Why Most Runners Get VO2 Max Wrong (And How to Fix It)

[00:00:00] You fancy smartwatch says your VO two max went down, but you’re running and sleeping more, eating better, and training smarter. What’s going on? Here’s the thing. A high VO two max isn’t the goal for a runner. It’s your upper limit of potential. In this episode, I’ll be going over what VO O2 max really means.

[00:00:17] The key workouts based on science that actually improve it while your smartwatch estimate is probably off. How a high VO two max does not guarantee you running your best race time. How Patience build real fitness. And a bunch more. I’m Daren DLake, and for the last 30 years I’ve been experimenting all myself running sub three hour marathons, researching how to do a 10 hour Ironman, and talking to all of the experts on how to get 1% better each day so I can tell 10,000 other self-coach runners how to use VO two max the right way.

[00:00:47] Let’s get into the episode. VO two max defined. Before we start anything, we need to make sure that we define this number specifically for runners. So in simplified scientific terms, VO two max, that’s an O, not a zero, is how much oxygen your body can take in, move around and actually use you to propel forward per kilogram of body weight.

[00:01:07] Every minute. So the V is for volume. The O2 is oxygen. If you go back to chemistry, and max is the maximum amount of oxygen, VO two max, you’ll hit it around three K to 5K. Race pace ish. For most people it’s fast, but it’s not sprinting all out like Usain Bolt. Think of efforts in the three to eight minute range, but I’d say asterisk.

[00:01:29] You kind of don’t want to go over five and a half minutes, and I’ll talk about that later. It shows up in zone four or low zone five. If you use the five zone heart rate system, it’s hard, but it’s not all out Running at VO two max Burns a lot of glycogen, a k, a carbs, but. It’s still aerobic because it’s just the high end of aerobic.

[00:01:48] I know that sounds a bit weird, but sprinting all out for a hundred meters, like Usain Bolt, that is actually mostly anaerobic VO two max work. It’s still aerobic. It’s just on the top end of the aerobic range. Quick run science nerve break. According to a 2017 study, your VO two max is kinda like the height you’re born with, so it’s genetically limited.

[00:02:06] It’s mostly in your DNA, but you can still improve it with training. Research shows that 50 to 90% of your potential is genetic depending on how fit you already are. That’s VO two max potential. That is not how fast you can run a marathon, half marathon, 5K in. ’cause that actually depends on a lot of the factors, which we’ll get into.

[00:02:24] An analogy that I like is thinking of VO two max, like a car engine, a giant V 12 and a big SUV sounds cool, but it’s heavy and burns fuel. Fast, it’s not efficient. A small tuned up V six and a sleek body that’s built for speed over distance and time. Also real VO two max testing happens in a lab using gas exchange.

[00:02:43] You put the mask on Garmin and other smartwatch, wearables, whoop, et cetera, Kros. They’re just estimating it based on quite sophisticated algorithms using time. At a pace and time at a heart rate. If you don’t ever do a lab test, at least wear the more accurate, ARM-based or chest strap heart rate monitor instead of the optical watch based one, so it gets your heart rate, right, which tho those are notoriously inaccurate.

[00:03:07] If you wanna know, you can also just run anywhere from a mile three K race, two mile race, or 5K three mile race and plug it into the v dot. Calculator. I did a whole episode on that. You could check that out. There’s links in all of the places. Description, show notes. We don’t run to boost the hypothetical number.

[00:03:23] We run and train to get faster or get generally more fit and healthy, and that takes more than just a big engine of potential. So how do you actually raise your VO two max to your genetic potential? The Norwegian four by four workout became famous for a reason. Research showed significant VO two max improvements, averaging 11% in just eight weeks.

[00:03:43] So to do it, really simple, four intervals each, that are four minutes long, four by four at 90 to 90% the overall average of your max heart rate, your maximum heart rate based on whatever you can get for your max heart rate. And this maps out to be high zone four or low zone five, depending on your heart rate system and also individual needs, et cetera.

[00:04:02] Each interval is followed by three minutes of recovery and easy jogging or fast walking in between. So you’re taking a. Active rest, and you do that twice a week for eight to 10 weeks, and you should get faster at pretty much all the distances and you should be healthier and fitter and have a low heart rate, et cetera.

[00:04:18] For me, these runs should feel uncomfortably easy or comfortably hard. However you want to subjectively think about it, I’ll never feel like it’s all out and. After one, I’m done. It’s like, okay, that was hard, but I can do more. But here’s something most runners might not know. 90 to 95% heart rate average usually means you’re reaching 95% of your max heart rate, or even higher by the end of each interval.

[00:04:42] So it’s just the average. So you can actually creep up quite close to your max heart rate, but that’s the sweet spot. Again, it’s not easy to do. It’s quite uncomfortable if you’re not used to it. You do get used to it. It does get slightly easier. It’s not about that exact workout, it’s about keeping your effort and heart rate high for a long enough timeframe.

[00:04:58] This is something that people don’t talk about. So there’s other ways you can cut and slice these type of VO two max workout. So you just adapt the rest period based on how long you were going. So these are some options. You can do four or five intervals of anywhere from three minutes if you’re starting out to five and a half minutes.

[00:05:16] If you’re quite experienced, uh, you might be on the elite end. You wanna do this again at your three K to a 5K pace, your current fitness, not your goal, uh, fitness. But if you don’t have that, you can just plug whatever into a VDOT calculator or do a percentage of heart rate, or you could do both. I do power, I do pace, and I do heart rate to make sure that I’m in alignment with all of them.

[00:05:36] And then you do a two to three minute jog, uh, very similar to the Norwegian protocols, just variation. Or you could try six to eight by 800. This is a VO two max workout. Also, if you’re going fast enough and do about a two to two and a half minute. Jog, fast, walk, rest in between. You could do five by one K.

[00:05:52] That’s another VO O2 max workout. You could do three by one mile. That’s another one. And you want to do with the five by one k, about two and a half to three minutes rest, and with the two to three by one mile at three minutes rest. Or you could do my favorite for the speed demons out there, the track stars I used to run track, uh, the 200, 400 and 800 and what you do is 12.

[00:06:14] Two 16 intervals times 400 meters. So I did a whole episode on how to do that. A quick summary is if it takes me an example, 80 seconds to complete a 400 meter interval, I would do a rest where I’m just walking or very light jog for 40 seconds in between. Repeat the interval so it’s quite fast. If you look on a chart, my heart rate’s actually, it’s kind of there.

[00:06:35] It’s kinda there. It’s going and it’s very, very similar to doing the. Four by four. As far as the adaptations that happen and the fitness that you’ll gain, it’s just much faster. So the paces are faster than I would for my 5K pace and bonus. If you want even more speed, you can do the hit high intensity interval style.

[00:06:54] 30 seconds on, 30 seconds off. It’s a variation of Tabata. I like that. So 30 seconds on, 30 seconds off, 13 times, rest for three minutes and then do three sets of those. That’s actually something I like to do early in the season. I prescribe to a lot of runners that I coach, ’cause it actually gets them ready to then do 400 repeats and then do one K repeats and then do four by four.

[00:07:15] So there’s a lot of ways you could slice it and build up your VO two max four by four is not the only way, it’s just one way that was tested and a lot of people follow it ’cause it’s easy. You don’t have to think about it. So you might be like, yo, Daren, I want to improve. Right now my VO two max. Please stop talking, bro.

[00:07:28] Don’t worry. I got you. Download my free Prove your VO two max training system with precisely timed intervals, recovery protocols and progressive overloads. So you’re building up week on week and it focuses on not just improving your VO two max, but it’s holistic. You also will improve your 5K time by doing supportive workouts that boost your threshold run economy, strength, mobility, plyometric, zone two, aerobic base, and even mental habits prompts for you.

[00:07:56] To get that mental fitness right, ’cause we all need that. Get at the QR code or link below, or in your show notes app. You can get that link. But here’s a quick run science nerd break and something that some run coaches might be missing. If you’re doing VO two max intervals, those. Tough sessions that make you want to evaporate into the asphalt, you’ll max out your gains in about four, six weeks for most people, some people eight, eight weeks after that, you can maintain your high VO two max by doing a VO two max session.

[00:08:25] You wanna keep them hard and fast, the same you’re doing while focusing on other systems that you can improve. So threshold, aerobic, base running economy, et cetera, and runners that are pretty fit and have been running for a few years. A really experience, you might even need longer than eight, 10 weeks to reach the limit of your VO two max.

[00:08:44] Also, genetics matter significantly. Your faster friend might have better genes, but not better training. So if you see them and they’re doing the same thing and they’re going fast and you just don’t stress, you don’t need to have the perfect workout. Just consistent efforts that keep your heart rate high, hard, steady, and sustainable so you can repeat them over and over again.

[00:09:01] Why smart watches get it all wrong, so we know what VO two max is and how to train it. Why does Garmin and other smart watches get it so wrong? Garmin and similar devices, guess with pretty accurate algorithms, your VO two max and they base it on time at pace and time at a heart rate. So a fast pace and a high heart rate.

[00:09:18] But. They don’t see how tired and fatigued you are from previous training, your glycogen carbohydrate stores and your liver and muscles. No one really knows this, by the way. Hopefully some technology in the future will be able to let us know how much is actually in there. It’s not accounting for your stress, sleep, hydration, humidity, weather, and they totally miss long-term aerobic gains because zone.

[00:09:39] Two and three help your VO O2 max in the long run, not as quickly as VO two max specific training, but it all helps. So you could be getting fitter and running faster, feeling great. And your watch might be saying the opposite, why you need patience to improve your VO two max. So if you’re a new runner, your VO two max might shoot up really fast in the beginning.

[00:09:57] And it also might flatten out quite fast. That’s normal. This is where patience matters. So the 1% better patience pillar, real progress comes from other running systems that everyone can train a strong base, adding the right intensity, fueling and carving up properly. A lot of new data and studies are saying that if you get a lot of carbs and these marathons, you can actually do much better.

[00:10:17] You can train your gut to handle more carbs. You can run faster and farther. With less effort, you can recover much better and rest much better in sleep, and then do it all again. The next block and be consistent. Research and evidence shows that running your best time is a cocktail of three ingredients, your highest VO two max that you can get to with training a high lactate threshold and running economy.

[00:10:42] So VO two max gives you potential. Threshold tells you how long you can go and economy decides how efficiently you use energy. Your job is to train all three. This mentality is straight out of the patient section. In my upcoming book, the 1% Better Runner, I’ll break that idea down in future videos, so hang tight for that.

[00:10:59] Again, if you want to use this ASAP to get that free download to improve your VO two max. Get it at the QR code link below or link in the show notes of your podcast players app. So yeah, VO two max Matters. It’s your ceiling, but races they’re won by how fast you go and how long you can hold it by running at your lactate threshold.

[00:11:18] If you want to learn the most trainable system for most runners, not based on genetics, but it’s based on effort that helps you race better, go and check out my next video about what lactate threshold is, how to train it, how to use it, how to get better. Check that out. Peace.