Self Test VO2max - 2 easy methods 

Fantastic! FINALLY someone giving us a good picture of VO2 Max. It isn’t absolute, but the difference is a good measure of the improvement.

This is a great video series - I appreciate the practical info. I recently got back on a bike after a loooong time away and have been watching my VO2max numbers (at least, according to my Apple Watch). I’m not and have never been a “serious athlete” and have no interest in competing against anybody but myself. It is helpful to see a gradual increase in my number… it motivates me to get out early before it gets hot and put a few miles on my bike. Thank you so much for creating these videos for people like me - “older athletes”. 👍

One thing I like to do like the rucksack idea, is I have a pretty well rucksack shaped water jug that holds 10 liters of water. It slides right into my pack. I can put in any amount of water to get the weight I want. Very steep full of water builds leg strength. Less steep but fast can be Max VO2. Slower and long is zone 2 and builds shoulder, back, hip endurance. You can hike a mountain then dump the water to save knees on the descent.

Wholly agree it’s about ensuring you are as healthy as can be , so measuring the Vo2 max is a good thing to do. Over the winter I always drop the Vo2 too many colds , virus’s going around. The spring is when I try to “recover the lost ground” this year I have a way to go….. life has been busy with lots of outside influences stopping me getting on with the recovery. And I was not allowed to run for a year , so just went on road bike exercises …. When the weather is particularly bad this makes it harder…. Now 69 I am well aware the decline is a measure of the inevitable…. Good video … always try to improve ……is the motto

Very helpful video. Thank you, Simon!

Thank you for this series! Four months ago I had a genetic defect with my mitral valve repaired. Now I'm trying to build strength and endurance. I'll be 64 soon but don't see that number as a limitation. Your series is helping me to get a vision of what is possible. Cheers!

Thanks as always Simon. Interesting and informative content but there's still 50% of me that watches your videos purely out of love of Scottish landscape and being active in it. My Garmin Vo2 Max numbers are exactly the same as yours but I'm 72 with serious health problems that have only kicked in since 2016 and, although I've been active and fit all of my adult life, I've always doubted the accuracy of what Garmin tells me and consider it a touch on the "over enthusiastic" side. There's something in what Mike has commented on I think but please don't let this undermine your confidence in your trajectory with this "older athlete" series as it's been a very useful reminder to many of how important it is to keep going. I look forward to your next piece in this series, especially if you're cycling, running, swimming, walking with Liz, walking your dog, kayaking, feeding chickens, testing kit, maintaining bikes etc., etc., ........ in such lovely landscapes.

My 20 year old Polar A5 HRM has the walk test built into it, with prompts and direct readout of VO2max. I never investigated or used it, but now that I've seen this video, I'll have to try it out. Thank you!

I like that Cooper test. Thanks.

Whichever way you calculate your V02 max is good, this is your reference point and then try and better it, hopefully Simon inspires a few to improve and enjoy the process. 👍

Always Another Adventure, This is perfect! I subscribed right away!

Thanks Simon. I did a lab test last year and got 42. Then a month later, when my new Garmin Forerunner 265 settled in with my biometrics after two weeks, it started with 1 higher at 43. Since then it's improved with balanced training and consistency to 50 - one yr later. (I'm 60 now)

Hi Simon! Thanks for the memory. I was in high school, or maybe college, when my dad gave up smoking and brought home Dr Cooper's book. I used that book for some years after as well! I still have a log book around here somewhere, and I am now 67. 😀 As you note the actual accurate and precise VO2 max number does not matter much, the key being to improve. If you have a track nearby, likely 400 meters (or here in the US you might find a 1/4 mile track) it is super easy to either just run 1.6 km (four laps) or mile (again four laps) so you don't have to estimate or measure distance. Just look to keep improving your time, at our age under 10 minutes is "good" (see link). Of course now days almost all of us have some sort of GPS tracking device even if just our phone so distance is easier than when I was a lad doing this. I can't quickly find a table of poor, good, excellent for us older folks, everything seems to stop at 50 or be labeled as 50+, but if you can do well compared to 50 year olds, good enough! I will have to look, I imagine you have one, but a video on how older folks can safely and efficiently improve VO2 max would be interesting. Love your videos.

58 male and do Cooper test every year spring and autumn. Garmin 255 says 52VO2max and Cooper test 51.5. Pretty similar.

OURA ring just added a VO2 max test to their line up. It consists of a 6 minute walk outside and tracks your distance then gives you your result. I have no idea how accurate it is...but was pretty pleased with my first attempt. Plan to do it weekly for a while.

Coopers test can be done two ways, 1. How far you go in 12 minutes, or 2. How fast you can do 1.5 miles.

Such a cute WHT doggy. I had 6 in my lifetime. They are great running buddies with good endurance. 😊

I regularly use a sub-maximal fitness test to obtain a comparative measure of how i'm doing. I simply cycle for 45 mins at fixed, but not max power (turbo trainer best but any consistent and repeatable acivivity will wotk) until my heart rate settles out and use that heart rate as a fitness measure. Works reliably for me when trying to judge fitness for an event etc. The number will clearly be different for others but if rqd can be converted to an appx VO2 max using an Astrand-Rhyming scoring chart.

Thanks for these two exercise / VO2max tips. I am and have been using a power meter on my bike and a chest HER strap over the past 5 1/2 years and my Garmin reports a VO2max of 38. I will see how your tests correspond to this number. However, I am similar to you, not really interested in the absolut number but how it changes and goes down 😧over winter and how it (very) slowly creeps up again in spring / summer. But it seems clear that this recovery becomes ever more difficult as I am entering my 70th decade. My highest VO2max was 44 around 4 years ago. Thanks for your excellent and very helpful series for older athletes!. BTW, I have booked an exercise ECG/VO2max test at the Hampden Soprts clinic to ensure that I don't overdo it following my CABG 8 years ago..

Agree with your main point that the important thing are changes on the same device rather than the actual number. I’m assuming my Garmin number is a bit generous but will try one of these tests to compare. Enjoying the series.

Good content thank you! There might be a weather factor in winter vo2max decline. A fenomen I experience too. My theory is, when the surface is muddy, snowy or wet we all run slower with the same puls. This thing can no smartwatch measure. Some work - in the physics meaning- is lost. Work means oxidation which is o2 usage. We put out a work against the ground which is lost when we measure speed and distance. Hence the decline.

great work thanks

Very timely...... Thinking of doing one of these myself for the first time (43)

Very very informative i'm glad you made this video. 👏👏

As always, very helpful and very practical. Perhaps you want to address VO2Max vs Anaerobic Threshold and FTP? Keep up the great work for us older athletes.

Thanks!

Excellent...will do the walk today...!

I like your approach. I use VO2 Max est from my Garmin watch, but I've started focusing more on my Lactate Threshold HR estimates (e.g,. tested with a 30 min hard run), bc I think you can estimate it more accurately than VO2 Max.

Excellent content here. I'm turning 47 this year, so would nit yet consider myself an 'older athlete'. But there's a lot of useful information in this series nonetheless. I think anyone training for longevity, rather than athletic performance, will benefit from this even in their 30's and 40's.

Yes I suspect my Fitbit is a bit generous with my V02Max score . Will have to try both of these and see how they compare with my watch.

Hi Simon great video, did a vo2max at Loughborough Uni lab at age 49 with my daughter who is now a sport scientist. It was 49.95, i did another on my Concept2 rower 2 days ago (I'm now 62) it was 38.25 although i definitely could have pushed myself more, the rower is only an estimate, i will do both tests in the next few weeks. Garmin has me at 40 vo2max we'll see thanks again!

I just wanted to ad one other comment on training for 'us' older athletes. My main sport is cycling and I regularly do solo rides of 50 to 100 miles where I end up with average speeds of around 19 to 20 km/h and an average power output of 100 Watts for a 100 mile ride (I have a power meter on my bike). I've tried group rides a few times and always found them to be too stressful since the rides are too fast for me. Even just 1 or 2 km/h faster will exhaust me in a short period of time. However, going at my own speed I can go for long periods of time. This is just to say, don't measure yourself against others, we are not in a race and we are at an age where we no longer have to poove ourselves against our peers. Each and everyone of 'us' has his own lifes history and background and we enjoy what we are doing be at an VO2max of 20 or 50. I will be inevitable that he numbers go down, there are only a very few individuals in the world who have the fortunate genetic makeup to make them athletes into their high ages but we don't have to emulate them, but just enjoy what you have.

I’ve been getting fitter but my VO2max reading is the same. The only time it changed was it decreased considerably when I concentrated on Zone 2 training about 18 months ago, dropping from peak 48 to 42 in just a couple of months. I paused zone 2 training for two weeks and did stride and tempo runs and it’s climbed back up to 47. Therefore I have little faith in the measurements by wearable devices. I know I’m fitter nevertheless through performance: race times, perceived effort and my zone 2 pace getting quicker, albeit measuring HR on the wearable device. I’ll do the Cooper test out of curiosity but I understood the estimates were based on data obtained from US military personnel, hardly the over 60s category. I may even try the walking one but that’s one I’ve not heard about. Thanks for the info.

One option I've used to gauge fitness was a 12minute run and pulse rate checked every minute after finishing. Over a series of runs, the time to reach a base PR should be quicker showing an improvement.

....good lad!

Hey mate. I'm 60 years old and out of shape. Hopefully this will work for me

Any idea why age is included in the two methods of estimating? Surely performance and weight are all that matter for VO2. Just because VO2 goes down with age surely doesn't mean age should be included in the calculation. Evaluating the reported VO2 max is when age needs considering, I would have thought. Also, my watch measures my performance whenever I go out for a walk or a ride but, here in Caithness, my walking is usually on tussocky ground and my rides are on a 36 inch wheel, steel touring bike, frequently into a head wind. I get what you say about seeking improvement but having scores lowered by a device which is failing to include context is a little disheartening. Fortunately, my power numbers are going up on the indoor trainer. This series of videos is very valuable. Let's hope the word spreads.

"Raging against the decline"....I so feel that. But you have to use that in a positive way....as you know. Worth looking at age related % s for race distances. Canbe better than one imagines!

Very interesting work. Thank you. Non-runner and non-walker, I’ll be interested in self tests for cycling. Any leads to a feasible test regime?

VO2 max test in a lab is not about reaching maximum heart rate - that is incorrect. It is about reaching a point where your VO2 consumption reaches a plateau. This is usually below actual max heart rate. My VO2 max HR was 151 (I reached the plateau), but my actual HR max is 159. The vast majority of people doing a lab VO2 max test give up before they reach the plateau. P.s. as someone approaching 60, love the channel

I'll be honest here Simon. I watched this a couple of days ago and left no comment (or like) so I could give all of this some thought. When you floated the idea of this older athlete series some time ago, I was very much all in favour; you're pulling together a lot of stuff I already follow and the message is the same but .... some of this is actually scary. I'm not quite 60 and feel I'm already too late but, will a 30 year old be watching this - I hope so- because if like me, they've perhaps 'seen the light' a bit too late, then my figures give me little hope for what's left of my future. I don't mean that to sound too bad as I know full well that many of my friends and relatives have almost certainly had poor VO2 max (and other measures) but done very well and lived independently until a late end. This is all about probability. There is no question that VO2, strength, flexibility, social contact, etc. increase probability of independent living and I'd encourage that take, even if, like me, you sometimes feel you've left it too late. You've clearly kept in good shape from an earlier age, how about a bit of hope for those of us who either didn't, or are now facing issues which hamper activity through no fault of lack of exercise or lifestyle. I don't mean to sound ungrateful or negative, and no doubt other members will comment on this, but maybe there is a bit of a 'tone' developing here that if you're not VO2 this number or can't stand up from sitting cross-legged, etc. then you'd better prepare yourself for being cared for sooner rather than later. What you say is of course largely correct and we all need to hear it, but we are talking probabilities, not absolutes and maybe that's not coming across as clearly?

Wonder how the results of these are compare to the proper Vo2Max test you did in the lab (in your video)? Great video thanks

👌

I did a Rockport walk test a few months back, it was not easy! I'd much rather run a mile flat out than walk one as fast as I can.

I live in Colorado at 5,500 feet. Is there a conversion factor for these tests - the 12 minute run test in particular?

what was the device you used to set your timer and distance? what heart rate monitor strap and watch do you suggest?

Could you do the walk test as a warm up then the Cooper test?

Is it possible to follow Heart Rate based training if one has a heart flutter? Thanks

Hello - vo2 max as u know probably can be absolute or relative. Think in lab measured as absolute vo2 max with mask so as L/min. Then can use total body weight or weight less fat or just muscle weight for getting relative vo2 max so then ml/kg/min. Not seeing how u factored this into your number? Please could update more. Thanks so much.

Does VO2 max assessment differ depending on if you’re a 200 pound 6 foot tall muscular guy or 145 pounds 6 foot tall wimpy runner guy? I was a sprinter in college many years ago and I was never good at running long distance so this timed running test doesn’t seem like it captures everything for fitness.

Obviously the smart watch V02 Max estimate was more accurate than the examples you gave.

Simon, thank you for the video. Have a quick question please. For the 1-mile test, heart rate has to be taken 10 seconds after the finished line. I presume we stop walking right at the finish line, meaning that the heart rate, during this 10 seconds period, is going to fall. What is the purpose for this 10 seconds period exactly ? Thank you in advance. -Jean, from Hong-Kong.

Can I do that on a treadmill? Since outside temperature is 42C and it is impossible for a 65 old man to push hard on this temperature

I have a Garmin watch that shows me my heart rate, and I’ll also have a polar heart rate strap on at the same time seeing a difference. There is at least an 8 bpm difference where my Garmin watch could say 101, but my polar heart rate strap might say 90 when doing my 3.5 mile brisk walk Each morning averaging about 4 mph. I am 72 years old 5’9” tall, 167 pounds. Which should i use?

I don't understand people doing the Cooper test. How do you know how far you have really run? How accurate is your distance measuring instrument? Every time you check it during your run, you can't help but slow down. If there was a running track with markers every yard, that would be ideal, but where are you going to find one? The Walk Test is more practical.

Im in my 50s and dont run . Ran 3 miles 2yrs ago but got injured , so for me theres no way the running vo2 test would be accurate for me as i couldnt run 100m 😅. I do however ride a bike for hours and can walk so may try the walk test . If i use scientific research vo2 calculators online using max over resting heart rate x 15 or another one that uses , age , weight and resting heart rate they come in about 46vo2 and 39vo2 respectively so i giess i am some where round that score . Though i notice if i change weight and resting hr by 10 on either there is not that much change to the vo2 scores

i wish there was a 45 or 60 minute cycling test that could give us a VO2 max number just like this 12 minute running test.

Why not compare the smartwatch reading to the lab reading (the same day) to see how accurate the watches are?

My biggest issue with the Rockport one is that I can only walk so fast before I feel like it's an utterly unnatural gait and I should be breaking into a jog/run- and that's around 3.75-4 mph(and maybe 110bpm)...the site I looked at had someone as an example doing an 11.5 minute mile with HR at 160...that's a jog to many and 5.2mph which I doubt many people could do walking!!

For quite some time, I have had no indication of Vo2 on my Garmin watch. Don't know why, I was told Garmin doesn't indicates it any more.

Is that a Fox Terrier I see?

Is there a simple cycling test?

The estimates on the smart watches (44 and 45) looks pretty close to 47 measured in the lab. The two other estimates were quite wrong. I think the actual number does matter, because a small improvement in VO2 Max from a low base will significantly improve your chances of staying healthy into old age. But a small improvement from an already high figure will make little difference. You need to know how your VO2 Max compares to the general population.

according to my 12 minute mile test, i am barely alive

Still trying to rage a bit here, best wishes.

If VO2 max is largely a function of body weight and aerobic capacity it sounds like the Attia data is suggesting that people with normal, healthy, bodyweight that can regularly engage in "zone 2" and more intense exercise, along with some resistance training are healthier later in life. I like Peter and research based fitness but isn't this all a bit common sense? If I am not fat and I regularly exercise I am probably very fit without needing to measure VO2 max. I am not old, 61, but train regularly, mostly boxing with 20 year olds and I do well (not gassed). 5' 9"" and 73kg. 25 chins in a row with no problem. Bench 80 - 85 kg. Approximately 30 minutes for 5k, maybe a bit less. I suspect being lean and moving regularly is all we need.

Thanks for this video, Simon - really educational, and I hadn't heard of these tests. I was wondering what you think of the Harvard Step Test? I have been using it (as it seems like the simplest of all?). I would love to hear your thoughts on my project in general, and especially my vo2 max increase. You can see my first "report" video here: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-dEDglG7eSpo.htmlsi=ojCBEfU0q2H7s5CU

You are using the wrong words. The problem/confusion is because some like Garmin use the Word “Vo2 max”, which is in fact fitness level (which is Vo2 max/weight). Vo2max is numbers like 4000, and fitness level is like 60.

I do not compare what I can do now to what I could do at 30. I am 66. I do compare what I can do to other 66 year olds. Its a more realistic target. There are some very fit and able ultra athletes over the age of 60.

unnecessary. just measure your resting pulse upon waking while still in bed. anything under 60 is excellent and points to a strong heart and high vo2 max.

VO2max is an essential measurement, that unfortunately declines with age. I'm no expert, but my understanding is that in well-trained athletes VO2max is not responsive to training. What is trainable is performance as a % of VO2max. With all these easy smart watch estimates, I suspect that short term variation is mostly noise. See ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-otNngp1u-Ls.htmlsi=jJOG_Ai5CF4kZPcH

I don't understand the remark that it's not the absolute value of the VO2max matters but how much It changes. Certainly someone with a high VO2max that increases just a little is better off than someone with a poor VO2max that substantially improves it but is still low.