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VO₂ Max

VO2 Max refers to the maximal oxygen consumption during exercise, and is thought to reflect the abilities of the cardiorespiratory system (heart and lungs) to handle high intensity cardiovascular exercise (anaerobic exercise).

Kamal Patel
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Summary of VO₂ Max

VO2 stands for ventillary oxygen and represents the amount of oxygen you’re inhaling.

VO2 max represents the maximal rate at which you can use oxygen during exercise.

Three things to remember:

VO2 max is a common parameter of cardiorespiratory fitness because, as you become fitter, you become better at using oxygen to produce energy (your VO2 max increases).

Moreover, exercise intensity is often reported as a percentage of VO2 max based on the assumption that more intense exercise requires that you consume more oxygen to fuel your mitochondria (the power generators in your cells).

Nevertheless, higher VO2 max doesn’t always translate as better sports performance, because sports often involve moments when energy requirements are so great (the intensity is so high) that oxygen isn’t used to generate the required energy.

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Human Effect Matrix

Unlocked for Examine Plus members

The Human Effect Matrix looks at human studies to tell you what supplements affect VO₂ Max.

Full details on all VO₂ Max supplements are available to Examine Plus members.
Grade Level of Evidence
Robust research conducted with repeated double-blind clinical trials
Multiple studies where at least two are double-blind and placebo controlled
Single double-blind study or multiple cohort studies
Uncontrolled or observational studies only
Level of Evidence
? The amount of high quality evidence. The more evidence, the more we can trust the results.
Supplement Magnitude of effect
? The direction and size of the supplement's impact on each outcome. Some supplements can have an increasing effect, others have a decreasing effect, and others have no effect.
Consistency of research results
? Scientific research does not always agree. HIGH or VERY HIGH means that most of the scientific research agrees.
Notes
grade-b
Creatine
Minor Low See all 6 studies
Improvements in VO2 max are not wholly reliable, and appear to be low in magnitude.
grade-b
Beta-Alanine
- Moderate See all 5 studies
Effects on VO2 max are highly unreliable and not currently thought significant.
grade-b
Colostrum
- Very High See all 6 studies
All studies assessing the effects of colostrum in athletes subject to cardiovascular training have failed to find any difference between colostrum and whey protein (control) for influencing VO2 max.

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grade-b
Fish Oil
 
grade-b
Sodium Bicarbonate
 
grade-c
Ashwagandha
 
grade-c
Coenzyme Q10
 
grade-c
Echinacea
 
grade-c
Green Tea Catechins
 
grade-c
Resveratrol
 
grade-c
Caffeine
 
grade-c
Capsaicin
 
grade-c
Cordyceps
 
grade-c
Curcumin
 
grade-c
L-Carnitine
 
grade-c
Rhodiola Rosea
 
grade-c
Trimethylglycine
 
grade-c
Vitamin C
 
grade-c
Yerba mate
 
grade-d
Eleutherococcus senticosus
 
grade-d
Iron
 
grade-d
HMB
 
grade-d
Ketogenic diet
 
grade-d
Marijuana
 

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This page is regularly updated, to include the most recently available clinical trial evidence.

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This page features 0 references. All factual claims are followed by specifically-applicable references. Click here to see the full set of research information and references for VO₂ Max.

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