🏃 VO2 Max by Age — Female Calculator
Find your aerobic fitness category and see how you compare to women your age
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🏆 Your VO2 Max Results
🏅Female VO2 Max Fitness Levels
📋VO2 Max Norms for Women by Age (ACSM)
| Age Group | Poor | Below Avg | Average | Above Avg | Excellent |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Women 20–29 | <29 | 29–34 | 35–43 | 44–48 | >49 |
| Women 30–39 | <27 | 27–31 | 32–40 | 41–44 | >45 |
| Women 40–49 | <24 | 24–28 | 29–36 | 37–40 | >41 |
| Women 50–59 | <21 | 21–24 | 25–32 | 33–36 | >37 |
| Women 60–69 | <18 | 18–22 | 23–30 | 31–34 | >35 |
| Women 70+ | <16 | 16–20 | 21–26 | 27–30 | >31 |
📉Female VO2 Max by Activity Profile
| Profile | Age | Typical VO2 Max | Category |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sedentary, no regular exercise | 35 | 26–30 | Poor — Below Avg |
| Walks 30 min, 3× per week | 35 | 31–36 | Average |
| Jogs 3–4 days/wk, ~5K pace | 35 | 37–43 | Average — Above Avg |
| Regular runner or cyclist | 35 | 44–50 | Excellent |
| Competitive endurance athlete | 28 | 55–65 | Superior |
| Active senior (yoga + walking) | 62 | 28–33 | Above Avg for age |
💨Heart Rate Training Zones (Women)
| Zone | % Max HR | Feel | VO2 Max Benefit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Zone 1 | 50–60% | Very easy, conversational | Recovery only |
| Zone 2 | 60–70% | Easy, can hold a conversation | Aerobic base building |
| Zone 3 | 70–80% | Moderate, harder to talk | Moderate improvement |
| Zone 4 | 80–90% | Hard, short sentences only | Strong VO2 max gains |
| Zone 5 | 90–100% | Maximum, cannot speak | Peak VO2 max stimulus |
VO2 max measures the highest heart fitness. This value shows how many milligrams of oxygen the body uses per kilo of weight during one minute. During aerobic sports the heart mainly must send more oxygen-rich blood with nutrients to the cells, so that they can produce energy from those.
That helps also well estimate the level of aerobic fitness.
VO2 Max in Women
Typical VO2 max in women lies 15 to 30 percent under that of men. The causes include more body fat and fewer hemoglobin in the blood. Even sporty women have more fat than men, what is natural.
The VO2 max adjusts according to the fat amount, because the heart pumps blood equally to inactive fat and to working muscles. Moreover women commonly own fewer muscle and a more small heart, what lowers their skill.
On average men reach bigger VO2 max than women, but they commonly experience more marked decrease during the age. Although, brilliant female marathon runners surpass the average man by means of much higher value. An untrained woman on average have VO2 max of around 2,0 L/min.
According to the American College of Sports Medicine, average VO2 max for women according to age are: 20, 29 years: 39,5, 30, 39: 37,8, 40, 49: 36,3, 50… 59: 33, 60, 69: 30 and 70, 79: 28,1. According to age, good VO2 max for women lies between 28 and 40.
For a 30-year-old woman, 45, 52 marks good level, while 52 or more are excellent. For women in there 40s averages around 26… 29, above 29 is good and 34 is wonderful.
Top female runners in cross-country reach around 65 to 70 ml/kg/min. Female runners have values of 60 to 65, and very good lightweight rowers can reach about 65. Bright people usually lie between 45 and 55, competitive amateurs between 55 and 65, while top women go from 65 to 75 or even more.
Young olympic female athlete would reach at least 60.
Regular movement strengthens the aerobic skill. Sporty women have higher VO2 max. Exercises, that strengthen muscles and bones, help to improve or keep those values. Walking forms a good start, and every kind of activity adds its part.
Before inactive older adults between 60 and 65 years, that trained during 9 months to a year, both sexes raised their VO2 max on average by 20 percent. The simplest way to grow VO2 max is ease the body andstrengthen the threshold.
Some monitors of heart rhythm use VO2 max to estimate the calorie use during training. Folk with low VO2 max spend fewer calories at same heart rhythm than some with high value. Their devices, as those of Garmin, count it according to sex, age and kind of activity.
