Not that we need to cover this topic, but its always worth a refresher.  VO2 max is the maximum volume of oxygen that your body can consume during intense exercise.  High oxygen consumption is one of the key characteristics of great endurance runners, cyclists, rowers and cross-country skiers etc. 

The best runners have a VO2 max of 75 to 85 ml/kg...though compared to a thoroughbred horse with a VO2 of 150ml/kg we still have room to evolve.  Lance Armstrong reportedly has a VO2 of around 83ml/kg, while Lemond's was 93!  And if you think that's impressive, get ready to break out your xcountry skiis.  28 Year old Norwegian xcountry skier, Espen Harald Bjerke, holds one of the highest recorded VO2 in all sports at 97ml/kg!  If you'd like to read more about how Bjerke has optimized his training, this is a great read...it might surprise you on the approach he takes to intensity training (Article HERE).

So, where does this leave you and me?  Without dumping down some gas money on a lab to test your own VO2 (which there are many around here and we will explore in an upcoming blog), what are your options?  Well, as luck would have it there is a rather inexpensive test called, The Astrand 6 Minute Cycle Test.  With a proper indoor trainer, HR monitor and Stop Watch - you can come fairly close to determining what your estimated VO2 is.

In order to do the calculations and test, we've provided a link to the site.  Check it out and if you've done a professional lab testing, consider droping a note on the degree of accuracy.  Here's the LINK.

Remember, VO2 MAX is called MAX because its a defined ceiling.  Genetics play an important role in yours and although you can optimize against it through training, you cannot actually change the optimal value. 

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