<Li> External workload cycling: power output expressed in watts and measured by a power meter . </Li> <P> VO max estimates provided by the Firstbeat method are most accurate during running activities that utilize GPS to capture external workload data . This combination has been validated to be 95% accurate compared to laboratory testing . Because the Firstbeat estimation method is sub-maximal in nature, accuracy of the estimate is strongly tied to validity of the HRmax value used in the calculation . </P> <P> The average untrained healthy male will have a VO max of approximately 35--40 mL / (kg min). The average untrained healthy female will score a VO max of approximately 27--31 mL / (kg min). These scores can improve with training and decrease with age, though the degree of trainability also varies very widely: conditioning may double VO max in some individuals, and will never improve it in others . In one study, 10% of participants showed no benefit after completing a 20 - week conditioning program, although the other 90% of the test subjects all showed substantial improvements in fitness to varying degree . </P> <P> In sports where endurance is an important component in performance, such as cycling, rowing, cross-country skiing, swimming and running, world - class athletes typically have high VO maxima . Elite male runners can consume up to 85 mL / (kg min), and female elite runners can consume about 77 mL / (kg min). Five time Tour de France winner Miguel Indurain is reported to have had a VO max of 88.0 at his peak, while cross-country skier Bjørn Dæhlie measured at 96 mL / (kg min). Dæhlie's result was achieved out of season, and physiologist Erlend Hem who was responsible for the testing stated that he would not discount the possibility of the skier passing 100 mL / (kg min) at his absolute peak . Norwegian cyclist Oskar Svendsen is thought to have recorded the highest VO max of 97.5 mL / (kg min), when aged 18 . </P>

What is vo2 max and how is it tested