Improve your VO2max

VO2max keeps coming up whenever we talk about endurance performance. But what exactly is it, and how can you improve it in practice?

What is VO2max?

It's the maximum amount of oxygen your body can use during intense effort — in a sense, your engine displacement. The higher it is, the faster you can sustain a pace. It's a major determinant of performance in running, cycling or triathlon.

Can you improve it?

Yes, especially if you're not already highly trained: gains of 5 to 15% are common with well-structured training. The more you progress, the slower the gains become — but you can always get closer to your maximum.

Sessions that develop VO2max

VO2max is built with intense intervals that keep you at high intensity for extended periods:

• 5-6 × 3 min at very steady pace, 2-3 min recovery. A proven classic.
• 30/30: 30 s fast / 30 s easy, in sets of 10-12. See our interval training guide.
• Long hills (1-2 min) in repetitions.

The goal: accumulate time close to your maximum intensity, where your body is forced to adapt.

But 80% of the work is… easy

Paradox: to handle these hard sessions and make lasting progress, most of your volume should stay in easy endurance. 1 to 2 VO2max sessions per week are enough; the rest builds your base. That's 80/20 polarization.

The role of recovery

VO2max improves during rest, not during the session. Sleep, easy days and monitoring your heart rate variability (HRV) keep you from overtraining, which would stall — or regress — your VO2max.

Track your VO2max and progress

Sports Coach AI tracks your fitness and estimated VO2max evolution, and schedules your quality sessions at the right time based on your recovery — so every intense effort truly counts.