Measured VO₂max norms (FRIEND) give medians of 48.0 and 37.6 mL/kg/min at 20–29, falling to 24.4 and 18.3 at 70–79
What is a good VO₂max for my age?
The finding
Median VO₂max (P50) was 48.0 mL/kg/min for men and 37.6 for women at 20–29, and 24.4 and 18.3 at 70–79. The authors describe the cross-sectional decline as about 10% per decade.
- Authors
- Kaminsky LA, Arena R, Myers J
- Published
- Mayo Clinic Proceedings 90(11):1515–1523 · 2015
- Evidence
- Read in the primary source; numbers checked.
- Source
- doi.org/10.1016/j.mayocp.2015.07.026
How it was studied
FRIEND registry: 7,783 maximal treadmill tests with gas analysis (RER at least 1.0) from 8 US labs, 2014–15, in adults 20–79 without cardiovascular disease. Only 137 men and 98 women were aged 70–79.
The numbers
Men, P10 / P25 / P50 / P75 / P90 / P95: 40–49 26.8 / 31.9 / 37.8 / 45.0 / 52.1 / 55.6; 50–59 22.8 / 27.1 / 32.6 / 39.7 / 45.6 / 50.7; 60–69 19.8 / 23.7 / 28.2 / 34.5 / 40.3 / 43.0; 70–79 17.1 / 20.4 / 24.4 / 30.4 / 36.6 / 39.7.
Women: 40–49 18.8 / 22.1 / 26.7 / 32.4 / 38.4 / 41.7; 50–59 17.3 / 19.9 / 23.4 / 27.6 / 32.0 / 35.9; 60–69 14.6 / 17.2 / 20.0 / 23.8 / 27.0 / 29.4; 70–79 13.6 / 15.6 / 18.3 / 20.8 / 23.1 / 24.1.
What it does not show
A convenience sample of lab referrals, few people over 70, and no 80+ band in the 2015 table.
What Longstanding does with it
The app does not use this table today: it scores VO₂max against the Cooper Institute table, which reads stricter at older ages (see the next study). Which table to use is an open decision, and until it is made the site names the table on every result.