You've probably seen that number on your smartwatch—the one that tells you how "fit" you are compared to other people your age. It’s your VO2 max. Basically, it is the maximum amount of oxygen your body can use during intense exercise. Most people think it’s just a metric for marathon runners or Tour de France cyclists, but honestly, it’s one of the strongest predictors of how long you’re going to live. Dr. Peter Attia often talks about this on his podcast, The Drive, noting that moving from the bottom 25% to the top 25% for your age group is a bigger health upgrade than quitting smoking.
Getting that number up isn't about casual strolls. It's work. Hard work. But if you want to know which exercises to increase VO2 max actually move the needle, you have to stop thinking about "cardio" as a single thing. It’s a spectrum of intensity.
Why Your Heart Is a Pump, Not Just a Muscle
Think of your cardiovascular system like a delivery service. Your lungs grab the "packages" (oxygen), your heart is the "sorting facility," and your blood vessels are the "delivery trucks." If the trucks are slow or the facility is backed up, the muscles don't get the fuel they need to keep moving at high speeds.
When we talk about the best exercises to increase VO2 max, we are trying to do two things. First, we want to make the heart bigger and stronger so it can pump more blood per beat—that’s "stroke volume." Second, we want the muscles to get better at pulling that oxygen out of the blood. It's a supply-and-demand problem. If you don't create a massive demand, your body has no reason to upgrade the supply chain.
The Norwegian Secret: 4x4 Intervals
If you look at the research coming out of the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), one specific protocol stands out above almost everything else. It’s the 4x4. This isn't a walk in the park. You’re going to suffer a bit.
The 4x4 involves four minutes of high-intensity effort followed by three minutes of active recovery. You do this four times. During those four minutes, you should be at about 85% to 95% of your maximum heart rate. You shouldn't be able to hold a conversation. If you can talk about what you had for dinner, you aren't going fast enough.
Dr. Jan Helgerud and Dr. Jan Hoff, the researchers behind much of this data, found that this specific "zone" is the sweet spot. Why? Because four minutes is long enough to keep your heart at its maximum stroke volume for a significant amount of time, but short enough that you don't collapse before the interval is over. If you do 30-second sprints, your heart doesn't even reach its peak pumping capacity before the interval ends. You're working your muscles, sure, but you're not necessarily maximizing the "pump" adaptation.
Hill Sprints: Gravity is Your Best Trainer
Running on a flat road is fine, but if you really want to spike your oxygen demand, find a hill. Gravity adds a layer of resistance that forces more muscle fibers to recruit. More muscle recruitment means more oxygen is needed.
Try this: find a hill with a 6% to 10% grade. Sprint up it for 60 seconds. Walk back down slowly. The descent is your recovery. Repeat this 6 to 10 times.
The beauty of hill sprints is the reduced impact. When you run flat-out on level ground, the force on your joints is massive. On a hill, your stride is shorter and your landing is "higher" up the slope, which actually saves your knees while making your heart scream. It's a win-win for longevity.
Cycling and the Power of the "All-Out" Effort
Not everyone is a runner. Honestly, running can be brutal if you’re carrying extra weight or have old sports injuries. This is where the stationary bike—specifically the Echo bike or a Concept2 BikeErg—becomes a weapon.
The "Wingate Test" style of training is legendary for boosting VO2 max. You go absolutely, 100% all-out for 30 seconds. Then you rest for 4 minutes. You do this maybe 4 or 5 times. It sounds easy because the work time is low, but the intensity is so high that your body enters a state of "oxygen debt" that it spends the next 24 hours trying to pay back.
However, a more sustainable cycling approach for exercises to increase VO2 max is the "Pyramid."
- 2 minutes hard / 2 minutes easy
- 3 minutes hard / 3 minutes easy
- 4 minutes hard / 4 minutes easy
- 3 minutes hard / 3 minutes easy
- 2 minutes hard / 2 minutes easy
This variation prevents boredom and hits different energy systems.
Rucking: The Functional VO2 Max Builder
You’ve probably seen people walking around with weighted backpacks. That’s rucking. It’s essentially the foundation of Special Forces training. While a normal walk might not get your heart rate high enough to improve VO2 max, adding 20 to 50 pounds changes the math entirely.
Rucking is "zone 2" or "zone 3" training on steroids. It might not give you the same peak spike as a 4x4 interval session, but it builds incredible "work capacity." If you’re a beginner, rucking is arguably the safest way to start your journey. It keeps your heart rate elevated for a long duration without the eccentric loading (the pounding) of running.
For the best results, don't just walk on a treadmill. Go to a trail with varying terrain. The constant adjustment to rocks, roots, and inclines forces your cardiovascular system to adapt to unpredictable demands.
The Role of Zone 2: Why You Can’t Always Go Hard
It’s tempting to think that to increase VO2 max, you should just do high-intensity intervals every day. Do not do that. You will burn out, your cortisol will skyrocket, and you’ll likely get injured.
Elite athletes—the ones with the highest VO2 maxes in the world—actually spend about 80% of their time in Zone 2. This is a pace where you can still talk, but you'd rather not. It feels easy. Too easy. But this "base" training builds the mitochondrial density in your slow-twitch muscle fibers.
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Think of it like a pyramid. Your VO2 max is the peak. The wider the base (your Zone 2 fitness), the higher the peak can go. If you only do intervals, you're building a needle-thin tower that will eventually tip over. You need those long, boring 45-to-90-minute sessions of steady-state cycling or jogging to support the high-intensity work.
Misconceptions About VO2 Max Exercises
People often think weightlifting increases VO2 max. Sorta, but not really. While a heavy set of squats will make you breathe hard, it’s usually because of local muscular fatigue and a spike in blood pressure, not because your heart is being forced to pump maximum volumes of oxygenated blood for a sustained period.
Circuit training is a bit of a middle ground. If you’re doing kettlebell swings, burpees, and thrusters with zero rest, you will see some VO2 max improvements, especially if you're starting from a sedentary baseline. But eventually, your muscles will give out before your heart does. To truly maximize your aerobic ceiling, you need "cyclic" movements—running, swimming, rowing, cycling—where the muscles don't "lock up" and prevent the heart from reaching its limit.
Real-World Stats: What Should You Aim For?
What’s a "good" number? It depends on who you ask.
- Average Sedentary Male: 35–40 mL/kg/min
- Average Sedentary Female: 27–30 mL/kg/min
- Elite Endurance Athletes: 80–90+ mL/kg/min (Cross-country skier Joan Benoit Samuelson or cyclist Greg LeMond are classic examples).
If you can get your number into the 50s as a middle-aged man or 40s as a middle-aged woman, you are statistically in a very elite bracket for health and longevity.
Actionable Next Steps to Build Your Engine
Don't overcomplicate this. Most people fail because they try to do a professional athlete's program on day one. Here is how you actually start.
1. Establish Your Baseline
You don't need a lab. Go to a local track and do the "Cooper Test." Run as far as you can in 12 minutes. Note the distance. There are dozens of online calculators that can estimate your VO2 max based on that distance. It’s not perfect, but it gives you a starting point.
2. The 80/20 Split
Plan your week. If you have five days to train, make four of those days "easy" (Zone 2). This could be a 45-minute brisk walk with a weighted vest or a light jog. Make one day your "hard" day. This is where you perform your exercises to increase VO2 max like the 4x4 intervals or hill sprints.
3. Use the "Talk Test"
Forget the fancy heart rate monitors for a second if they overwhelm you. On your easy days, you should be able to speak in full sentences. On your hard day, during the intervals, you should only be able to grunt out one or two words. If you're "kinda" tired on both days, you're stuck in the "gray zone" where you're too tired to recover but too slow to adapt.
4. Track Progress Every 8 Weeks
VO2 max is a slow-moving metric. It takes time for your heart to physically change shape and for your capillaries to proliferate. Re-test your 12-minute run or your favorite hill climb every two months. If the numbers are going up, your plan is working.
5. Prioritize Sleep and Protein
High-intensity intervals are a massive stressor on the central nervous system. If you aren't sleeping 7–8 hours, your body won't "repair" the heart and lung tissue you're stressing. Treat your recovery with the same intensity as your hill sprints.
Improving your VO2 max is probably the single best thing you can do for your future self. It’s the difference between playing with your grandkids in thirty years or watching them from a chair. Pick one hard session this week and just get it done.