Threshold Training Stood Out for VO2 Max Gains
Higher weekly mileage also tracked with modest improvements in fitness and easy-run pace.
Coros records tied threshold sessions to the largest average VO2 max increase: 0.6 percent across 12 weeks. Mayo Clinic professor Michael Joyner also identified sustained, hard intervals near 5K effort as especially effective. These workouts challenge the heart’s pumping capacity and help muscles receive and use oxygen more efficiently.
More running was associated with smaller gains. Coros users running four days weekly recorded a 0.1 percent change, compared with 0.4 percent among those running six days. Weekly totals above 100K corresponded with a 0.5 percent increase. Runners covering 50 miles or more also shifted their average easy pace from 13:21 to 10:04 during the same period.
Apple findings similarly connected improving cardio fitness with progressively harder training and greater activity. Still, VO2 max varies with age, sex, genetics and starting fitness. Joyner said pace, race performance and how difficult a familiar speed feels can also show whether fitness is improving. Higher VO2 max can make running feel less demanding and is associated with lower risks for several diseases and death from any cause.
- Above-average fitness corresponded with more than 200 active minutes weekly.
- High fitness corresponded with more than 300 active minutes weekly.
- A run of 15K or longer tracked with roughly 0.2 percent improvement.
- Watches estimate VO2 max using outdoor pace and heart rate.
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