As if passed down from high, we endurance athletes just accept that vo2 max is largely untrainable. Like the size and shape of a calf muscle, it just kinda is what it is and no amount of specialized training can substantively grow it. I don’t know entirely why most of us have accepted this as gospel (vo2 max, not the calf), but I’ll detail my theory below. Given how important even small gains in vo2 max can be to endurance performance, let’s take a quick pass through the latest literature to see if our unquestioned dictate still holds up.
Vo2 max is the line where, beyond it, your body can’t produce enough oxygen to feed your working muscles (or, your maximal oxygen uptake). It’s here you move from aerobic (you can transport enough oxygen to fuel working muscles) to anaerobic (you can’t transport enough oxygen to fuel working muscles). It matters because this line is highly correlated to success in endurance sport, with elite athletes maintaining the largest values. You’ll find some of the world’s best soccer players with large vo2s as well, for what it’s worth. But if you're looking for a metric to predict success in endurance sport, look no further. The higher your vo2, the greater your cardiovascular health (the efficiency of your heart, lungs, and circulatory system) and the greater your aerobic capacity (duration to fatigue), so it's a crucial measure for us endurance athletes.
Is it true that you can’t really influence your v02 max? Actually no, it turns out it’s more flexible than previously thought. Then where did this myth come from? It seems to stem from a misunderstanding of genetics and heritability. It’s undeniably true that your vo2 max is heritable. It’s also true that some are gifted at birth with massive vo2 values (and driving many of us to despair). It’s from this point the myth more or less calcified. The absolute best endurance athletes in the world are born, not made. I may have the work ethic, but without these genetic gifts, my plateau is predetermined, plus or minus a few points. This has been my (and many others) line of reasoning for as long as I can remember.
I’m constantly amazed by how much we don't know and therefore can still learn about influencing athletic potential. Much of our training, even in the recent past, may have even reinforced the vo2 myth. Why? Perhaps paradoxically, training in your vo2 max zone doesn’t necessarily create the environment to grow your vo2 max. Undeterred, we persisted all the same. It’s only in recent years, much pioneered by the Norwegians, and fleshed-out and popularized by Dr. Stephen Seiler, the 80/20 training model has mainstreamed. Within this framework, it seems your vo2 max is more malleable than previously thought. Again, somewhat paradoxically, not because you spend all your time thrashing in vo2, but because you don’t.
We’ve appreciated a seismic shift in zone priorities in recent years, and to quantifiably improved results. Just in case you’ve missed the boat, 80% of your training time should be spent in Zone 2, or your endurance zone. Don’t neglect your other zones, they are still important, but distinct changes take place in the body that assist function in all other zones (and especially vo2 max) at Zone 2. What 's so special? Very simply, it’s here you increase your mitochondrial function. The mitochondria or “powerhouses” in your cells create ATP which generate the energy needed by the muscle fibers. Zone 2 training not only increases the density of mitochondria, but makes them more efficient in their consumption of fat and lactate as a fuel source, which aids lactate clearing. Funny enough, this full raft of mitochondrial adaptations don’t take place when you’re riding in vo2 max zone. So it’s the efficiencies generated at a moderate pace that push up the ‘ceiling’ of your vo2 max.
Conventional wisdom, hopefully slowly being dispatched in this article, suggested an increase of 5% to 15% from baseline was doggedly achievable. The largest gains I’ve encountered in my digging suggest a 40% improvement from baseline is now possible. However, it must be noted, this transition took 3 years and countless hours in Zone 2. The larger point is that the hard and fast rules of what’s possible in endurance sport are being rewritten. As someone born with a regular human vo2 max value, I find this news inspiring.
There’s a lot of dogma in endurance sports and I too am guilty of not asking enough questions. I’m thrilled a new crop of coaches and athletes are turning our conventions upside-down and rewriting what many of us considered unassailable truths. So, can you increase your vo2 max well beyond your genetic baseline? It sure seems so. Does riding long slow hours in Zone 2 facilitate this change? The answer appears to be yes. As a cyclist, I’ve shifted my workouts to emphasize Zone 2 volume with the high-intensity interval training (hiit) strategically placed on my training plan to maximize impact. Without question, my cardiovascular fitness (and fitness generally) has increased, and by extension my athletic performance. My vo2 max hasn’t increased by 40% (not yet anyway), but I now hold big numbers more comfortably than I ever have. At my mature age, I’m delighted there’s still room for vo2 max improvement. Moving forward, I’m going to be less inclined to believe the endurance sports edicts. This doesn’t leave me believing any old thing of course, but rather has me hopeful that with intelligent training more of us can join those born at the highest levels.
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