Walk to your VO2 Max
VO2 max is a measurement of the maximum amount of oxygen you can use during intense exercise. It’s an indicator of high performance for athletes. Last spring, I headed to exercise physiology lab at UNH to get my VO2 max tested.
I was on a treadmill, with all sorts of stuff stuck to me. A mask with a tube was on my face to measure the composition of the air I was exhaling, I had a heart rate monitor, blood drawn from my finger every few minutes and had (at least) 6 grad students standing around the treadmill watching me run. It was a very challenging test, especially in the stuffy laboratory.
For most people, going into a lab to find out your VO2 max is completely unnecessary. Last week I was reminded of a much simpler way to get your VO2 max while listening to Dr. Andy Galpin on the Huberman Lab Podcast.
The Rockport Walk test is a way for you to calculate an estimated VO2 max needing nothing but a place to walk and fingers to check your pulse at the end.
Here’s how to do it:
Warm up first! Walking an additional 5-10 minutes before starting your mile is crucial.
Start your mile. Walk quickly but avoid running. Push it faster than your regular walking pace.
At the end of the mile, make note of your time and immediately measure your heart rate. You could use a heart rate monitor (I would only recommend a chest strap, not a wrist HR monitor). Or you could use you fingers, find your pulse and count for a minute.
After completing the test plug your numbers into this formula to get the results.
VO2 max = 132.853 - (0.0769 x your weight in pounds) - (0.3877 x your age) + (6.315 if you are male or 0 if you are female) - (3.2649 x your walking time in seconds) - (0.1565 x your heart rate at the end of the test)
An important aside that I heard during this conversation was that a VO2 max of 18 ml/kg/min is the bare minimum elderly people needed to live alone. We often think of VO2 max as an indicator of high performance, which it is. However, we can’t forget that these basic performance markers aren’t only important for high-level athletics, but they also have a greater meaning in our everyday lives.
Get to walking!
Justin Miner
@justinminergain
