How ‘Trainable’ Is VO2 Max Really? – A Case Study (2019)

I raced as a Category 1 USCF racer and worked on increasing a lot of thresholds as I climbed up the ranks. I would get my VO2 max tested every year and saw some improvements based on training, but I hit a limit. Other teammates also hit limits, but their initial test values were just higher than mine and I wasn&#x27;t going to train myself into those higher levels.<p>Improving my lactate threshold, losing as much weight not related to cycling muscle mass and periodization kept me competitive. Training smart, sticking to a game plan, avoiding fast paced group rides, good sleep and nutrition was also vital.<p>The reality is that you can build upon your genetic platform, but you are going to get to level where you simply can&#x27;t compete against someone who is doing everything you are doing, but just have better genetics. Sadly, this is why a lot of elite athletes turn to doping, even in the amateur ranks. They are training just as hard as you in addition to the EPO, steroids, HGH and who knows what else.

I&#x27;d recommend reading Joe Friel&#x27;s stuff for anyone that&#x27;s interested in this and wants to improve. Executing a periodization schedule for the stress of an event is something that anyone can do.<p>I love stuff like this: <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;joefrielsblog.com&#x2F;polarized-training-update&#x2F;" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;joefrielsblog.com&#x2F;polarized-training-update&#x2F;</a>

Former professional racer here (USSR), former world champion (junior TTT).<p>The article describes a methodology (high volume, low intensity) commonly practiced by many teams in the USSR, especially my team who took it to the next level supported by a group of scientists and researchers.<p>Prior to hiring, every candidate (I&#x27;m talking about my team) went through intensive testing. A lot of guys (but not all) were sent home based on low VO2Max numbers.<p>I was 17 when I got a call and tested at low 60 VO2Max on my first test and was offered a ride. I came from a completely different training methodology based around short, high intensity intervals. Within a year, my VO2max moved to high 70 and eventually settled around 80- mid-80 depending on various factors during the season. I&#x27;ve seen this growth in others, sometimes even more dramatic.<p>To give you an idea, we clocked around 40,000 km per year of mostly low intensity training. A typical training day was made up of 3 rides: 40 km in the morning before breakfast, 3-5 hour ride (depending on the cycle) after breakfast, and another 40 km ride in the late afternoon. We lived on the bikes 11 months a year.<p>We were often told to pull out of dog fights on the climbs during a race to keep that low intensity in check and just ride tempo far away from threshold (although we used heart rate monitors in training, crude, early version of them, this wasn&#x27;t possible in a race because the signal was sent to a team car, nothing was displayed on a bike). Not knowing your exact heart rate, we had to go by feel and to this day I can quite accurately tell what my heart rate is at different level of intensity.<p>For high intensity work, we practiced 20-25 km intervals at race or somewhat higher than race pace intensity, usually 4 or 5 of them per session, pretty much mimicking a 100 km TTT which is what our specialty was at the time (Olympic gold was important for propaganda).<p>In 8 years of its existence, that team went from an unknown startup to delivering several world champions. When the Soviet Union collapsed, those who survived the crash managed to make it to the west and raced in pro peloton. One guy in particular, my former teammate, did well in the Giro and the Tour. Others, who went through the similar system, went on to win Grand Tours and major Classics.<p>That is to say - the methodology has merit even though a lot of literature suggests a different kind of training.

This is a good article and aligns well with empirical results from polarized training plans. But focusing on VO2 Max as a single metric isn&#x27;t necessarily a good approach. Race directors don&#x27;t give out prizes for the highest VO2 Max and it&#x27;s only a mediocre predictor of finishing times. A lot of athletes benefit more from training to hold a higher percentage of VO2 Max for a longer period.

&gt; In fact, when I model the average response to training across the entire group that I have VO2 and long-term training data for, I see an average shift from 54 to 67 ml&#x2F;kg&#x2F;min (a change of 24%) when a long-term, high-volume training plan is undertaken. &gt; &gt; Conversely, when a short-term, high-intensity training plan is undertaken, the model shows a maximal increase (in 4-6 weeks) to only 63 ml&#x2F;kg&#x2F;min (16%). &gt; &gt; So, while a 40% increase in VO2 max may not be considered “typical,” after my experience testing and observing athletes over the past 10+ years, I would have to consider a ~25% increase in VO2 max to be very typical given the right training over a sufficient period of time (the two items missing from those initial studies that suggested high genetic limitations).<p>Bait and switch. He starts out talking about averages over ordinary people suggesting 10-15% average improveability, and then presents a 25% estimate... from an extremely selected group of athletes after lots of attrition from those getting worse results (just what percent of the population even <i>has</i> VO2max numbers from a &quot;long-term high-volume training plan&quot;?). I would suggest that his end result strongly reinforces the original claim, rather than debunking it.

&quot;is the total amount of oxygen that your muscles can extract from your blood per minute&quot;<p>genuine question, but wouldn&#x27;t this also correlate with muscle mass? you can put on a LOT of muscle, so doesn&#x27;t more muscle mean more oxygen being extracted from your blood?

Reminded me of the Colorado experiment <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;baye.com&#x2F;colorado-experiment&#x2F;" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;baye.com&#x2F;colorado-experiment&#x2F;</a>

I wonder if VO2 max is equivalent to more O2 diffused to cells.. what if capillaries are too narrow or too twisted, you get a lot of O2 circulating but very few reaching the cells.