What is VO2 Max?
VO2 Max is a measure of how much oxygen your body can use during exercise. It reflects how fit your heart, lungs, and muscles are. The higher your VO2 Max, the better your body is at using oxygen, allowing you to exercise harder and for longer periods.
Why is VO2 Max Important?
VO2 max is important because it tells us how efficiently your body performs during physical activity. A high VO2 Max means good endurance and overall fitness. It can also be used to monitor your heart health and predict performance in sports and other physical activities.
How Can We Measure VO2 Max?
At King’s College Hospital, we offer VO2 Max testing with our highly experienced Sports Medicine consultant. During the test, you will exercise on a treadmill, while connected to a machine that measures how much oxygen you breathe in and how much carbon dioxide you breathe out. As you push yourself harder, the machine tracks how efficiently your body uses oxygen, and from that, we can calculate your VO2 Max.
Monitoring Improvement
Our consultant can help you monitor your progress by repeating the test over time. As you get fitter and your cardiovascular system improves, your VO2 Max will increase. This gives you a clear measure of how your fitness is improving and helps tailor your training plan accordingly.
