{"id":99556,"date":"2025-08-28T22:26:08","date_gmt":"2025-08-28T22:26:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/99556\/"},"modified":"2025-08-28T22:26:08","modified_gmt":"2025-08-28T22:26:08","slug":"heres-how-long-it-takes-to-improve-vo2-max-according-to-science","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/99556\/","title":{"rendered":"Here\u2019s How Long It Takes to Improve VO2 Max, According to Science"},"content":{"rendered":"

Until recently, VO2 max testing<\/a> has been inaccessible to most everyday athletes. Unless you had an in with an exercise physiology lab, you had to rely on back-of-the-envelope calculations or wearable tech to generate a rough (sometimes, really rough) estimate. <\/p>\n

But as more recreational athletes and fitness-minded people express an interest in collecting accurate personal data and tracking health metrics, the market has responded. Some forecasters predict that the global sports science equipment market<\/a>, which includes the tech needed to measure VO2 max, will grow from $3.2 billion to $5.5 billion in the next eight years. <\/p>\n

Already, in most major cities, you can walk into a sports performance clinic and get your VO2 max tested for fitness and longevity<\/a>, for the price of a new (expensive) pair of running shoes<\/a>. (The same goes for other assessments like lactate threshold<\/a> testing and the DEXA body composition scan.) <\/p>\n

With more accessibility, it\u2019s understandable that runners may want to use their VO2 max, a metric often dubbed the \u201cgold standard\u201d for fitness and health outcomes<\/a>, to measure their progress and the efficacy of their programming. But depending on the runner, it can take a while to see a shift in the numbers.
<\/p>\n

To find out just how long, we chatted with a sports medicine physician and an exercise physiologist. Here\u2019s what they had to say about why VO2 max is important, how soon you should retest it, and the best way to improve it.<\/p>\n

Related StoryWhy VO2 Max Matters for Runners<\/p>\n

VO2 max, which is measured in milliliters of oxygen per kilogram of bodyweight per minute, refers to the volume of oxygen your body can utilize during maximal exertion exercise, says Kevin Sprouse<\/a>, DO, sports medicine physician and medical advisor for Eternal<\/a>, a healthcare and performance app designed for athletes. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s telling you how much oxygen your body can bring in,\u201d he says. \u201cAnd how much you can move into the system, how much you can load onto the blood cells, send out to the muscles, use for energy, and create metabolic work downstream. It\u2019s kind of an aggregator of metabolic fitness.\u201d <\/p>\n

When you raise your VO2 max<\/a>, you raise your ceiling for workout intensity. You surpass your previous limitations with a new \u201cmax effort,\u201d but running at lesser intensities is also easier. You may, for example, find that your 10K pace is faster than before or that a hill workout<\/a> you once found crushing is now totally doable. Essentially, when you improve your VO2 max, you increase your performance potential. <\/p>\n

Related StoryThe Average Time Frame for Improving VO2 Max<\/p>\n

The rate at which your VO2 max improves depends on a few different factors. Your training volume and the types of workouts<\/a> you do affect your VO2 max, but there are also athlete-specific factors, including your current fitness level. (That also means your VO2 max can be different for running versus cycling.)<\/p>\n

Deconditioned athletes and beginners may see improvements in their VO2 max scores sooner than someone who already exercises regularly, simply because they have more room for improvement. <\/p>\n

\u201cA highly trained individual could train for an entire year and may only see a slight improvement, like maybe a 1 percent improvement in VO2 max or not at all, because they\u2019ve already maxed out their VO2 max,\u201d says Todd Buckingham, Ph.D., exercise physiologist at PTSportsPRO<\/a> in Grand Rapids, Michigan. \u201cBut if you take someone who\u2019s on a couch-to-5K program<\/a>, you could see some pretty significant changes in the first six to 10 weeks.\u201d <\/p>\n

Researchers found this to be the case in a 2019 study published in Sports Medicine International Open. The study<\/a> compared the effects of different types of aerobic exercise<\/a> programs (one was standardized, based on heart rate reserve, and the other was more individualized, based on ventilatory threshold) on VO2 max in 39 sedentary adults. It recorded significant improvements in VO2 max in just eight weeks, no matter which type of program the participants followed. <\/p>\n

In contrast, researchers who tracked VO2 max in a small group of elite runners<\/a> found that, after three years of training, their scores did not significantly improve. Maybe the issue was the training program, the authors noted. But it was also likely that the athletes \u201chave reached a plateau in their performance,\u201d they wrote. <\/p>\n

Related Story<\/p>\n

As for the runner who\u2019s not a professional athlete nor a total beginner, but somewhere in between? Again, outcomes will vary depending on training, age, fitness level, and genetics, Sprouse says. \u201cBut for the typical runner who has been recreationally active and does a couple of races a year but really wants to double down on a training program, probably three months is about as soon as you\u2019d want to recheck it,\u201d he says. <\/p>\n

Buckingham follows a similar timeline when retesting VO2 max in his clinic. \u201cI don\u2019t have people come in any sooner than three months, because the chances are not very good that you\u2019re going to be seeing significant changes in that short amount of time,\u201d he says. <\/p>\n

Keep in mind that just because you don\u2019t see an improvement in VO2 max doesn\u2019t mean that you\u2019re not getting faster<\/a> or fitter. \u201cVO2 max tells you what your ceiling is,\u201d Sprouse says. \u201cBut where you\u2019re doing most of your races is around [lactate] threshold [pace] or just over threshold, depending on the distance. You can move your threshold closer to your max and get faster, but not move your [VO2] max,\u201d he says. <\/p>\n

In other words, you can maximize your potential without increasing your potential. <\/p>\n

Related StoryHow to Efficiently Improve VO2 Max<\/p>\n

When it comes to improving VO2 max, one of the most common training mistakes<\/a> that Buckingham sees is running too fast<\/a>, too much of the time. \u201cPeople don\u2019t realize how slow they actually have to run to see some of those physiological adaptations that we\u2019re going for,\u201d he says. <\/p>\n

He explains that slower, zone 2 running<\/a> helps with capillary and mitochondria development. Capillaries are the small blood vessels that deliver oxygenated blood to the muscle cells, and the mitochondria are the structures within the cells that use oxygen to generate energy. Having more of both can help boost your VO2 max. <\/p>\n

Of course, you still need some high-intensity work in your training program \u201cto stress those systems,\u201d Sprouse says. \u201cIf you have the capillaries and mitochondria, but you\u2019re never really working them very hard\u2014especially the mitochondria\u2014they don\u2019t function at their highest capacity,\u201d he says. <\/p>\n

Sprouse and Buckingham agree that most runners should aim for a ratio of 70 percent slow \u201cbase\u201d runs and around 30 percent higher-intensity workouts<\/a>; other experts suggest going for an 80\/20 ratio<\/a> of low- to high-intensity training. These suggestions may change from one athlete to the next based on experience, fitness level, and goals. <\/p>\n

Related StoryHow Long It Takes for VO2 Max to Decrease<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, VO2 max decreases a lot faster when you stop straining than it increases with training. \u201cEarly on, you can see about a 5-ish percent drop within a couple weeks,\u201d Sprouse says. So if you finish a race and take about two weeks off from exercise, you may experience a decline. <\/p>\n

Research<\/a> shows that, over prolonged periods of detraining, it continues to drop, but at a slower rate than that initial decline.<\/p>\n

How much you lose also depends on how active you are outside of running and intentional exercise. \u201cThere\u2019s a distinction between stopping training and being totally sedentary,\u201d Sprouse says. \u201cThere are things you\u2019ll do throughout the day, like walking, chores, moving firewood, that you don\u2019t think about as part of your training program that will help you maintain some level of fitness<\/a>.\u201d <\/p>\n

It\u2019s also worth noting that having to take a break\u2014even one that ultimately leads to a dip in your VO2 max\u2014doesn\u2019t mean your next race is ruined and it doesn\u2019t imply you need to train at race level throughout the entire year. (In fact, you need some time off<\/a>!)<\/p>\n

\u201cI think most runners have experienced taking a couple of weeks off, and you still feel pretty fit. Sometimes you feel really fresh, but the top end isn\u2019t there,\u201d Sprouse says. \u201cYou could still perform really well in a longer distance event [if your VO2 max falls], but you might struggle to run a mile<\/a> at your top gear.\u201d <\/p>\n

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