Hello Alex M and All,
Hang in there. You may be able to increase your VO2. (Lose weight and train more)
I recently had a VO2 test at Fit Stop with Ken Nicodemus in Carlsbad CA and was given some of the following information. I came away with about 35 pages of information and test results. I was too fat (need to lose 10 lbs - I have lost 5 of them so far - which boosts my VO2 number) and need more training. (I am working on it) I will return for another test in a few months. (subsequent tests are reduced in price)
Ken's website has info posted about VO2 values.
In part:
For comparison, the average VO2 max is 40-45 ml/kg/min in 30 year old untrained males, and this value decreases with age. The same person who undergoes regular endurance training might increase to 50-55 ml/kg/min. An elite endurance athlete will have VO2 levels in the 70’s and 80’s although their VO2 max without training would probably be about 60-70 ml/kg/min. Below are a few examples of values for VO2 max in Elite Level Endurance Athletes: http://www.fitstop-lab.com/VO2Max.htm Also by David Hampson "VO2 max: What is it, Why is it so important, and how do you improve it?"
In part:
There are two ways to take VO2 max to its highest possible levels; increased volume and increased intensity.
Studies show that sedentary people can improve VO2 max by over twenty percent when they begin a running program of 25 miles per week.
By increasing mileage to 50 miles per week, VO2 max is improved a further ten percent. Unfortunately there are diminishing returns of VO2 max increases with increased mileage, so drastic improvements will not occur indefinitely.
Based on the available research, it seems that maximal VO2 max gains are achieved with a weekly running volume of 60 to 90 miles. Although increases in weekly mileage have shown to be particularly effective at increasing VO2 max, it is important to remember that mileage should be increased gradually, with careful attention towards preventing over-training and injury. Also, VO2 max improvements only occur if you are keeping running intensity the same as you increase your mileage. If you increase your mileage, but slow down your daily running pace, little improvement will occur in VO2 max.
This brings us to the topic of intensity, the second method of enhancing VO2 max. Intensity has actually been proven to be more potent enhancer of VO2 max than volume. For VO2 max improvement to occur, training runs should be conducted at an intensity of at least 70 percent of VO2 max. Seventy percent of VO2 max corresponds to a pace that will bring your heart rate to 75-80 percent of maximum. Running at intensities close to 100 percent VO2 max is the best thing you can do to elevate your VO2 max. This corresponds to about two mile race pace, so unfortunately this intensity cannot be maintained for very long, and training this hard every day would quickly lead to over-training and/or injury.
The best way to complete a significant volume of running at 100 percent of VO2 max is to use intervals of three to five minutes at 3k to 5k race pace with about equal recovery between each interval. By dividing your workload into intervals, you can run for more total minutes at 100 percent of VO2 max than if you attempted a continuous run.
One interesting note is that running faster than 100 percent of VO2 max will not improve it more than running at 100 percent of VO2 max, and is likely to leave you more fatigued and unable to complete a high volume of work. Faster running is necessary to enhance other performance factors which I won't go into here, but when your focus in on enhancing VO2 max, a higher then 100 percent intensity should not be used.
http://www.coolrunning.com/...raining/hampson.html Cheers,
Neal
Cheers, Neal
+1 mph Faster