Want to Boost Your VO2max? Try This 41-Minute Running Workout

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IF YOUR BODY is a machine, the size of its engine is your VO2 max, a measure of how quickly you can pump oxygen from your lungs through your bloodstream and into your leg muscles. A higher VO2 max translates to better capacity for endurance, and may influence longevity. The best way to increase your VO2 max is with hard interval workouts. Specifically, repeated intervals lasting three to five minutes, with equal or shorter recovery.

How to Run the Ultimate V02MAX Builder A GOOD PLACE to start to build your VO2max is with this workout:

Begin with an easy warm-up run of at least five minutes. Alternate 4:00 hard, 4:00 recovery, and repeat four times. Finish with a cooldown of at least four minutes.

The hard sections should be as hard as you can sustain for the entire workout—not an all-out sprint from the start. It will take some trial and error to find that edge.

Resist the urge to collapse to the ground between reps; walking or light jogging will help you recover more quickly. Get your breathing under control before starting the next one.

As you become fitter, you can cut the recovery intervals down to three or even two minutes. Make every rep count, and repeat once a week.

This story originally appears in the May-June 2025 issue of Men’s Health.

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