VO2 Max Training for Runners

Did you finish your 5k and immediately want to run another one to try to improve your time!? A way that you can try to improve your time is by adding vo2 max workouts into your training regiment. Increasing one's vo2 max is crucial to any distance runner that is wanting to advance their running performance.

You might be asking yourself what it vo2 max, “VO2 max is the maximal oxygen uptake or the maximum volume of oxygen that can be utilized in one minute during maximal or exhaustive exercise.”1 VO2 is measured in milliliters of oxygen in one minute per kilogram of body weight. VO2 max is known to be the best indicator of cardiorespiratory endurance.1 The most accurate way to get your VO2 max is in an exercise physiology lab, but that can get a little expensive. A good estimate to get your VO2 max is to go to a track and run 10-15 min or 2 miles as fast as you can. Since you can’t get the actual milliliter of oxygen in one minute per kilogram of body weight, the pace you are able to sustain is your vVO2. This give you certain pace at which you are running when you are at your VO2 max. Generally, when doing VO2 max workouts the amount of time your running and your recovery have a ratio of 1:12. For example, if your run at 100% of your vVO2 max for 2 min you will give yourself 2 minutes’ recovery before you start your next 2 minutes’ interval. When doing your first workout like this, you might only be able to complete a few repetitions, and that’s ok. These workouts are not easy and may take time for you to be able to get to this level. The progression of these workouts is to build on the amount of repetitions you can do, and then start adding time to the duration you are running. For example:

·      4 x 2 min @ 100% vVO2 max with 2 min recovery

·      6 x 2 min @ 100% vVO2 max with 2 min recovery

·      8 x 2 min @ 100% vVO2 max with 2 min recovery

·      4-5 x 3 min @ 100% vVO2 max with 3 min recovery

·      6 x 3 min @ 100% vVO2 max with 3 min recovery

As you keep increasing your VO2 max it will be necessary for you to check your improvement with running 10-15 min or 2 miles all out every few weeks. If you don’t do so, the pace you are running for these workouts will stay the same while you are increasing your VO2 max so you won’t be at the specific pace you will need to be at to get the most out of these workouts.

1 Quinn, E. (2014, December 4). VO2 Max - Definition. Retrieved February 5, 2016, from http://sportsmedicine.about.com/od/glossary/g/VO2Max.htm

2 B. Garcia, VO2 Max Training, January 20, 2016