Best workouts to increase vo2max

4x4 minutes 85-95% max heart rate (ACTUAL max, not estimated) 3 minutes jog recovery

20 x 400m at 5 k race pace and rest back to 120 bpm ))))

I don’t think 400m repeats are ideal for improving max VO2. It takes some time to get up to max HR, maybe 45 seconds, and then the interval is over 25 seconds later

VO2peak is a relatively mediocre predictor of performance.

How to improve VO2peak most effectively depends on your performance level.

6x800m at 2 mile pace. 2:30-3 min walking rest.

Naperville Runner wrote:

I don’t think 400m repeats are ideal for improving max VO2. It takes some time to get up to max HR, maybe 45 seconds, and then the interval is over 25 seconds later

Yeah, general rule per Daniels is an interval rep needs to be 3-5 minutes for effective VO2max training.

vo2max workouts wrote:

Just wondering what's best workouts to improve vo2max?

According to the research literature, there are 3 workout that are most effective in increasing vo2max.

vVO2max = veloctity at VO2max = 3k pace

30x30sec@3k pace with 30sec rest

4x4min@3k pace with 4min rest

4x8min@10k pace with 2min rest

These are HARD workouts. Good Luck

Naperville Runner wrote:

I don’t think 400m repeats are ideal for improving max VO2. It takes some time to get up to max HR, maybe 45 seconds, and then the interval is over 25 seconds later

Go google any of the papers that look at 60/60 workouts. They do a fine job of improving vo2max.

Best way to improve vo2max? Run for 60-90 mins 7x/week. All the interval workouts are the ice on the cake after you do that. You can do 30/30s, 400s,or repeat miles. The details just don't matter a ton. Heck you probably should do all of them.

ddidididid wrote:

Naperville Runner wrote:

I don’t think 400m repeats are ideal for improving max VO2. It takes some time to get up to max HR, maybe 45 seconds, and then the interval is over 25 seconds later

Go google any of the papers that look at 60/60 workouts. They do a fine job of improving vo2max.

Best way to improve vo2max? Run for 60-90 mins 7x/week. All the interval workouts are the ice on the cake after you do that. You can do 30/30s, 400s,or repeat miles. The details just don't matter a ton. Heck you probably should do all of them.

I agree with this.

I made my biggest improvements in 3k-5k by walking away from intervals/speed work and sustaining 55-70 mpw of easy, steady and strides for about 5 months.

20x400m is becoming a staple workout for me during this base phase. The difference is that I don’t rest down to 120 bpm, I just jog a lap at about 8:00-8:30 pace and pray I’m ready for the next rep. By about 14-15 reps in, my heart rate no longer dips under 150 by the end, and will be in the low 180s by the end of each rep. The overall stress is very similar to a tempo run, but I’ve put in 5 miles of volume at 4:50-5:00 pace, instead of 5:30-5:40 pace. Seems a lot more Vo2Max specific considering 3k pace sits around 4:45 pace and 5k pace is hopefully about 4:55-5:00 pace.

byteherder wrote:

vo2max workouts wrote:

Just wondering what's best workouts to improve vo2max?

According to the research literature, there are 3 workout that are most effective in increasing vo2max.

vVO2max = veloctity at VO2max = 3k pace

1) 30x30sec@3k pace with 30sec rest

2) 4x4min@3k pace with 4min rest

3) 4x8min@10k pace with 2min rest

These are HARD workouts. Good Luck

Good stuff, but i would replace the 2) by 4x4min @5k pace 2/3min rest.

Based on S. Seiler 3) is better as 2) for trained recreational cyclists, most likely transferable to recreational runners

- VO2Max doesn't improve significantly in trained runners.

- Any training improves VO2Max in untrained runners.

- VO2Max increase does not predict performance increase.

The points above mean that it makes no sense to find optimal way of increasing Vo2Max.

You're either there, or you will get there pretty soon doing standard balanced training.

Plus, it's a very high probability that your VO2Max is limited by demands of your muscular system. It's a very well known fact that people with high VO2Max tend to have worse running economy, and vice versa. Another well known fact is that cross-country skiers have higher VO2Max on average than runners. Those 2 facts combined give us a hint that maybe if you somehow make more muscles work, your "VO2Max" will be increased, paradoxycally resulting in worse performance. Imagine a runner with great form running at his VO2Max for a few minutes.

Then he adds some forced head bobbing or exagerrated arm movements. Will his VO2Max increase? Yes, if his cardio system is not limited. Will his economy decrease? Yes.

ElGuerroujFan wrote:

4x4 minutes 85-95% max heart rate (ACTUAL max, not estimated) 3 minutes jog recovery

Genuinely….. this

Proven

Breakfast In Bed wrote:

Naperville Runner wrote:

I don’t think 400m repeats are ideal for improving max VO2. It takes some time to get up to max HR, maybe 45 seconds, and then the interval is over 25 seconds later

Yeah, general rule per Daniels is an interval rep needs to be 3-5 minutes for effective VO2max training.

I can tell that´s not up to the real outcome over a long period of time and training.

More important is the pace and the recovery between reps, plus the amount of reps. And we have to add that to reach a runners highest possible maxO2 ( maxVO2) is a total concept of several factors except of running maxVO2 paced reps.

Darby wrote:

- VO2Max doesn't improve significantly in trained runners.

- Any training improves VO2Max in untrained runners.

- VO2Max increase does not predict performance increase.

The points above mean that it makes no sense to find optimal way of increasing Vo2Max.

You're either there, or you will get there pretty soon doing standard balanced training.

Plus, it's a very high probability that your VO2Max is limited by demands of your muscular system. It's a very well known fact that people with high VO2Max tend to have worse running economy, and vice versa. Another well known fact is that cross-country skiers have higher VO2Max on average than runners...

All this is pretty much true, and yet dedicated amateurs and elites still do Vo2max workouts. I'd say the name is more to do with the speed of the workout, rather than exclusively trying to max out vo2 max, because these workouts do so much more than that.

The average human can only increase their baseline vo2 max by 10-20%, depending on which expert you ask, and there are super responders and low responders. So you're right, most dedicated runners will be close to their max year round. But there are in/out of season fluctuations and VO2 max workouts will get one back to their peak. They will also help a new runner get their quicker, though there are edge case arguments that claim it's suboptimal to get there too quick before maximizing mitochondrial and capillary density, leading to poor ratio of economy/vo2max, but a long patient base phase will prevent that.

These workouts also have other improvements that "just running lots" won't max out:

- lactate buffering/tolerance

- peak sustainable power

- speed at VO2 max

- mental comfort at speed

- running economy depending on who you talk to

I don't think just running lots will maximize these abilities, at least not in my experience. One could argue that slowing down about 10% to lactate threshold might be enough, maybe for a half to full marathon, probably not for a miler->5k, or cross country runner.

Breakfast In Bed wrote:

Naperville Runner wrote:

I don’t think 400m repeats are ideal for improving max VO2. It takes some time to get up to max HR, maybe 45 seconds, and then the interval is over 25 seconds later

Yeah, general rule per Daniels is an interval rep needs to be 3-5 minutes for effective VO2max training.

Only problem with that rule is it's not true...

Long sets (20) of 400s are a great way to spend a lot of time at VO2 max without accumulating a lot of lactate. But "best workouts to increase VO2 max" is the wrong question. Any intense interval workout will increase VO2 max, but VO2 max improvements plateau quickly in trained athletes and is a poor indicator of fitness beyond that point.

OTOH wrote:

The average human can only increase their baseline vo2 max by 10-20%, depending on which expert you ask, . .

VO2max is proportional to mass of mitochondria and can be increased up to 100% compared to the normal condition. These are long term adpatations for several years, by continiously increasing the training volume.

Do some intervals where you reach a high percentage of maximum hr. The intervals should last between 3-5min and the recovery should be shorter than the interval lenght. Example workout:

6x3.5min uphill rec: 2min

Hardloper wrote:

Breakfast In Bed wrote:

Yeah, general rule per Daniels is an interval rep needs to be 3-5 minutes for effective VO2max training.

Only problem with that rule is it's not true...

Long sets (20) of 400s are a great way to spend a lot of time at VO2 max without accumulating a lot of lactate. But "best workouts to increase VO2 max" is the wrong question. Any intense interval workout will increase VO2 max, but VO2 max improvements plateau quickly in trained athletes and is a poor indicator of fitness beyond that point.

You don't go hard enough for long enough on 400m reps to get to VO2max for more than maybe a couple seconds, unless you're rather slow to begin with.

Maybe a 40/30 drill--do as many laps as possible....