Hi everyone and welcome to the MB Endurance Sports blog!

VO2max. Most people have heard of it, but many do not understand what VO2max really is, aside from knowing that higher is better. Physiologically, oxygen is necessary for many processes within the human body. During exercise, oxygen must be transported to the working muscles to support the increase in muscle metabolism due to contraction. As the intensity of exercise increases, so does the transport of oxygen to the muscle, as well as the uptake of this oxygen by the muscle. At a certain point, the transport and uptake of oxygen cannot increase any further, a point known as VO2max.

You may have seen VO2max values expressed as L/min, or ml/kg/min. The first, L/min, is an absolute value, referring to the oxygen consumed per minute, regardless of body size. The second, ml/kg/min, relative VO2max, is more informative as it takes into account a person’s body mass. Using relative values, it is possible to directly compare individuals of different body sizes. However, gender differences in VO2max limit the ability to directly compare values of males and females. In untrained individuals, VO2max for females is around 20-25% lower than males (1). The gender gap is reduced to 10% in highly trained athletes (1).

In addition to gender differences, variation in VO2max exists from person to person due to genetics and training status. While training may increase VO2max, a strong genetic component predetermines 25-50% of an individuals maximal oxygen uptake capacity (2). Not all people will respond the same to exercise. In fact, there are some people, termed “non-responders,” who will not increase VO2max even with training (3). However, don’t be discouraged, there are other factors beside VO2max that play a large role in athletic performance!

Further, VO2max values vary between athletes in different sports. The highest values for VO2max have been recorded in Nordic skiers, with values up to 94 ml/kg/min in males, and 75 ml/kg/min for females. Runners aren’t too far behind, with well-trained males ranging from 60-85 ml/kg/min, and females 50-75 ml/kg/min. Swimmers and cyclists exhibit similar VO2max values, in the range of 50-70 ml/kg/min for males and 40-60 ml/kg/min for females. It is important to note that the values listed are from relatively young athletes, approximately 18-30 years old, as VO2max declines with age. In the non-athletic population in the same age range, VO2max averages 43-52 ml/kg/min for males and 33-42 ml/kg/min for females (1).

VO2max plays a big role in endurance capacity, but let’s not forget the importance of anaerobic threshold, which will be discussed in my next post!


(1) Wilmore JH and Costill DL. (2005) Physiology of Sport and Exercise: 3rd Edition. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics.
(2) Bouchard C, Dionne FT, Simoneau JA, Boulay MR. Genetics of aerobic and anaerobic performances. Exerc Sport Sci Rev. 1992; 20:27-58.
(3) Green HJ, Jones S, Ball-Burnett M, Farrance B, Ranney D. Adaptations in muscle metabolism to prolonged voluntary exercise and training. J Appl Physiol. 1995 Jan; 78(1):138-45.