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PDF and supplementary. Neither contain a breakdown of the mortality improvement for VO2max by age.

Title:

Association of Cardiorespiratory Fitness With Long-term Mortality Among Adults Undergoing Exercise Treadmill Testing

Abstract:

Cardiorespiratory fitness is inversely associated with long-term mortality with no observed upper limit of benefit. Extremely high aerobic fitness was associated with the greatest survival and was associated with benefit in older patients and those with hypertension. Cardiorespiratory fitness is a modifiable indicator of long-term mortality, and health care professionals should encourage patients to achieve and maintain high levels of fitness.

What is good?

For my age and gender, I'd need 13.0 for "high" and 15.0 for "elite". These are in units of METs, so multiply by 3.5 for the VO2 in ml per whatever. This is 45.5 for "high" and 52.5 for "elite". My recent testing puts me in the "elite", go me!

Peter Attia loves to cite this one.

https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/full/10.1161/CIR.0000000000000461

PDF

Title:

Importance of Assessing Cardiorespiratory Fitness in Clinical Practice: A Case for Fitness as a Clinical Vital Sign: A Scientific Statement From the American Heart Association

Abstract:

Mounting evidence has firmly established that low levels of cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) are associated with a high risk of cardiovascular disease, all-cause mortality, and mortality rates attributable to various cancers. A growing body of epidemiological and clinical evidence demonstrates not only that CRF is a potentially stronger predictor of mortality than established risk factors such as smoking, hypertension, high cholesterol, and type 2 diabetes mellitus, but that the addition of CRF to traditional risk factors significantly improves the reclassification of risk for adverse outcomes. The purpose of this statement is to review current knowledge related to the association between CRF and health outcomes, increase awareness of the added value of CRF to improve risk prediction, and suggest future directions in research. Although the statement is not intended to be a comprehensive review, critical references that address important advances in the field are highlighted. The underlying premise of this statement is that the addition of CRF for risk classification presents health professionals with unique opportunities to improve patient management and to encourage lifestyle-based strategies designed to reduce cardiovascular risk. These opportunities must be realized to optimize the prevention and treatment of cardiovascular disease and hence meet the American Heart Association’s 2020 goals.

I was tested on June 21, 2023 via indirect calorimetry by Connie Tompkins, PhD in the UVM lab.

This was the week after completing the Mt Washington Road Race, and my legs felt good enough for the test.

It was hard! I maybe could have pushed a bit further but I had plateaued on the oxygen consumption.

My result: 55.6.

Here's my raw data:

• ./static/VO2max/vo2_test_data.xlsx
• ./static/VO2max/vo2_test_worksheet.docx

Strava:

I was tested again in Feb 2025, as a volunteer in the Empatica wearable study at UMass. I only lasted 30 seconds at the 10% grade, and my 5-sec VO2max was 60.6. This was with a mask, the room was 75F with no fan, and I stopped when I felt like I couldn't breath. I think the hot humid air in the mask was not cutting it for me, or my body was just done. It looks like the averaging window for the previous test was 15-sec, there are 8 intervals per step. On the 15-sec window, I think this test was more like 53, if I remember correctly. I have the raw data sheet print outs, and I think they were supposed to email it to me but I didn't get the email.