3196: What is VO2 Max and How Can You Improve Your Fitness and Heart Health on Fitness Science

Optimal Health Daily - Fitness and Nutrition

Optimal Living Daily LLC

Fitness, Health & Fitness, Nutrition

4.4 • 671 Ratings

🗓️ 21 November 2025

⏱️ 8 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Discover all of the podcasts in our network, search for specific episodes, get the Optimal Living Daily workbook, and learn more at: OLDPodcast.com. Episode 3196: Dr. Neal Malik breaks down what VO2 max actually measures and why it matters for your overall health and fitness. He explains how this number reflects your heart and lung efficiency and gives practical, adaptable tips to improve it, making your workouts more effective and your body more resilient. Quotes to ponder: "VO2 max refers to the maximum amount of oxygen you can consume and use at a given time." "If your body can quickly and efficiently send oxygen-rich blood to the rest of your body then it means your heart and lungs are doing their jobs." "Be consistent with inconsistency, meaning try to mix up your workout routines every so often." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Why are businesses like HelloVet choosing Apple products and services?
0:04.8	So we started the business two years ago.
0:07.2	We had a few people who were used to PCs and this was their first foray into Macs.
0:12.5	But it's been super smooth getting everyone onto those devices and everyone seems really, really happy.
0:18.0	Find out how Mac can help you run and grow your business at apple.com
0:22.7	forward slash hello vet. It's another Q&A edition of Optimal Health Daily, and I'm Dr. Neil Malick.
0:31.7	A very happy Friday to you, welcome to another Q&A edition of Optimal Health Daily, where I answer your
0:37.1	health questions
0:37.8	related to fitness, diet and nutrition, and lots more. You send me the questions, and I answer
0:43.1	them for you. Let's get right to today's question as we optimize your life.
0:51.9	Hi, Dr. Neal. My name is Dana. Thank you for bringing us such a valuable show. My question concerns V-O-2 Max. I saw this number in my phone's health app, which syncs to the watch I use to record my workouts. I'm 31 years old, and this number is slightly over 40. My question is, what is V-O-2 max? What exactly is it measuring? And should I care about it?
1:14.1	If so, how can I improve it? Thank you so much.
1:17.7	Thank you for your question, Dana. Honestly, you have paid me the highest compliment.
1:22.6	By saying you find the information I provide useful to you, this is why I keep the show going. I hope that you and
1:29.4	others like you find what I discuss helpful, always. So thank you for mentioning that. All right,
1:36.0	you asked about V-O-2 Max. This term is commonly used in the fitness industry. It's basically an
1:42.1	abbreviation for volume of O2 Max, where O2 refers to oxygen. So you may
1:49.4	wonder, why is oxygen referred to as O2? Well, when oxygen is found in the air as a gas, it's often
1:55.7	found in pairs. So if you were to look at the oxygen we breathe under a powerful microscope,
2:01.9	you would actually see that really it's two oxygen molecules bound together.
2:06.3	Okay, so we have established so far that the V in V-O-2 Max stands for volume, and the O2 means oxygen.
2:15.3	The term max is actually a bit more obvious. It stands for maximum. So, V-O-2 Max
	...

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