Is Your VO2 Max Normal For Your Age? Here's How to Find Out

By Ana-Marija Dolaskie — Nov 07, 2025
Ever wonder what VO2 Max really means? It’s your body’s ultimate engine metric—the maximum amount of oxygen your muscles can use during all-out effort. Does aging tank your VO2 Max? Yes; unless you fight back.
ACSH article image
Image: ACSH

Without training, it drops about 1% per year after age 30—10% per decade. But consistent aerobic exercise can slow that to 0.5% per year, or even reverse it. Strength training plus steady runs keep mitochondria firing and capillaries expanding. Studies on masters athletes show 70-year-olds crushing numbers that beat sedentary 30-year-olds. 

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