Is VO2 max the same thing as fitness?

It is a useful marker of aerobic fitness, but it is not the whole story. Efficiency, pacing, and sport specific skills matter too.

Why is my VO2 max higher for running than cycling?

Different sports create different heart rates and movement patterns, and wearables may estimate VO2 max differently depending on the activity.

Can I compare my VO2 max to my friend’s?

It is most meaningful if you compare within similar age and gender brackets, and ideally using the same sport and device.

My VO2 max dropped. Should I worry?

Not from one reading. Look at the trend, and consider whether the day was unusual. Short term dips are often fatigue, illness, heat, or sensor noise.

What if my VO2 max is “Poor”?

It means below average for your bracket on that chart. Use it as a baseline and track changes over time. If you have health concerns or symptoms, speak with a healthcare professional.

Want to go beyond the number?

ROUVY has dedicated VO2 max resources and VO2 max workouts in the app and knowledge base.

VO2 Max Chart by Age and Gender – What’s a Good VO2 Max

Take a breath. VO2 max is genuinely useful, but it is also one of the easiest metrics to misread. The trick is not the number itself. The trick is context: age, gender, and how your device estimates it.

This guide does three things:

shows VO2 max reference charts by age and gender.
explains what “average”, “good”, and “excellent” actually mean.
explains what you can do if you want VO2 max to improve.

Key takeaways

VO2 max is your maximum aerobic capacity, usually shown as mL/kg/min.
Most wearables estimate VO2 max, so single day swings are normal.
Use age and gender charts to interpret whether your score is below average, average, good, or excellent for your bracket.
Percentiles are a simple mental model: 50th is average, 75th is the top quarter, 90th is the top 10 percent.
If you want to improve VO2 max, the main levers are consistent training, some regular hard efforts, and enough recovery to absorb them.

What is VO2 max?

VO2 max is the maximum amount of oxygen your body can use during hard exercise. In general, higher VO2 max values reflect a larger aerobic engine. Most devices display VO2 max in mL/kg/min. That is oxygen used per minute, scaled to body weight. Two people can be equally fit and still show different numbers due to size, sport, and how the estimate was calculated.

Wearable note: measured vs estimated

A lab VO2 max test measures oxygen intake directly. Most people will never do that. A wearable typically estimates VO2 max from sensor data during certain activities, then maps the result to a score and a category. Useful, yes. Perfect, no.

VO2 max chart by age and gender

VO2 max tends to decline with age, even in active people. Average values also differ between men and women. So the only fair comparison is within your age and gender bracket.

Use the tables below to see where your number sits. These are presented as category thresholds: Poor, Fair, Good, Excellent, Superior.

Rating	Percentile	20–29	30–39	40–49	50–59	60–69	70–79
Superior	95th	55.4	54.0	52.5	48.9	45.7	42.1
Excellent	80th	51.1	48.3	46.4	43.4	39.5	36.7
Good	60th	45.4	44.0	42.4	39.2	35.5	32.3
Fair	40th	41.7	40.5	38.5	35.6	32.3	29.4
Poor	<40th	<41.7	<40.5	<38.5	<35.6	<32.3	<29.4

Percentile
Superior	95th
Excellent	80th
Good	60th
Fair	40th
Poor	<40th

20–29
Superior	55.4
Excellent	51.1
Good	45.4
Fair	41.7
Poor	<41.7

30–39
Superior	54.0
Excellent	48.3
Good	44.0
Fair	40.5
Poor	<40.5

40–49
Superior	52.5
Excellent	46.4
Good	42.4
Fair	38.5
Poor	<38.5

50–59
Superior	48.9
Excellent	43.4
Good	39.2
Fair	35.6
Poor	<35.6

60–69
Superior	45.7
Excellent	39.5
Good	35.5
Fair	32.3
Poor	<32.3

70–79
Superior	42.1
Excellent	36.7
Good	32.3
Fair	29.4
Poor	<29.4

	Percentile	20–29	30–39	40–49	50–59	60–69	70–79
Superior	95th	49.6	47.4	45.3	41.1	37.8	36.7
Excellent	80th	43.9	42.4	39.7	36.7	33.0	30.9
Good	60th	39.5	37.8	36.3	33.0	30.0	28.1
Fair	40th	36.1	34.4	33.0	30.1	27.5	25.9
Poor	<40th	<36.1	<34.4	<33.0	<30.1	<27.5	<25.9

Percentile
Superior	95th
Excellent	80th
Good	60th
Fair	40th
Poor	<40th

20–29
Superior	49.6
Excellent	43.9
Good	39.5
Fair	36.1
Poor	<36.1

30–39
Superior	47.4
Excellent	42.4
Good	37.8
Fair	34.4
Poor	<34.4

40–49
Superior	45.3
Excellent	39.7
Good	36.3
Fair	33.0
Poor	<33.0

50–59
Superior	41.1
Excellent	36.7
Good	33.0
Fair	30.1
Poor	<30.1

60–69
Superior	37.8
Excellent	33.0
Good	30.0
Fair	27.5
Poor	<27.5

70–79
Superior	36.7
Excellent	30.9
Good	28.1
Fair	25.9
Poor	<25.9

Above charts are referenced from Garmin VO2 max Standard Ratings.

How to read a VO2 max chart

Use three steps:

Choose the right table for your gender.
Find your age bracket.
Match your VO2 max number to the category band.

Example: a 45 year old man with a VO2 max of 44

In the 40–49 bracket for men, 42.4 marks Good and 46.4 marks Excellent. A score of 44 sits in Good, leaning toward Excellent.

Example: a 55 year old woman with a VO2 max of 31

In the 50–59 bracket for women, 30.1 marks Fair and 33.0 marks Good. A score of 31 sits in Fair, close to Good.

That is the job of the chart: it turns a floating number into a benchmark you can actually interpret.

What is a good VO2 max?

A “good” VO2 max is not one magical number. It is a position relative to your peers. These labels usually align with percentiles:

Fair is around the 40th percentile.
Good is around the 60th percentile.
Excellent is around the 80th percentile.
Superior is around the 95th percentile.

Plain English translation:

Fair: lower middle for your bracket.
Good: above average for your bracket.
Excellent: well above average for your bracket.
Superior: top end for your bracket.

If your device says Good, it means you are above average for people in your age and gender group.

VO2 max levels, ranges, and differences between men and women

Most wearable VO2 max scores fall into broad ranges:

Teens to low 20s: low aerobic fitness.
Mid 20s to mid 30s: developing or moderate aerobic fitness.
Mid 30s to mid 40s: solid recreational endurance fitness.
50+: very high, often seen in highly trained endurance athletes, especially in younger age brackets

Two useful reminders:

Gender differences are normal. That is why the charts are separated. Compare like with like.
Sport and device can affect estimates. Some people will see different VO2 max values for running vs cycling because the data and model inputs differ. The cleanest tracking is within the same sport and device over time.

VO2 max percentiles by age

Percentiles answer the question people usually mean: “Where do I rank?”

How to interpret percentiles:

50th percentile: average for your bracket.
75th percentile: top quarter.
90th percentile: top 10 percent.
10th percentile: bottom 10 percent.

If your wearable provides a percentile, it is often the quickest way to interpret VO2 max because it skips the category labels and goes straight to ranking.

How to interpret your VO2 max score

This is the practical part, especially for wearable users.

Interpretation in 60 seconds

Step 1: Confirm the basics

Are your age, weight, and gender settings correct in the app?
Was the score recorded during a normal activity, not stop start stress and not a day you felt unwell?

Step 2: Use the chart

Find your bracket and category.
Decide whether you are below average, around average, or above average for your bracket.

Step 3: Use trend, not single readings

VO2 max estimates can move around day to day. What matters is the direction over weeks and months. If your monthly trend rises,that is meaningful. If it dips after a rough week, that is often fatigue, stress, or messy data.

Step 4: Know common reasons for fluctuations

Your VO2 max estimate may shift because of:

Heat, dehydration, illness, poor sleep, stress.
Route and terrain differences, plus stop start patterns.
Inaccurate heart rate readings (wrist sensors can be inconsistent for some people).
Changes in body weight settings, or models that lag behind recent fitness changes.

A simple rule: trust the long term trend, question the one off spike or dip.

hot weather for cycling.jpg

Step 5: Get a cleaner VO2 max reading from your wearable

If your VO2 max number seems jumpy, the goal is not to chase the score. The goal is to give the device cleaner inputs so the estimate settles.

A few practical checks help:

Use the right activity type. Some devices are more confident in estimating VO2 max during steady outdoor runs or rides than during stop start sessions, gym work, or mixed terrain.
Avoid messy data days. Lots of junctions, traffic lights, pausing, or hard surges can confuse the model because it struggles to match effort to speed or power consistently.
Sort your heart rate signal. Wrist HR can be inconsistent for some people. Wearing the watch slightly tighter and higher up the arm often helps. If you use a chest strap, you will usually get a cleaner signal.
Keep your profile accurate. Age, gender, and body weight settings matter because VO2 max is scaled to body weight. If your profile is wrong, your score is incorrect.
Compare like with like. The most useful view is the trend from the same device, in the same sport, across similar conditions. Comparing different devices or different sports can be interesting, but it is rarely a fair fight.

When your inputs are consistent, the trend becomes easier to trust.

What should I actually do if I want to improve VO2 max?

If you want VO2 max to rise, the goal is simple: challenge the aerobic system regularly, then recover well enough to adapt. The details vary by sport and schedule, but the main levers are consistent.

The big drivers that move VO2 max

1) Consistency beats hero weeks

Regular training over months matters more than one huge week followed by two weeks of nothing.

2) Include some higher intensity work

VO2 max tends to improve when training includes efforts that push breathing and heart rate high.

3) Keep a strong aerobic foundation

Hard work pays off when you also do enough low to moderate intensity work.

4) Recover properly

VO2 max does not improve during the session. It improves after, when your body adapts. Poor sleep and poor recovery are common reasons people plateau.

5) Fuel the work

Under-fuelling reduces session quality and consistency. You do not need perfection, but you do need enough energy to complete harder sessions and recover from them.

6) Track progress the right way

Use your wearable as a trend tool:

VO2 max trend (monthly view beats daily view).
Resting heart rate trends.
How a known pace or power feels over time.

When those improve together, you are moving in the right direction.

How often?

Most riders do best with one to two VO2 max focused sessions per week, depending on experience and overall training load. The rest should support those sessions with aerobic work and recovery so you can hit the quality consistently.

Want a guided way to work on VO2 max without guessing? ROUVY’s structured workouts and training plans help you hit the right intensity consistently. Explore the VO2 max focused sessions in the app and choose a plan that matches your current level.

VO2 max chart by age and gender - What’s a good VO2 max