Your Watch’s VO2 Max Is Lying to You: Here’s Why

[00:00:00] Every influencer, every Garmin smartwatch notification, all of the people out there are saying you have to get this one number up. We got Andrew Huberman, health and wellness, fitness people, uh, Rhonda Patrick, whoever you listen to has probably said you need to get the VO2 max number up. But what if that number is actually the wrong target that we’re chasing?

[00:00:21] What if we actually need to be doing other things that support it and that actually show us how fit and healthy we are? So in this episode today, I’ve just cooled down from a nice easy run, so I’m gonna call this Conversations While We Cool Down, and I’m gonna tell you all about- How this VO2 max number is, one, BS.

[00:00:40] Two, how you can actually go out without a lab and validate whether your number is right or wrong. Three, how the number doesn’t actually correlate to performance. Some kind of misconceptions around VO2 max, all these other things. And you’ll get a free training plan on how to actually do VO2 max workouts to improve them, et cetera.

[00:00:58] That’s right in the middle. If you wanna just jump in right now, you can get that free training plan right now. You don’t even have to wait. It’s right up here, the QR code, just scan that, or the link is below. I’m Daren DLake, 1% Better Runner, all about getting people 1% better each day, year, month, quarter, life, et cetera.

[00:01:13] I’ve been running for about 30 years, certified coach, and through the last 14 years, I’ve actually been doing a lot of low heart rate training, ironically. And that has improved a whole lot of other factors that have actually bumped up my VO2 max performance, and I’ll talk more about that in a second.

[00:01:29] Let’s get into the first section. So I’m gonna define VO2 max really quick. I’ve actually done a deep dive on VO2 max a couple times. You can go get those episodes either up here or below. I got some links to exactly VO2 max, how to improve it, et cetera. Uh, you can also get that training plan. But the reframe of VO2 max and this number is that it really is just about engine size.

[00:01:50] If you think about, like, you know, a 12-liter engine, you just got a big truck even. Like, it’s like, cool, you got all this power, but how is it laying down the power into the ground? ‘Cause there’s more for… let’s talk about race cars. You actually have to be able to go around turns fast, so you have to have suspension.

[00:02:04] Uh, your tires, uh, how light is the car? How aerodynamic is the car? That’s where running economy comes in. So we’re gonna put VO2 max specific to running, and it’s just, like, kind of a predictor. It’s the potential of what you can do. So there’s people that are born with high VO2 maxes, but they never actually train and see their potential.

[00:02:22] And there’s people that are born with average VO2 maxes, even low VO2 maxes, that train a lot and run a lot, and they actually get really fast, and they can run way faster than the people that genetically have just the, the gifted VO2 max because they actually worked at it. So one number doesn’t capture it all, and this is where things get really interesting, and this is how we get into the next point that I have about all this VO2 max hype.

[00:02:44] All right, so this next section is actually about the science of the whole number and where we’re actually getting things wrong because the number’s fun, it’s easy, but this is the actual science of, of the performance and what’s actually happening in the lab versus out in the real world. Nearly all research on longevity uses performance, not actual VO2 max.

[00:03:02] They use the speed you reached at the end of a treadmill test, going down to your local track and running a three mile or 3K f- or even 5K hard, or you can do the Cooper test, which is 12 minutes, and I’ll talk more about that, or about 1.5 miles, 2.4Ks test, uh, and you can actually see exactly what the VO2 max number is based on the performance, and that’s the research that shows the best predictor of longevity and how long we live healthy without obviously all-cause mortality, which is random diseases and falls and all that type of stuff.

[00:03:32] It’s not the number. So that’s from Steve Magness, who I love and respect and, you know, have taken a lot of ideas from, and some of the core concepts, along with, again, Brady Homer. So here’s where the science actually goes hard though. Studies that measure cardiorespiratory fitness instead of lab VO2 max.

[00:03:50] So they’re gonna get a bit sciency here. They’re using Mets, METs, metabolic equivalents. So… Oh my God, that thing is so angry. All right, so back to the Mets. Australian birds are trying to kill me. So one MET equals 3.5 milliliters of oxygen per kilogram per minute. All right, bit sciency, bit numbery. That’s oxygen consumption.

[00:04:13] They’re measuring the same thing. It’s just estimated instead of directly measured with a mask, like VO2 max tests like I’ve done, and if you have the money and you have the time and the resources, you can go do that. So there was a 2024 meta-analysis of almost 21 million people across almost 200 studies, 199, high fitness versus low fitness, 53% reduction in all-cause mortality.

[00:04:35] Performance predicts longevity better than the lab score. So- This is where real world stuff comes in play. But before we get into the really interesting bit, you’re probably like, “Oh, hey, uh, Mr. Daren, YouTuber, how do I actually improve my VO2 max?” I got you. I got a free download for you, training plan guide, and you actually will be able to use a lot of these kinda skills and mental mindsets.

[00:05:00] I have a email course that you’ll get that is included in it. It’s all free. Go get that at the QR code here, or the link below, or if you’re listening on whatever, uh, podcast player, ’cause some of you listen to audio only, you can get that down below. Jesus, got birds coming after me. Go get that before I get eaten by the Australian birds.

[00:05:18] What the hell was that? All right. All right, so this is why this all matters, and I’m gonna base this on what Brady Holmer has said, and again, I’m gonna have him on very, very, very soon. VO2 max kind of god czar of sorts. He knows so much more about VO2 max than I do. And he talked about the frailty threshold, and the frailty threshold is the bottom of your VO2 max, the bottom of your performance in life.

[00:05:41] And it actually is based on, uh, a number of 15 millimoles. So if your VO2 max is, you know, usually 30 or 40, 15 is like the lowest where you can support yourself, like, and not be in a home or have someone taking care of you. So this is the thinking about zooming out and going to when you get older, uh, people that actually can’t kinda get up, can’t walk around, can’t sit down on the toilet by themselves.

[00:06:02] They have a VO2 max of 15 or lower. We wanna be way higher than that. Like, we can’t be messing around, man. So my goal is to keep my VO2 max where I am for the, at least the next 20 years. I’m 44 right now, minimum 20 years. Uh, if I could get into my 70s and keep a VO2 max in the mid-40s, amazing. 80s obviously it’s gonna decline, but keep muscle mass on by lifting a bunch.

[00:06:24] That helps with running economy. That helps with strength overall. It helps with injury resilience in running. But it’s all kinda, again, this soup, and we wanna put all these different ingredients in, mix it all up, let it simmer, and we see what happens with our performance out in the field versus relying on this silly, silly number.

[00:06:39] So again, that low threshold 15 millimole number, that’s really important because that means that we can’t go out also and play with our grandkids or go on a walk with our partner. Like, all these things. Like, just, just do things to live a life worth living and not just be stuck on medicine or, uh, bedridden and just sitting there or in a wheelchair or something or some sort of like- walk or a cane.

[00:06:59] We don’t want that. And you know who I love who’s doing this right now? Mark Sisson. And Mark Sisson, go check him out, but he’s mid-70s, at least 72, I think, and he’s actually killing the game right now. Practices what he preaches. The dude looks amazing. Uh, he was a world-class Ironman, um, professional marathoner and triathlete, et cetera, and then he just flipped the game, started talking about keto, started talking about all these other things, and just thinking about longevity about 20 years ago in his, like, early 50s.

[00:07:26] He changed everything, writing about it, writing amazing books, and big fan of him. So go check him out, but it’s like this is how you live a life worth living. This is how you stay healthy and fit. This is how you slow down the slowing down. This is how you perform better as you age. This is the whole point of this.

[00:07:40] VO2 max still matters. It will always matter. It’s just not about the number. It’s about what you do with your actual performance. And with performance, that leads to my last thought, idea, point here, which is about how to actually perform and do this out in the real world. So most of you, some of you, might just race, which is great, but it actually, VO2 max is based on shorter races.

[00:08:00] So you wanna do shorter efforts. Yeah, you can kind of get a VO2 max estimate from longer races, uh, marathons, et cetera, and the Vdot calculator is also a good way if you wanna go, just go to Vdot calculator. I did a whole episode on Vdot up above or you can go below here. Kind of walking through this, this bush here, this bush area.

[00:08:19] And there are other tests. So a test that I like is just kind of easy 5K test. You could just literally just run a 5K as fast as you possibly can, 95%, whatever, and just test yourself every two to three months on that and just see where you are. And the goal is to either maintain it or get better, especially as you’re getting older, you’re in your 50s, 60s, you’re gonna drop.

[00:08:38] So just try to, like, maintain. Slow down the slowing down is what I say. We, we don’t want it to kind of drop too much. There’s also, I like to do shorter ones, which are a bit more closer to VO2 max, and this can change if you’re very elite, you’re very well trained. These tests aren’t as accurate. But the shorter ones are 3K, two miles.

[00:08:56] You can do one mile. One mile is actually perfect. I like that. Four laps around the track. Easy, 1.61, uh, kilometers. Um, or you can do the Cooper test, which actually has a whole algorithm based on it. Again, all those tests you can just plug into the Vdot calculator, and you can get kind of a, a estimate.

[00:09:11] Vdot is, uh, similar to VO2 max, but it doesn’t take your weight into account. And the Cooper test is similar, doesn’t take your weight into account, just takes your performance, because kind of doesn’t matter about your weight. Again, it’s what you actually do in the real world. The oxygen mask on you and the VO2 max test takes your weight into account.

[00:09:26] It’s valid For some reasons, but I think for most people, it’s not necessary if you wanna just get a range of a number. So, uh, the Cooper test is really easy. 2.4 Ks or 1.5 miles, um, that’s the distance version. The time version’s actually original. Uh, you just run for 12 minutes, and you see how far you go, and then you just plug it in, and I’ll have that kind of on the screen here.

[00:09:47] You can get, uh, a link to the Cooper test. Um, and it’s just really simple. You just plug it in, and then it tells you your VO2 max estimated number because that’s actually how far you covered, but you have to have good run economy. Um, that’s the thing. You can’t, uh, be untrained runner. If you’re a very well-trained runner, then you actually can be higher.

[00:10:04] And this is kind of the, the, the crux of my argument where I never really knew about this test, but I basically plugged in where I came at, um, on last year when I was probably the fittest I’ve been in a while for my 5K. Ran a 17:47 5K time. And I think I came through at 12 minutes around 3.6, 3.8 Ks.

[00:10:27] Could be slightly off. Um, but I plugged that into the calculator, and even though my watch was saying my VO2 max was 56, based on that Cooper test, my VO2 max was like 69, 71. 72, I think I saw. That is crazy. So do I have a VO2 max of 72 in the lab? No. But based on running 17-minute, if I plug it into VDOT, it is not gonna say 70s, uh, with 17:45, but it’s probably gonna say, I think it’s around, like, low 60s is where I’m at.

[00:10:55] But again, it doesn’t matter about this number. VO2 max does matter. Doesn’t matter about the number. I’m gonna say it a million times. I appreciate all of you sticking around and hearing me kind of preach the word and the gospel about just go out and do the thing. That’s what matters most, what you’re actually doing in the world.

[00:11:10] Oh, and I just forgot. Another test is, um, it’s not as accurate for VO2 max, but I like it. It’s the High Zone 2, uh, MAF or Maffetone, uh, maximum aerobic fitness test that I’ve actually done an episode on. Get that up here or below, um, on how to do the actual test. And it is a really good predictor of submaximal.

[00:11:29] So, um, aerobic threshold is, like, how fast you can run when you’re basically running oxygen, and you tip over to using more glycogen and glucose, uh, for energy versus aerobically using oxygen, et cetera. But this test is great. Um, you High Zone 2 heart rate. So you’re basically doing about 5Ks, 3 miles, at your High Zone 2, and just seeing how much ground you cover and then where your heart rate is.

[00:11:50] And that actually is not as accurate for the VO2 max number, but it’s more- accurate for longevity and how fit you are kind of aerobically because that is very important too uh you don’t want to just be really fit anaerobically because that’s not actually going to really help you in the long term you want to be fit aerobically all across the spectrum anaerobically uh be able to sprint that’s atp which i go into energy systems in a whole other episode uh you can get that but yeah you get the whole idea so the whole point of this is to perform better in life and it’s not just running and you know lifting weights that’s good but we also want to play with our kids uh as we get older our grandkids etc we want to be able to bend down we want to be able to not fall and break a hip that’s the whole point of doing all this exercise stuff slow down slowing down perform better as we age get one percent better every day we don’t want to decline we want to get better i want to die of natural causes or get hit by a bus i don’t want to die because you know i’m just bedridden and you know i have uh heart disease and all these other things that’s not why i want to die won’t be too morbid we’ll end it there go get that vo2 max training plan and guide and get the email course at the qr code here or below in the link and again if you want to learn more about vo2 max stuff i did deep dives on that you can check that out below wherever i’m pointing on youtube or if you’re on spotify somewhere else i got links everywhere got links everywhere happy vo2 max hunting doing training it still matters vo2 max still matters