Numerous factors come into play when you want to improve your cycling performance, including following a training plan, doing workouts off the bike, and adopting a strong mental game. But one of the most important factors that affects your rides is your VO2 max.
VO2 max is a measure of the total amount of oxygen you can take in and use during an effort, but it’s not only about how much comes in—it’s also about how well you utilize that oxygen, especially when you’re at full force. Think of it as a measure of efficiency: The more you can maximize that process, the greater your endurance and speed.
The most notable challenge with assessing your VO2 max is that you may not have access to a sports lab with a gas analyzer or open-circuit spirometer, which measures the amount of oxygen you consume while on a stationary bike.
However, most smartwatches will also estimate your VO2 max for you, even if it’s not as accurate as an in-lab test.
In terms of how to increase your VO2 max, consider these suggestions from certified cycling coaches and researchers on how to increase your efficiency in ways that can lead to performance gains.
1. Do HIIT Workouts Regularly
If you haven't incorporated high-intensity interval training (HIIT) into your training rotation yet, this may be the prompt to get you there: Research suggests that HIIT can significantly increase VO2 max compared to an endurance-only approach. For example, a study in Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise with 40 moderately trained participants found that HIIT boosted VO2 max better than running a long distance at a steady pace.
Another study, done with cyclists and published in PLoS One, noted that HIIT can increase VO2 max by up to 46 percent in six months, with participants doing HIIT sessions three times per week.
In terms of how to replicate these results in your own cycling, sprint intervals may get you there, especially if you focus on a longer recovery time. For example, a recent study in Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise looked at VO2 max in 14 participants who performed four 10-second sprints with 80 seconds of recovery compared to two 20-second sprints with 160 seconds of recovery. Gains in VO2 max were greater with the latter strategy.
How do you put this into practice? For a beginner or intermediate rider, a solid starting point is doing six work intervals for three minutes, with four minutes of rest in between, according to certified cycling coach Garret Seacat, C.S.C.S., of Train Absolute. He tells Bicycling this would look like:
- Warmup: 15 minutes of easy riding
- Intervals: 6 x 3 minutes at maximum effort with 4 minutes of easy riding between each
- Cooldown: 10 minutes easy riding
“For a more advanced or experienced rider, you can typically handle a harder and longer time spent in that [max effort] zone with slightly less relative rest,” Seacat adds. “These are especially good for endurance and gravel racers.” Here’s what that entails:
- Warmup: 15 minutes of easy riding
- Intervals Set 1: 6 x 4 minutes at maximum effort with 4 minutes of easy riding between
- Intervals Set 2: Go straight from the last interval into a zone 2 for 20 minutes
- Cooldown: 10 to 15 minutes easy riding
2. Keep Endurance Rides on the Schedule
Doing sprint intervals once or twice weekly can be a boon, but so can the type of long, slow distance riding that builds endurance, says certified cycling and running coach Paul Warloski of Simple Endurance Coaching.
“The long, slow distance helps build the metabolic adaptations, including increased mitochondria and capillarization, and greater fat utilization that leads to improved VO2 max because your body is more efficient at using oxygen,” he tells Bicycling. “An example of this pace is doing a several-hour ride where you are easily able to talk with someone.”
Research in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health looking at VO2 max in endurance athletes backs this up, and also adds that as you increase performance level through endurance training, the more stable your VO2 max can become over time.
3. Add in High-Load Strength Training
While cycling intervals are helpful for VO2 max, research indicates that strength training can play a role as well. A meta-analysis in Sports Medicine looked at training variables for runners, researchers looked at the effects of high-load strength sessions (heavier weights with a lower number of reps), plyometric training, isometric training, and submaximal load sessions (involving more reps with lighter weights).
They found high loads improved running economy—a terms that refers to using oxygen efficiently, similar to VO2 max—the most, and those results would likely apply to cycling, according to principal author Cristian Llanos-Lagos, Ph.D., researcher in sports sciences at Universidad Pablo de Olavide in Spain, and certified cycling coach. That’s because this type of training created neuromuscular adaptations that boosted recruitment of lower-body muscles, he tells Bicycling.
“All strength training provides benefits, and we do believe it’s important to include multiple types because they can offer different advantages,” he says. But when it comes to increasing VO2 max specifically, throwing some high-weights, low-reps sessions into your training mix may yield some efficiency gains.
4. Focus on Consistency
Like any training plan that focuses on progress, the key is consistency, suggests Warloski.
To keep riding regularly, create a plan, especially if you’re aiming for more interval workouts. For example, if you start with one HIIT workout per week, add in another weekly session on a non-consecutive day after about four weeks. Focusing on that type of progression from the start can help you create a training framework that leads to VO2 max gains.
Also, check in on your perceived rate of exertion if you’re not doing VO2 max assessments on a regular basis. When your sprint intervals or endurance rides begin to feel easier, that’s when it’s time to add more challenge as a way to keep progressing. (But also celebrate those wins of efforts feeling easier—that means your increasing your VO2 max.)
Over time, it’s likely that even without knowing your specific VO2 max number, you'll start to build cycling economy in a meaningful way.
Elizabeth Millard is a freelance writer focusing on health, wellness, fitness, and food.
