How to Improve Your VO2 Max Without Living on a Bike
To improve your VO2 max, you need two things: one or two short sessions a week of hard intervals that keep you working near your limit for several minutes at a time, and a base of easier aerobic work that you can sustain for longer. For most busy adults, around two to three hours of total cardio a week, built that way, is enough to see the number move over two to three months. You do not need to become a cyclist. You need a plan that respects intensity, stays consistent, and leaves room for the strength training that should sit alongside it.
What VO2 max actually measures
VO2 max is the maximum rate at which your body can take in, transport and use oxygen during hard exercise. It is usually expressed in millilitres of oxygen per kilogram of body weight per minute. Three things set it: how much blood your heart can pump with each beat, how much oxygen your blood can carry, and how well your working muscles extract and use that oxygen.
That last point matters. Because the figure is expressed per kilogram, losing body fat can improve your score without any change in your heart or lungs. It is worth knowing when you compare readings across a period in which your weight changed.
It has become a popular number because it is a reasonable summary of cardiorespiratory fitness, which is widely recognised as an important marker of long-term health. That is a good reason to train it. It is not a reason to obsess over the second decimal place on your watch.
The two types of training that raise it
1. Hard intervals near your ceiling
The most direct stimulus is time spent working close to your maximum. That means intervals long enough for your heart rate and breathing to climb towards their peak, typically three to five minutes, with recovery of a similar or slightly shorter length. A widely used format is four intervals of four minutes, hard enough that the last minute of each feels like a real effort but you could still finish the set, with three minutes of easy movement between.
The effort is the part people get wrong. These should feel genuinely hard: speaking more than a word or two at a time should be difficult by the end of each rep. They should not be all-out sprints that leave you unable to finish the next interval. If the fourth interval is far weaker than the first, the first was too hard.
2. Easier aerobic volume
The second ingredient is longer, easier work at a pace where you could hold a conversation. It builds the plumbing (more capillaries, more efficient muscles) and lets you handle the hard sessions better. It is also the part that is easiest to fit into London life, because brisk walking up a hill, cycling to work or a steady swim all count. Our post on zone 2 cardio covers how to pitch it.
People who only do hard intervals tend to plateau and get tired. People who only do easy work tend to improve slowly. Combining the two is what works for most adults.
A weekly plan that fits a working week
This is the structure I use with clients who want better cardiovascular fitness but also want to keep training for strength. It assumes two coached strength sessions a week.
| Session | What it is | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Interval session | Warm-up, then 4 x 4 minutes hard with 3 minutes easy between. Air bike, rower, hill or bike. | 35-40 min |
| Easy aerobic 1 | Conversational pace. Brisk walk, cycle, swim or easy jog. | 40-60 min |
| Easy aerobic 2 | As above, or split across a commute. | 30-60 min |
| Strength x 2 | Full-body lifting, with a short finisher on the air bike if time allows. | 60 min each |
Fitter clients can add a second interval session with shorter reps, for example five or six efforts of two to three minutes. I would not go beyond two hard sessions a week for anyone with a demanding job. The UK Chief Medical Officers suggest at least 150 minutes of moderate or 75 minutes of vigorous activity a week, or a mix of the two, and the NHS summary of the guidelines is a good reference. The plan above sits comfortably above that floor.
Why the air bike is useful for intervals
Any machine or terrain works. In the studio we use an air bike because it suits busy people well. Resistance rises with how hard you push, so the bike matches your effort without anyone touching a dial. It uses arms and legs together, which raises heart rate quickly. And it is low impact, which matters for people whose knees or Achilles complain about hard running. The downside is that it is easy to start too fast. Pacing four-minute efforts on an air bike takes a couple of sessions to learn, which is a good use of a coach’s eye. There is a fuller session guide in our post on air bike intervals.
How to tell whether it is working
A lab test with a mask and a treadmill is the only direct measure. Most people rely on a sports watch, which estimates VO2 max from heart rate and pace or power. These estimates are useful for spotting a trend over months, less useful for absolute numbers, and can be thrown off by poor heart rate readings, hills, heat or a change in how you train. Treat a single reading lightly and watch the direction over eight to twelve weeks.
Simpler signs often tell you more:
- The same interval session feels easier, or you cover more distance or power at the same effort.
- Your heart rate drops faster in the recovery between intervals.
- Your resting heart rate drifts down over a few months.
- Highgate Hill or the escalator at Archway stops feeling like an event.
Common mistakes
- Making every session hard. Hard days lose their value when there is no easy day to recover on.
- Intervals that are too short. Twenty-second sprints have their place, but longer efforts are a more direct way to spend time near your ceiling.
- Dropping strength training. Muscle and strength matter for health as you age. Cardio should sit alongside lifting, not replace it.
- Expecting change in a fortnight. Give a consistent plan two to three months before judging it.
Hard intervals are demanding on the heart. Check with your GP first if you have a heart condition, high blood pressure, chest pain or dizziness on exertion, are pregnant, or are returning after a long break. Build up through easier work for a few weeks before adding near-maximal efforts.
Questions we get asked
How quickly can VO2 max improve?
Previously inactive people often see a measurable change within a couple of months of consistent training. Already fit people improve more slowly and need more precise programming.
Does strength training improve VO2 max?
Not much on its own, especially in people who already do some cardio. It improves many other things, though, and well-structured circuits will raise your heart rate. The two work best together.
Is running better than cycling for VO2 max?
Both work. Running tends to produce slightly higher readings because more muscle is involved, but the best mode is the one you will do consistently without injury.
Can a personal trainer help with cardio?
Yes, mainly with pacing intervals, balancing hard and easy weeks, and fitting it around strength work. We programme conditioning as part of 1-1 personal training at The Highgate House, and you can read more about how our Highgate studio sessions run.
Book with The Highgate House
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