A GOOD VO2MAX
CHARTS BY: AGE,
GENDER, SPORT AND
ATHLETE FITNESS
Whether a VO2max of 50 is good depends on
your age and gender. Moreover, while average
VO2max values tell you something about your
health, athletes should compare their VO2max
with other athletes, not the general population.
That’s why in this article we provide numerous
VO2max comparison charts, based on age and
gender, for both athletes and nonathletes.
BONUS: elite athlete VO2max records.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Before comparing your VO2max rating with
VO2max normative values, first make sure you
understand what VO2max is, and how it affects
performance.
NORMATIVE VO2MAX
DATA BY AGE AND
GENDER
When you want to know whether your VO2 max is
average, good or bad, you need to take age and
gender into account. Athletes should also
compare their VO2max with other athletes, not
the average population.
Before we have a closer look at how sex
(male/female), age and sport affect VO2max
normative data, let’s first have a look at the
VO2max tables.
WHAT IS A GOOD VO2MAX BY
AGE FOR MALES?
On average, a good VO2max for men ranges
between 30-40 ml/kg/min. Depending on your
age, a VO2max above 35 ml/kg/min is
considered fit for males.
Men who wonder whether they have a good
VO2max can compare their own VO2max with
the following norm values by age. Keep in mind
that these VO2max scores are for nonathletes.
They tell you something about whether your
VO2max is healthy, instead of race competitive.
Scroll further down this article to get VO2max
ranges for male athletes!
Male VO2max classification based on data from scientific
literature for nonathletes
VO2MAX NORMS FOR MEN
Age Poor Fair Average Good Excellent
≤29 ≤ 24.9 25-33.9 34-43.9 44-52.9 53
30-39 ≤ 22.9 23-30.9 31-41.9 42-49.9 50
40-49 ≤ 19.9 20-26.9 27-38.9 39-44.9 45
50-59 ≤ 17.9 18-24.9 25-37.9 36-42.9 43
60-69 ≤ 15.9 16-22.9 23-35.9 36-40.9 41
Male VO2max classification based on data from scientific
literature for nonathletes.
WHAT IS A GOOD VO2MAX BY
AGE FOR FEMALES?
On average, a good VO2max for women ranges
between 25-35 ml/kg/min. Depending on your
age, a VO2max above 30 ml/kg/min is
considered fit for females.
Women who want to know whether their VO2max
is good for their age can compare their own
VO2max with the following VO2max ranges by
age. Keep in mind that these VO2max scores
are for nonathletes. They tell you something
about whether your VO2max is healthy, instead
of race competitive. Scroll further down this
article to get VO2max ranges for female athletes!
Female VO2max classification based on data from scientific
literature for nonathletes.
VO2MAX NORMS FOR WOMAN
Age Poor Fair Average Good Excellent
≤29 ≤ 24.9 25-33.9 34-43.9 44-52.9 53
30-39 ≤ 22.9 23-30.9 31-41.9 42-49.9 50
40-49 ≤ 19.9 20-26.9 27-38.9 39-44.9 45
50-59 ≤ 17.9 18-24.9 25-37.9 36-42.9 43
60-69 ≤ 15.9 16-22.9 23-35.9 36-40.9 41
Female VO2max classification based on data from scientific
literature for nonathletes.
VO2MAX SCORES FOR CHILDREN
When looking at the average relative VO2max
scores for children, boys remain level at about 52
ml/kg/min, while girls show a downward slope.
This is due to changes in body composition.
Relative VO2max values for children between
age 6 and 17. Boys (solid), girls (dashed).
[source]
Relative VO2max scores in children do not
accurately reflect aerobic performance, since
both girls and boys increase their aerobic
performance, even though VO2max remains the
same (boys) or decreases (girls). That’s why it
might be better to look at absolute values.
The average absolute VO2max value of boys and
girls remain similar until about age 12. From then
on, the difference starts to grow, probably due to
changes in body composition and daily physical
activity levels.
Absolute VO2max values for children between
age 6 and 17. Boys (solid), girls (dashed).
[source]
VO2MAX SCORES:
WOMEN VS MEN
As you noticed, men have higher VO2max values
compared to women, for the same age and
fitness.
Literature shows that women typically have a
VO2max score 15% to 30% below VO2max values
of male counterparts. This is partly due to extra
body fat and lower hemoglobin concentrations.
However, highly trained female endurance
athletes have VO2max values that are much
closer to those of highly trained male endurance
athletes i.e. only about 10% lower.
Also: the VO2max of physically active females
generally exceeds those of sedentary males.
Range of VO2max values for untrained women and men,
and female athletes and male athletes.
ABSOLUTE AND RELATIVE
VO2MAX VALUES
When comparing VO2max values, it’s important
to note whether you express VO2max in absolute
values or relative values.
The difference in VO2max between men and
women is largest when looking at absolute
VO2max (liters per minute, L/min). The difference
becomes smaller when looking at relative
VO2max (milliliters per kg body weight per
minute, ml/kg/min), and even smaller when
expressing aerobic capacity by fat-free body
mass (milliliters per kg fat-free body weight per
minute, ml/kg FFM/min).
VO2MAX VALUES WHEN
AGING: HOW TO
PREVENT A DECLINE?
On average VO2max declines roughly 1% per
year (0.4 – 0.5 ml/kg) or 10% per decade in adult
men and women, starting at the age of 25. Note
that this could also be partly caused by an
increase in weight, since we’re talking about a
VO2max relative to bodyweight.
There’s a difference between sedentary and
active individuals: sedentary people lose their
maximal oxygen consumption (VO2max) twice
as fast as active people.
When you maintain a physically active lifestyle
and healthy body composition, your average
decline can be minimized to about 0.25
ml/kg/min per year. However, you can’t fully
prevent an age related decline in aerobic power
with aging.
That said, the effect of your physical activity level
influences VO2max greater than age per se. As a
result, elderly can still increase their VO2max:
After 9 months of endurance training men aged
63 ±3 years were able to significantly increase
their VO2max by 19% (from 2.35 L/min to 2.8
L/min). Women aged 64 ± 3 years were able to
significantly increase their VO2max by 22% (from
1.36 L/min to 1.66 L/min).
WHAT IS A GOOD
VO2MAX FOR ATHLETES
- PER SPORT?
On average, a good VO2max for athletes ranges
between 40-60 ml/kg/min.
Athletes who want to know if they have a good
VO2max can not rely on previous VO2max charts,
because those were based on the general
population.
When you’re a runner or cyclist, you shouldn’t
compare your VO2max to the average VO2max.
Instead you should be interested in the VO2max
for athletes, preferably per sport.
When using the INSCYD performance software,
you automatically see whether your VO2max is
low, average, good or high, compared to other
athletes in your sport. It takes several things into
account:
Gender: male vs female
Sport: e.g. football players usually have a
lower VO2max than XC skiers
Fitness level: e.g. recreational, amateur and
professional
INSCYD also enables you to create your own
VO2max comparison group. For instance when
you coach a team. You can easily compare the
VO2max values within your team.
INSCYD performance software enables you to quickly see
how well an athlete scores on performance metrics like
VO2max. INSCYD performance software automatically ranks
your VO2max against a comparison group in the same
sport.
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Here’s a list of sports, with common VO2max
values for athletes, based on the literature. The
VO2max tables are separated between male
athletes and female athletes and show age
ranges.
Representative ranges of VO2max values for
male athletes by age and sport.
VO2MAX FOR MALE ATHLETES BY
AGE AND SPORT
Sport Age Lower Upper
Skiing (Nordic) 20-28 65 94
Track and field (running) 18-39 60 85
Bicycling 18-26 62 74
Speed skating 18-24 56 73
Rowing 20-35 60 72
Swimming 10-25 50 70
Skiing (alpine) 18-30 57 68
Canoeing 22-28 55 67
Wrestling 20-30 52 65
Soccer 22-28 54 64
Ski jumping 18-24 58 63
Ice hockey 10-30 50 63
Racquetball 20-35 55 62
Jockey 20-40 50 60
Football 20-36 42 60
Basketball 18-30 40 60
Track and field (running) 40-75 40 60
Gymnastics 18-22 52 58
Baseball and softball 18-32 48 56
Track and field (discus) 22-30 42 55
Orienteering 20-60 47 53
Weightlifting 20-30 38 52
Track and field (shot put) 22-30 40 46
Representative ranges of VO2max values for
male athletes by age and sport.
VO2MAX FOR FEMALE ATHLETES
BY AGE AND SPORT
Representative ranges of VO2max values for female athletes
by age and sport.
Sport Age Lower Upper
Skiing (Nordic) 20-28 60 75
Track and field (running) 18-39 50 75
Rowing 20-35 58 65
Soccer 22-28 50 60
Racquetball 20-35 50 60
Orienteering 20-60 46 60
Basketball 18-30 43 60
Swimming 10-25 40 60
Track and field (running) 40-75 35 60
