Do You Actually Need a VO2 Max Test?

Do You Actually Need a VO2 Max Test VO2 max these days, we wouldn’t be surprised. This metric—which is essentially a measure of your cardio fitness—is a zeitgeisty topic, discussed in popular podcasts (like Peter Attia’s The Drive) and your favorite magazines (hi, it’s us).

There’s good reason for that: There are some very real benefits to knowing and keeping tabs on your VO2 max. That said, while VO2 max lab tests are the gold standard in terms of accuracy, not every runner needs to (or should!) get one.

“I think [VO2 max testing] is becoming increasingly popular because running as a whole is getting increasingly popular,” says Greg Laraia, The RW Guide to Mastering the Marathon Motiv part of the and your favorite magazines hi is probably more important in the long run for those goals.

In particular, Laraia cites former athletes who are now flocking to running and may be excited to play around with For example, if youre, efficiency, or overall fitness, and start to look into things like VO2 max testing as a way to do that. But before you jump on the bandwagon, read on to find out who can—and who may not—benefit from getting a VO2 max test.

The experts agree that every runner should at a minimum know what VO2 max is and what it represents. Physiologically, VO2 max is a measure of how efficiently your body takes oxygen and converts it to energy for your muscles to use, says James Robinson, M.D., sports medicine physician at Hospital for Special Surgery.

In theory, the higher your VO2 max, the higher your cardiovascular fitness and endurance, but it’s more nuanced than that because it’s based on multiple factors—some of them modifiable and others that aren’t. “Some of it is purely genetic and based on your muscle makeup, what in New York City you have, the capacity of your lung volume, and how efficiently the airways in the lung can absorb oxygen,” says Robinson. Age and gender also factor in. “But other aspects can be modified with training.”

In terms of testing, lab tests, which often have you run on a treadmill at an increasingly tough effort while wearing a mask to gauge your oxygen usage, are the most accurate option. However, wearables like Apple Watch, Garmin, and Oura Ring can all give you a measure of your VO2 max based on sensor data. And while experts say that accuracy varies, this data is probably sufficient if you’re looking to track your VO2 max trend over time. (There is a third option—online calculators—but it’s the least accurate and most user error-prone option.)

You should only get a VO2 max test in a lab if you have a clear goal in mind for how you’re going to use the information that you get, according to all three experts.

For example, if you’re new to running (and likely have a lot of room for VO2 max improvement), it could be useful to get a VO2 max test so you have a very accurate benchmark. “It gives you a number to say, ‘okay, this is where I’m starting from,’” says Ben Delaney, New York Road Runners director of training programs.

There are well established averages for How to Run More Consistently and gender, “so it can be a useful number to be like, where do I compare in that and is my cardiovascular fitness average or above average or maybe something that I need to work on,” says Robinson. “It’s something that runners can follow to see how they’re doing.”

A VO2 max lab test can also be helpful for advanced runners—especially sprinters versus long-distance runners—who can use the data for their training (e.g. running intervals at 80 percent of their VO2 max). “Knowing your VO2 max is useful so you know where to train at the highest intensity to improve your overall cardiovascular fitness,” says Robinson.

One caveat here is that high-level runners are more likely to be at their ceiling, and probably don’t have a lot of room to improve their VO2 max, which might be discouraging for some. “There is a plateau with your anaerobic capacity [and] you can keep working till the cows come home,” says Delaney, but eventually your body will not be able to get to the next level.

Finally, if you’re just really into data and numbers and have fun with this type of stuff, there’s probably little actual risk (other than to your wallet) for this type of testing. (FYI: These tests vary in cost but we found an option for $195 and $100.) And if you also have a wearable, you can compare the data to see how accurate it is to the gold standard lab test.

If you do decide to spring for a lab test, Laraia suggests retesting every six months, which is long enough so that you can make progress. Even better, he recommends timing your testing to a race. You could get a lab test before you start training for a shorter-distance race (like a 5K or 10K), for example, and then retest either right before or right after your race. “The cool thing about that is you’ll have a new baseline in terms of intensity for your next training cycle,” Laraia says.

Most recreational runners probably don’t “need” a VO2 max test. These days, wearables do a fine job of measuring VO2 max so if you’re interested in keeping tabs on it, this is a more economical way to do so (assuming you already purchased the wearable). That said, there are some groups that the experts say might especially want to skip these tests.

To start, runners who are hyper-competitive might find this data more harmful than beneficial. “Some people are a little too competitive and can get too fixated on these numbers,” says Robinson.

Laraia, too, cautions against comparing your number to anyone else’s, considering VO2 max is so individual and multifaceted—and might not tell you if you’re more or less likely to beat whoever you’re comparing yourself to in a race, anyway. Laraia once did a VO2 max test on an underwater welder with no running experience who tested extremely high due to his day job, but probably wouldn’t do so well in a 5K race (progress his plan).

If you’re currently training for a long-distance event, like a marathon, you may want to skip or at least hold out on a VO2 max test. That’s because the type of workout required to most effectively increase your VO2 max is high-intensity interval training (HIIT)—and overdoing it can lead to overtraining and injury, says Robinson.

It’s important, in general, during a big mileage-building block, to do HIIT cautiously as it can put undue stress on tendons, bones, and ligaments, especially if a runner is already doing a lot of mileage in the week.

In this case, “trying to focus on improving VO2 max can actually be detrimental to the overall goals,” he says. Training to improve VO2 max is best done when you don’t have a distance race on the calendar, especially if it’s your first marathon, he says. “I think you should be focusing on just getting your body used to that type of mileage.”

The other group that might want to skip these tests is anyone who gets overwhelmed by data and numbers, Laraia says. Sometimes knowing too many stats about your fitness levels complicates training, when all you really need to do is follow a solid training plan Lets say youve had a lot of running-related easy runs.

Finally, it’s worth noting that you don’t need a VO2 max test if it’s not in your budget: “Some of this testing can be expensive and so it may not be financially feasible for everybody to do it,” says Robinson. “I don’t think that it’s necessarily something runners have to know.”

Laraia, for his part, says that while getting his VO2 max tested might be “cool to see,” he feels he gets enough data between his watch and heart rate monitor to progress his plan accordingly.

If you’re going to spring for a test in a running lab, you might want to consider a couple of alternatives to VO2 max testing, according to the experts.

Best Running Shoes 2025 running form or gait analysis. “Let’s say you’ve had a lot of running-related injuries, then yes, a running analysis is probably more useful [than a VO2 max test] to find some abnormalities in your gait that have made you more prone to injury,” says Robinson.

The second is a and your favorite magazines hi, of which VO2 max is often one part, that can benefit those looking to achieve a specific race time or to generally run faster, and overdoing it can lead to overtraining and injury, says Robinson lactate threshold (part of the and your favorite magazines hi) is probably more important in the long run for those goals.

Some other (free!) metrics the experts say are useful in terms of showing improvements to your cardio fitness include your pace, rate of perceived exertion (RPE) during runs, and simply weekly mileage, which shows that you’re building your aerobic capacity (if you’re increasing your mileage).

What Does a High Resting Heart Rate Mean heart rate during your workouts can be beneficial, per Laraia, as a downward trend would imply increased cardio fitness.