vVO2max

vVO₂max (velocity at maximal oxygen uptake) is an intense running or swimming pace. This is the minimum speed for which the organism's maximal oxygen uptake is reached (after a few minutes of exercise at this intensity); at higher paces, additional power is entirely delivered by anaerobic processes. At this pace, blood lactate in the muscles reaches levels around 8-10 mM.

The vVO₂max of world class middle- and long-distance runners may exceed 24 km/h (14.9 mph or about 4:00/mile pace), making this speed slightly comparable to 3000 m race pace. For many athletes, vVO₂max may be slightly slower than 1500 m or mile race pace.

Training

Research by Véronique Billat has shown that training at vVO₂max pace improves both VO₂max and the economy required to maintain pace at this intensity.^[1][2]

Training at vVO₂max takes the form of interval workouts. For example, 3 x 1000 m with 3 minutes recovery between each repetition.

Determining vVO₂max from VO₂max

The formula from Léger and Mercier^[3] links the VO₂max to the vVO₂max, supposing an ideal running technique.

vVO₂max = VO₂max / 3.5

where vVO₂max is in km/h and VO₂max is in mL/(kg•min).

Note: This formula is identical to that used to calculate the Metabolic Equivalent of Task (MET) score for a given VO₂max estimation.

See also

• Anaerobic exercise
• High-intensity interval training
• Lactate threshold
• Respirometry
• Running economy
• Training effect
• VO2max
• Metabolic equivalent
• VDOT

References