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Your VO2 max is the maximum volume of oxygen your body can import, transport and utilise each minute during intense physical activity.
A higher VO2 max is generally better than a lower VO2 max. A higher VO2 max means that your body is better at taking oxygen from the air and delivering it to your muscles. To improve your VO2 max it is essential to follow a structured training program that is designed to improve this metric.
But once this is in place, can nutrition play a role in improving your VO2 max?
The main reasons dehydration has a negative effect on exercise performance can be summarised as follows (1):
• Reduction in blood volume
• Decreased skin blood flow
• Decreased sweat rate
• Decreased heat dissipation
• Increased core temperature
• Increased rate of muscle glycogen use
One of the more prominent physiological mechanisms affecting your VO2 max is maximal cardiac output (2).
Dehydration reduces plasma volume and increases blood viscosity causing a decrease in central venous pressure.
During intense exercise, these changes can decrease the amount of blood entering the heart during the phase where the heart relaxes and fills with blood (diastole).
Less blood entering the heart during diastole decreases the amount of blood that leaves the heart during the phase where the heart contracts, consequently decreasing cardiac output.
Studies have shown that there is a negative correlation between maximum oxygen uptake and body fat percent. This could be because fat cells require oxygenation alongside an increase in total body weight (3, 4, 5).
As you can see in the graph below, as body fat percentage decreases VO2max increases.
Effect of BMI, Body Fat Percentage and Fat Free Mass on Maximal Oxygen Consumption in Healthy Young Adults (3)
There is a complex relationship between dietary methods and aerobic capacity. Low fat / high carb, high fat / low carb, vegetarian, vegan...there is research to support all of these in improving your VO2max (6, 7, 8). It comes down to finding a dietary method that helps you train hard to elicit a change in your fitness level. You can follow any diet well or you can follow it poorly. Whatever diet you choose it is making sure you are eating enough to support the level of training you are doing. Concerning the last point on body fat, you need to ensure you find a balance between reducing body fat to an adequate level and not being in a deficit for extended periods which will have a negative impact on your performance.
Interestingly a recent review showed that there is a possible increase in VO2max and submaximal endurance following a Mediterranean and plant-based diets, but a decrease in performance if doing intermittent fasting (8).
One potential mechanism that could explain why a vegan/vegetarian diet improves VO2 max is the higher amount of carbohydrates (9). Evidence has shown a greater carbohydrate intake may be associated with better endurance performance (10,11).
To further support this a study on footballers there was positive correlation observed between carbohydrate intake and VO2max (12).
Foods high in nitrates, such as beets and leafy greens, can improve oxygen efficiency by enhancing blood flow and reducing the oxygen cost of exercise (13,14).
This can lead to improvements in VO2 max by making the body more efficient at utilising oxygen during exercise.
Iron is also an essential nutrient for oxygen transport in the blood. Adequate iron levels can prevent anaemia and improve endurance performance (15).
As you can see, increasing VO2 max is multifactorial, so please do not jump to this section without getting your training, diet, sleep, and recovery all in order. There are some nutrients that have been shown to help improve VO2 max but more research is needed.
We have recently launched Peak Endurance, an endurance supplement with a unique blend of PEAKO2® and a high-dose beetroot extract that helps to support your endurance performance.
Nitrates and PEAKO2® are ingredients that have been shown to
There are a number of factors that influence your VO2max such as your age, sex, genetics, the training you’re currently doing, training status, muscle fibre and physiology. Although your VO2max may come down to picking your parents, you can see improvements with the correct training and nutrition. Big rocks first. Then the details.
