07):
elements that go into how well you feel, how well
you perform your daily tasks, what your wellness and is.
And and so when they think when people get too
influenced by one particular variable, or they train to that
test and they forget all the other components of health
and wellness, I think that's a little bit problematic.
Speaker 1 (13:24):
That aligns with something Grace Hills and told us. Let
me play this clip for you now and get your
reaction to it.
Speaker 3 (13:30):
I feel that other runners also may have struggled with,
or and I have struggled with, is the number game.
And I think like because the numbers are so heavy,
especially as a performance driven athlete, you know, you see
your time goals the prs, and I think even the
VO two max number itself kind of puts you in
(13:51):
a ranking like almost like a status. And I think
originally that kind of got to me, that really did
affect me mentally more than a shit of I would
say that the numbers do not define you. That status
is not a reflection of who you are as a person.
And this doesn't apply to runners like I mean, it
applies to anyone and everyone, and so I just want
(14:15):
to emphasize that it's not you know, it does not
define you.
Speaker 1 (14:19):
Doctor Maynard. What's your reaction to what Grace is sharing here.
It kind of feels like she's getting to the heart
of what you were saying earlier.
Speaker 5 (14:26):
I see that, And we could talk about the context
of the particular the two max and people who are
athletes who overly emphasize this particular number. You can also
think about it just in general, that there are so
many things, whether it's academics or athletic performance, where you
get that single number, and your right to be concerned
(14:47):
because people are looking at it, and so it's valuable
because you care about their opinion, but you deep down
know that I'm not one metric I'm not one number
and I shouldn't do this, but boy, it's human tended see,
And so I just think this is a classic example
of human psychology on display.
Speaker 1 (15:06):
Expanding a little on the human psychology piece of this,
are there instances where a person could say, misinterpret the
score or you know, apply it to something that maybe
it doesn't quite fit.
Speaker 5 (15:16):
I think people might falsely ascribe to the test how
well they're going to do in a particular athletic event.
People compare themselves to other people with this one metric
they're and they're bothered that their VO two max might
be a little bit better than someone else. Someone else
is yet they're performing better on a physical feat or
a task or an athletic endeavor. And remember that you
(15:38):
know the person who crosses the finish line first, it
may or may not be the person with the vest
VO two max. So I think that's maybe a thing
that I would caution against, assuming that it's the sole
predictor of athletic performance.
Speaker 1 (15:53):
People love to have this kind of quantitative data about
their health or their athleticism, and it's an easy number
of like, oh what's your what's your max score? Oh,
what's your max score, and then you can you know,
compare them. But because it's like you said, there's so
many variables, are they really directly comparable between people?
Speaker 5 (16:12):
Well, some of that direct comparison from one person to
another is going to be related to the limitations of
the fidelity of the measurement. Right, So when we're using
say like a wearable technology to generate that VO two
max that you're comparing to someone else, I mean, what's
what's going to be the accuracy of that tool. What's
going to be the tool to tool comparison. You know,
(16:33):
wearable technology tends to underestimate votwo max by about point
one milligram provoxygen per kilogram permitted, so you know, on average,
for an average weight person, you're going to kind of
be about five ish, uh, you know, lower on your
VO two max.
Speaker 1 (16:47):
All of our guests mentioned wearing a watch to keep
an eye on their VO two max. And here's something
Danny shared with us that I would love for you
to respond to, doctor Maynard.
Speaker 2 (16:56):
I was really curious to find out what my actual
votwo max score was because the watch would say one number,
and I knew that Garman's algorithm is based off of
your run pace or your power on the bike relative
to what heart rate you were at. And that's of
course an estimation. So what's your reaction to that, Doctor Maynard.
Speaker 5 (17:18):
Your wearable technology is going to have fidelity issues. It's
not going to be perfect each time. So let's not
get too wrapped up in a particular number. Let's look
at this with more than just one or two pieces
of data. Let's get a sample size over a longer
period of time and then put it in context. You know,
you know, just because that watch is telling you that
I'm five percent less on my VO two max, and
(17:40):
yet I feel wonderful, you know, going out there hitting
my morning runs, I'm hitting all my targets, I'm doing
wealth my times. Lose the perseverance on this number, you know,
use it for what it's worth. Let's not get too
overly anxious about one particular variable.
Speaker 1 (17:56):
This feels like a good moment to zoom out and
talk about how VO two max is actually measured, because
not all tests are created equal. As doctor Maynard mentioned,
they're not even measuring the same thing. Most smart watches
estimate your votwo max using data like heart rate, pace
and GPS. Smart rings use a similar approach, although with
(18:16):
smaller sensors their estimates can be less precise. Then there's
the lab test, the one with the awkward face mask
that Grace, Danny and Brandon experienced. Instead of estimating, it
directly measures gas exchange, how much oxygen you are literally
taking in and how much carbon dioxide you are breathing out,
along with your heart rate to confirm that you are
(18:37):
truly at max effort. So while wearables can give you
an estimate, the treadmill and mask test is measuring your
body's direct performance, which raises the real question when is
a smart watch good enough and when does a full
test actually matter. Here's how doctor Maynard thinks about it.
Speaker 5 (18:55):
The most common circumstance where you're going to use a
VOTWO max a formal VOTWO max, and this involves the
complex use of a metabolic cart and all the equipment
and having a person who's highly trained administered the exam.
This is best in medical settings for medical determination of
treatment plants, and so a classic one would be for
people who have a heart failure and they're contemplating the
(19:18):
need for heart transplant. Another strong indication for using this
in a formal way would be people who are having
unexplained shortness of breath. If someone is a weakened warrior
type athlete who's just trying to get like, hey, where
am I compared to other people? Undergoing a full formal
caryopulmonary fitness examination is expensive, not necessarily easy to do.
(19:40):
It would probably be overkill in that particular situation because
you're going to be wanting to be able to track
where your performance is going, and it's just not super
easy to repeat these on a regular basis in a
cost effective manner. So this person might agree upon using
a wearable technology to kind of get maybe directionally which
way they're going with their fitness and use that tool
on a more routine basis and be very understanding that
(20:00):
the tool is not perfect and that they shouldn't get
so hung up on a particular number, but be more
interested in how they're doing directionally with their training plan
and how they're moving at their other health variables, and
maybe how this could guide them to a healthier position.
Speaker 1 (20:15):
Does it reflect other healthy behaviors as well? Like if
I change my diet, is my VO two max going
to change? Also?
Speaker 5 (20:21):
It could? You know, is the short answer. Say your
diet modification generates a weight loss, you will have a
higher oxygen utilization per weight. Right, So obesity is in
the equations is going to drive down your votwo max.
So in a way, whether your exercise pattern that you're
doing it generating effective weight loss, it's building lean muscle mass,
(20:42):
which is going to increase your votwo max. You might
get adaptation of the muscle because you're exercising more, right,
that's going to change your musculature, tissue level, oxygenation extraction.
So yeah, it's all these variables are tied into an
overall number. Number will likely get better as you work
upon each of these individual metrics in your health.
Speaker 1 (21:05):
Your VO two max score is a strong predictor for
heart failure, coronary artery disease, and other cardiovascular disease, and
it's also a good predictor of your longevity potential. VO
two max testing has been used in clinical settings for
over half a century, but doctor Maynard says all that
positive evidence doesn't mean that everyone needs to get tested regularly.
(21:26):
In fact, there are some people who shouldn't test, and
everyone should first consult their physician before signing up for
a VO two max test. Just to be on the
safe side, here's doctor Maynard again.
Speaker 5 (21:36):
I think for people who have decent cardiopulmonary backgrounds, there's
no ongoing medical problems, there's not a strong risk associated
with doing a test. Its exercise. For people who have
not had an assessment of their health, and they might
be a little bit older with some underrecognized cardiac conditions
and you decide that you want to start doing a
(21:57):
VO two max. This is a maximum effort test. And
just like if we were giving an exercise prescription to
someone who hasn't had any training recently, we wouldn't say, hey,
let's go full tilt, you know, we would say, let's
take a second, let's uh maybe if if you're old
enough or have enough risk factors, you might even say,
let's look at some cardiac testing prior to doing a
(22:18):
more vigorous exercise plan before incorporating these plans. So in
that way, it could be unsafe for people who are
not acclimated to exercise, who might have underrecognized cardiac conditions. Otherwise,
for the folks who are younger without any established problems
or risk factors for cardiac problems, you know, it's it's
a safe test.
Speaker 1 (22:38):
Yeah, I get what you mean. You're probably not going
to be like, all right, grandma, let's go run some
hills today, you know.
Speaker 5 (22:42):
Like yeah, I mean it's you know, max effort, whether
it's you know, like a single rep max or whether
you're out there just trying to really hit that that
really high level peak cardiac exercise No. A VO two
MAX is when you're at that maximum level and you're
sustaining it, and it's actually hard to get there. And
that's where the real administered by people who've been doing
this for a while. They are good at counseling people
(23:04):
up to get that high level of activity. It's not
easy to do, and it's where experience centers, you know,
add value.
Speaker 1 (23:10):
Yeah, So how does the average patient react with facing
this kind of test, right, because it can be intimidating
to show up and have a mask put on you
and say like, okay, we're going to run on a
treadmill and it's you're going to have to push as
hard as you can, and you know, how does the
average person react to that?
Speaker 5 (23:27):
I mean it really depends on the person, right, I
Mean some people are going to look at this like,
let's go and they're excited to see where they are.
They're probably someone who's been experienced with athletics for a
lot of time and they're interested in doing this, or
it's not their first rodeo. For someone who hasn't had
any real training experience or maybe athletic performance experience or not,
they're not used to high intensity athletics. I mean, this
(23:48):
is daunting. This is this is a this is a
big deal, and there's lots of anxiety surroundings its administrations.
It really depends a lot on who's coming to the
table or the treadmill. I should say.
Speaker 1 (24:01):
So, if somebody wants to improve their VO two max number,
what kind of training would people recommend?
Speaker 4 (24:06):
Right?
Speaker 5 (24:07):
Right, So now we're again we're talking about people who
are not really looking at this test for medical reasons
of clinical treatment plans. We're looking at how using this
test to maybe tweak their performance. It's going to be
training volume, training intensity, those are the primary drivers of
how we adapt, right, So, training load. There's studies that
look at people who've got training exposure at say two
(24:28):
to four times a week versus fourth six time a week,
and we know that training exposure is going to help
people adapt, so getting someone up to an appropriate training
volume would be a recommendation. And then training intensity high
intensity interval training is particularly helpful and a muscle adapting
to exercise. And then because the muscle's adapting to exercise
and we're improving our ability to get good cardiac output,
(24:50):
then you know your numbers are going to go up.
Speaker 1 (24:52):
Would you say it's like a meaningful indicator for overall
health or is it more targeted.
Speaker 5 (25:00):
A wonderful overall indicator of health. It's one of the
more validated techniques to assess health and wellness. We in
medicine use various techniques to validate procedures. We use statistics
to decide which variables influence the outcomes the most, are
most correlated with it, and when we look at things
that are important, even like important things like blood pressure
(25:21):
and cholesterol status and all these other very commonly used
health metrics. VO two max comes out on top is
one of the best predictors of longevity and outcome. If
we were to compare the people with the highest VO
two max compared to the lowest votwo max quartiles, there
can be a life difference of five years. So it's
a very important marker. Well, why is it so important?
(25:43):
What is it telling us that helps us with longevity
at things? I think it's because the test incorporates so
many different components of our body's health systems. It incorporates
the cardiac function. So like one of the important variables
inside how people do is cardiac output, you know, the
the ability of the heart to squeeze blood through our bodies.
And so since that's an important part of our health
(26:04):
and wellness, this test encapsulates that it's going to be
an important marker. Look at the other elements, like the
pulmonary status, whether our lungs can exchange gases appropriately. Some
people have health conditions in their lungs, say chronic exposure
to toxins, whether there's a physema, COPD, so their respiratory
fitness is needed to have better VO two maxes, they
(26:27):
need to exchange the gases from the environment. So if
you have a health limiting condition in the pulmonary situation,
that's going to be reflected on your VO two max.
And just as your cardiac status would be potentially impaired
by say heart disease or valvular heart disease or hypertensive
heart disease. So now we got the cardiac system, we
have a pulmonary system, and then we have a reflection
(26:47):
of the Then finally, for the VO two max, I
would say that it's how well the muscles use oxygen.
So here, if you have more musculature and that musculature
is conditioned to be more efficient at gas exchange, that's
reflected by a better VIEW two max. So I think
it's really it's an all around measurement that incorporates many
important health variables, and I think because those things stove
(27:08):
pipe up and give you that final number, it ends
up being a very predictive test of predictive number.
Speaker 1 (27:16):
Wow, Okay, So at its core, VO two max is
a comprehensive measure that reflects multiple key aspects of your
overall health and fitness, which sounds like a pretty important number.
So maybe now you're wondering, how are guests scored on
their VO two max tests? I know, drum roll for context,
Males who score over fifty five fall in excellent average
(27:38):
is thirty five to forty four. For healthy women, and
excellent score is forty nine or above, and average is
thirty one to thirty seven. Keep in mind VO two
max naturally declines with age, so a good score at
age sixty looks different than twenty five, and endurance athletes,
like runners or cyclists, they can often exceed these ranges.
Elite athletes can reach seventy or ninety plus. Norwegian triathletes
(28:00):
and Olympic gold medalist Christian Blumenfeldt recorded the highest known
VO two max in early twenty twenty six, with a
lab tested score that broke the one hundred mark for
the first time at one hundred and one point two.
He's considered the greatest triathlete in the modern age. Danny
competed against him in a recent Ironman competition. How'd you do, Danny?
Christian blumenfelt was in the race. He won. It was
(28:23):
honestly a lot of fun. Okay, So here it goes,
how did our guests score in their VO two max tests? Brandon?
Our normal average?
Speaker 4 (28:32):
Dad, My actual numbers were forty five, So I was like, wow,
that's crazy. I mean, and being like a VO two
max of forty five at my age was like there
was like good and then excellent. I was like right
on that line of the yant X access of being
right on the excellent lines I'm like, well, let's get better.
Speaker 1 (28:48):
And Grace our multi marathon runner.
Speaker 3 (28:51):
The VO two max that I had, so it's almost
a year ago, was sixty two, and apparently that number
falls within like the superior elite range. So it was
a good score, a really good score.
Speaker 2 (29:04):
And Danny, our triathlete the fig reveal, so I scored
eighty point two on my votwo max. Was a lot
higher than I expected. In that moment, I kind of
felt validated for all of the hard work that I
had put in in the preceding months, especially in trying
to get myself back into shape. So all of the
(29:25):
training volume, all of the healthy decisions that I made
when it came to diet, when it came to sleep,
I think all of that kind of set in and
it was a very very gratifying feeling.
Speaker 1 (29:36):
I'd say, but I think I want to give doctor
Maynard the last word.
Speaker 5 (29:40):
Don't put that pressure on yourself. Understand that your athletic
performance is more than a single number. We live in
a time period now where there's a lot of information online.
There's a lot of influencers that talk a great deal
about various things that predict health and wellness and VO
two max is one of them. Very right to consider
(30:01):
using this as an important test because it is, it's validated,
it's been around, there's tons of statistics and data that
support its use. But like many other metrics, it has
to be contextualized. So I'm encouraged that people are looking
at it. I think it's great that they're beginning to
understand this long held technology and incorporate it into their
predictions in encouraging people maybe to get a little bit
(30:23):
healthier by looking at this measurement.
Speaker 1 (30:26):
VOTWO max is one of the most reliable ways to
measure your overall fitness, whether you're an elite athlete or
someone just trying to live their best life. Higher scores
are linked to stronger cardiovascular health, lower disease risk, and
longer lifespan. Knowing your votwo max can also help you
train smarter by tailoring workouts to your actual capacity. That said,
(30:46):
you don't need to rush out and book a clinical test.
Your smart watch can help you keep track of your
VOTWO max just fine, but remember it's still a good
idea to check in with your physician if you're curious
about your VOTWO max score. After hearing about it. Did
we entice you to go run out and get a
VO two max score done or send you running away
at the thought of it. Let us know in the comments.
(31:07):
We're curious to hear what you have to share. And
thanks again to doctor Maynard for breaking down the science
and the technology behind VO two max scores, and also
thanks to Grace, Danny and Brandon for sharing their stories
and experiences with us as well. We did it again, y'all.
We got to the bottom of another popular health trend,
but there is still more to come. In the next episode,
we're going to answer your questions about the many detox
(31:30):
trends circulating online. If you haven't already, please hit the
subscriber follow button and join us next time on Health
versus Hype with the American Medical Association. For more information
on all the topics we're covering, visit Amahealth versus Hype
dot Org. That's am Health vs. Hype dot Org. Health
versus Hype is a production of Ruby Studio from iHeartMedia
(31:53):
and the American Medical Association. I'm trace to Mingez. Our
producers are Matt Stillo and Pamela Lawrence. Michael Poe Wilson
is our writer. The show is engineered and features original
music by Matthew Ernest Filler. Hels Versus Hype is intended
for educational and informational purposes only and does not constitute
medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of
(32:14):
your physician with any questions you may have regarding a
medical condition.
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