VO2 MAX TESTING

The leading measure of good health and optimal performance.

WHY MEASURE VO2 MAX?

A VO2 max test can provide valuable information about your cardiovascular fitness and overall health. Here are several reasons why you might consider doing a VO2 max test:

  • Fitness Assessment: It accurately measures your aerobic fitness level, giving you a clear indicator of your current cardiovascular capacity. This information can help you understand your fitness baseline and track improvements over time.

  • Training Optimization: Knowing your VO2 max can help you tailor your training program more effectively. It allows you to set appropriate intensity levels for workouts, ensuring that you are training in the most efficient and safe zones.

  • Health Monitoring: VO2 max is a strong predictor of cardiovascular health. Monitoring changes in your VO2 max over time can help identify potential health issues or improvements in your cardiovascular system.

THE VO2 MAX AND LONGEVITY CORRELATION

The following experiment is referenced from Peter Attia, MD’s summary of this study on cardiorespiratory fitness and it’s correlation with overall longevity.

The graph on the left side shows the correlation between cardiorespiratory fitness level and patient survival probability.

Key experiment notes:

  • Participants were 53 years old on average; a total of 122,000 patients

  • Patients were run through a VO2 max test and then ranked based on cardiorespiratory fitness level

  • Results showed a clear monotonic relationship between fitness and mortality

When you compare the differences in these fitness levels, it gives you a greater appreciation for how much improvement in mortality comes from improving your fitness. Even just moving from a “low” to “below average” fitness level results in a 50% reduction in mortality

The results of this experiment are available in greater detail at www.peteratiamd.com.

Figure 1. Patient survival by performance group. (Mandsager et al., 2018)

THE TEST: WHAT TO EXPECT

After completing the test you’ll receive a detailed report providing an insight to your current cardiovascular capacity and guidelines for improving it.

Duration: 60 minutes

Cost: $200

Preparation: Complete health and physical history, to ensure the right level and type of test is conducted (pre test check list)

Equipment: You’ll be wearing a precision lab grade oxygen measuring mask and heart rate strap (provided). Depending on your current physical ability or preferred sport you’ll like either use a watt bike or treadmill for your test.

Warm-up: A light level of movement prior to the test helps get your body ready for a safe hard effort.

Incremental Exercise: Once the warm-up is complete you’ll conduct a ‘step test’ that see’s a gradually increase of intensity over time. Depending on your fitness level this may vary in length from 5 to 20 minutes.

Monitoring: During the test we measure oxygen consumption and heart rate to assess your maximum or sub maximum cardiovascular capacity.

Cool-down: Once your hard effort is complete you’ll finish with a gradual cool-down period.

Data Analysis and Next Steps: Post test you will be guided through your results and walked through the guidelines for improving or maintaining your cardiovascular capacity.