VO2 Max by Age and Sex: Where Your Number Sits
A VO2 max of 42 means nothing on its own.
For a 55 year old woman it is an excellent result. For a 25 year old man it is below average. The number only becomes information once you put it next to the population it came from, and that requires normative data rather than opinion.
This page is the reference tables. If you have a measured result, or a watch estimate you want to sanity check, find your row.
Two different reference datasets, and why they disagree
There are two widely used sources for VO2 max norms, and they do not produce identical numbers. Knowing which one you are being compared against matters.
The FRIEND registry pools directly measured cardiopulmonary exercise test data from multiple laboratories in the United States. Every value comes from gas analysis during a maximal test. This is the closest thing to a gold standard reference for a lab measured result (Kaminsky et al., Mayo Clinic Proceedings).
The Cooper Institute classification is the dataset most wearables use, including Garmin. It covers a wider age range and assigns descriptive labels from Poor through to Superior (Garmin VO2 max classification tables).
The two sets differ because the underlying populations differ. FRIEND draws on people referred for clinical exercise testing. Cooper draws on a large fitness assessment population. Neither is wrong. They answer slightly different questions.
FRIEND registry: measured VO2 max percentiles
All values in mL/kg/min.
Age group | Male 50th | Male 95th | Female 50th | Female 95th |
30 to 39 | 42.4 | 59.8 | 30.2 | 45.8 |
40 to 49 | 37.8 | 55.6 | 26.7 | 41.7 |
50 to 59 | 32.6 | 50.7 | 23.4 | 35.9 |
60 to 69 | 28.2 | 43.0 | 20.0 | 29.4 |
The 20 to 29 and 70 to 79 brackets are not published in this dataset, so if you sit in either, use the Cooper tables below.
Two things worth noticing. The median male value falls by roughly 14 mL/kg/min between the thirties and the sixties, which is close to 10% per decade. And the gap between the 50th and 95th percentile within a single age bracket is larger than the gap between decades. Where you sit relative to your peers is more under your control than your age is.
Cooper Institute classification: males
All values in mL/kg/min. Percentiles correspond to the Superior, Excellent, Good and Fair boundaries.
Age | 40th | 60th | 80th | 95th |
20 to 29 | 41.7 | 45.4 | 51.1 | 55.4 |
30 to 39 | 40.5 | 44.0 | 48.3 | 54.0 |
40 to 49 | 38.5 | 42.4 | 46.4 | 52.5 |
50 to 59 | 35.6 | 39.2 | 43.4 | 48.9 |
60 to 69 | 32.3 | 35.5 | 39.5 | 45.7 |
70 to 79 | 29.4 | 32.3 | 36.7 | 42.1 |
Cooper Institute classification: females
Age | 40th | 60th | 80th | 95th |
20 to 29 | 36.1 | 39.5 | 43.9 | 49.6 |
30 to 39 | 34.4 | 37.8 | 42.4 | 47.4 |
40 to 49 | 33.0 | 36.3 | 39.7 | 45.3 |
50 to 59 | 30.1 | 33.0 | 36.7 | 41.1 |
60 to 69 | 27.5 | 30.0 | 33.0 | 37.8 |
25.9 | 28.1 | 30.9 | 36.7 |
How to read your own row
Find your age bracket and sex, then locate your number against the columns.
Below the 40th percentile. Your capacity is below average for your age. This is the group with the most to gain, because the association between fitness and health outcomes is steepest at the bottom of the range.
40th to 60th. Average. Perfectly normal, and also the point where most people plateau without deliberate aerobic work.
60th to 80th. Above average. You are training, and it is showing.
80th to 95th. Excellent. Maintaining this against age related decline takes ongoing intent.
Above the 95th. Superior for your age bracket.
One practical note. Because the tables are age adjusted, holding the same percentile as you get older means your absolute number is falling. Holding the same absolute number as you age means your percentile is climbing. Decide which one you are actually trying to do.
Why your sex changes the number
The consistent gap between male and female values in every bracket is not a measurement artefact. It reflects physiological differences in haemoglobin concentration, heart size relative to body mass, and lean mass as a proportion of total body mass. Oxygen delivery capacity scales with those things.
This is also why VO2 max expressed per kilogram of body weight can mislead when body composition differs significantly between two people. A higher fat mass raises the denominator without contributing to oxygen use. Two people with identical cardiovascular capacity will post different relative VO2 max figures if their body composition differs, which is one reason a DEXA scan alongside a VO2 test gives a cleaner picture than either alone.
Common questions
Can I use my watch estimate against these tables? Cautiously. Wrist based estimates have been validated against laboratory testing and the individual error is substantial, with published mean absolute percentage errors in the 13 to 16% range and the error growing in fitter people. A watch estimate will usually put you in the right half of the table. It will not reliably put you in the right bracket.
My result is worse than I expected. Is the test wrong? Possibly, if you did not reach a true maximum. A valid test requires objective criteria to be met, including a plateau in oxygen uptake or a respiratory exchange ratio above a defined threshold. A submaximal effort produces an underestimate. Ask whether your test met maximal criteria before assuming the number is real.
How fast can I move up a bracket? Controlled trials in previously inactive adults show measurable gains within 8 weeks and continued improvement through 12 weeks of training three times per week. Gains of 1.7 to 3.4 mL/kg/min over 12 weeks are typical, with threshold based programming at the upper end of that range.
Do these numbers apply to Australians? Both datasets are American. There is no reason to expect a large systematic difference in aerobic physiology between comparable Australian and American populations, but treat the percentiles as a close approximation rather than an exact national reference.
The short version
A VO2 max number is only meaningful against your age and sex. Below the 40th percentile is where the health return on training is largest. The spread within your own age bracket is wider than the decline between decades, which means your percentile is largely a function of what you do rather than how old you are.
For the mechanism behind the number, read VO2 max explained.
A measured VO2 Max test at Precision Body Lab is $349, or $449 with a DEXA scan. The appointment takes 60 minutes. Book online or call 1300 910 163.
Related reading
Sources
Kaminsky LA, Arena R, Myers J, et al. Reference Standards for Cardiorespiratory Fitness Measured with Cardiopulmonary Exercise Testing. Mayo Clinic Proceedings. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC13358145/
Garmin. VO2 Max Classification Tables (Cooper Institute data). https://www8.garmin.com/manuals/webhelp/GUID-C001C335-A8EC-4A41-AB0E-BAC434259F92/EN-US/GUID-1FBCCD9E-19E1-4E4C-BD60-1793B5B97EB3.html
Weatherwax R, Harris N, Kilding AE, Dalleck L. Time Course Changes in Confirmed 'True' VO2 max After Individualized and Standardized Training. Sports Medicine International Open, 2019. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6559817/
Comments