WHAT IS VO2 MAX AND HOW CAN YOU IMPROVE IT?

The term VO2 max is shorthand for the volume (V) of Oxygen (O2) that your body can maximally (max) deliver to your muscles. The higher your VO2 max the better your body is at utilising the oxygen you are drawing in through breathing. VO2 max is given as a number with the units being in ml/min/kg or millilitres per minute per kilogram of body weight.

As VO2 max takes into consideration the mass of a rider your VO2 max value can fluctuate depending on your body weight. Although your body's ability to utilise oxygen might not change, the lighter you are, the less mass there is that requires oxygen.

VO2 max is the maximum amount of oxygen your body can utilise per minute per kilo of body weight VO2 max is not just something for professional athletes. Increasing your VO2 max value has been linked with living a healthier and longer life. In Dan Lloyd's recent video series where he is aiming to build up his fitness, he found out just how important VO2 max is for everyone.

The most accurate way to find your VO2 max value is to get a professional test carried out by a sports science lab. Here they will get you to ride on a static bike whilst wearing a breathing mask. As you exercise the mask monitors the composition of your breath and measures when you are no longer able to make use of any more oxygen.

Some wearable devices also make an estimate of your VO2 max based on your training and resting metrics however these should always be taken with a pinch of salt as they do not actually measure how efficiently you can use oxygen.

If you are new to riding or you are coming back after a prolonged period away from endurance sport, simply getting out and riding your bike will increase your VO2 max. Manon herself found that after completing six weeks of purely zone 2 training her VO2 max did increase even with no high-intensity training.

For more experienced riders who have been riding consistently for a few months or more, you will need to do more specific training to see real progress. This is where interval sessions come in as they allow you to target the right intensity to develop your VO2 max effectively.

This is a very hotly debated topic with a whole range of training methods reported to benefit your VO2 max. Everything from long steady duration riding through to high-intensity intervals and sprints can be attributed to increasing your VO2 max.

If you are already ticking the long steady duration rides in your regular training it is time to look at adding some intensity to your weekly training load. HIIT (high-intensity interval training) is a really time-effective way to develop your VO2 max as it fits a lot of high-quality training into a small amount of time.

Here’s a session to get you started: after warming up, ride for 30 seconds at a high intensity – zone 5 or 6, if you are training with power – followed by 10-30 seconds of easier zone 2 riding for recovery. Repeat this 5–10 times, take five minutes of recovery, then do the whole block again.

Long duration intervals Some science suggests that accumulating more time riding at your VO2 max will yield the best results. This means that alongside the short blasts of HIIT training, you should carry out some longer intervals so you accumulate more time at the right intensity. A good session for this is to ride at your VO2 max (around zone 5 or 105-120% FTP) for eight minutes with four minutes recovery between each interval.

To start off with, three intervals will be enough but more experienced riders can build up to five intervals over time, meaning 40 minutes spent at VO2 max each session. This is certainly not an easy session and should be followed by a day of easy riding or a recovery day to allow your body to adapt to the training stress.

Micro interval training For more advanced riders looking to push themselves a great session to improve your VO2 max is to ride for nine and a half minutes alternating between 30 seconds at VO2 max and 15 seconds of easy spinning. Depending on your fitness and motivation levels, you should try to complete three to five sets of this, separated by three minutes of recovery spinning.