Is 42 a good VO2 max?
Your age and sex decide. For a man, 42 is below the middle in his 20s, about the 73rd percentile in his 40s and in the top 10 percent from 60. For a woman, it’s about the top 10 percent in her 30s and above that from 40.
A VO2 max is like a marathon time. The same time means one thing for a 25-year-old man and another for a 65-year-old woman, and nobody judges it without the runner’s age. VO2 max works the same way, but most watches hand you the number and leave you to guess.
We’d call 42 good for any woman and for any man over 30, and very good for a man past 50. For a man in his 20s it’s a starting point, below the middle for his age.
42, decade by decade
The table places 42 on the US FRIEND chart, from lab treadmill tests of 16,278 healthy adults.
| Age | A man at 42 | A woman at 42 |
|---|---|---|
| 20s | About the 36th percentile, below average | About the 71st, above average |
| 30s | About the 56th, above average | About the 90th, high |
| 40s | About the 73rd, above average | Above the 90th, high, top 10 percent |
| 50s | About the 87th, high | Above the 90th, top 10 percent |
| 60s and up | Above the 90th, top 10 percent | Above the 90th, top 10 percent |
The groups are the plain names from the Cleveland Clinic study of 122,007 treadmill tests. FRIEND stops at the 90th percentile, so past that the chart can only say “top 10 percent”.
A man at 42 has the fitness age of a typical 32-year-old, whatever his real age. A woman at 42 is above the middle for women in their 20s, so her fitness age is 25 or younger.
Where did your 42 come from?
The source changes the answer more than most people expect.
- Apple Watch. Series 10 came in 6.25 points under a lab test on average. A watch 42 most likely means a lab number around 48, somewhere from 42 to 54. For a man in his 40s, 48 would be about the 85th percentile.
- Garmin or another running watch. Right on average across 14 studies, about 5 either way, so likely 37 to 47.
- A field test like the 12-minute run, about 4 to 7 points either way.
The next step up
For a man in his 40s, 42 sits about 1 point below the top quarter, which starts at 43.1. In the Norwegian 4x4 trial, three hard sessions a week raised VO2 max 7.2 percent in eight weeks, so a gain of that size would take about three weeks at the same pace. A watch won’t show it, though. A change under about 2 to 4 points is inside the noise of every estimate, so retest the same way after 8 to 12 weeks.
Put your own number and age in the tool below, or see what’s a good VO2 max for a man? and for a woman.
What your result means, and what to do next
- Low or below average. Most of the health gap sits in the first step up, so this is where training pays the most.
- Above average or high. Hold it as the years pass. Holding steady after 40 already counts as climbing.
- The next group up is a target for one training block, but people respond very differently, from almost nothing to a lot.
- Make sure the number is real. A watch can be several points off. Get your true VO2 max
- Start the two layers. Cardio most days at a pace where you can still talk, and one or two hard sessions a week. How to raise it
- Retest the same way in 8 to 12 weeks. Same test, same route or same watch. Believe a change of more than 2 to 4 points.
5 sources
- Kaminsky LA and others, Updated reference standards for cardiorespiratory fitness measured with cardiopulmonary exercise testing (FRIEND), Mayo Clinic Proceedings, 2022mayoclinicproceedings.org
- Lambe R and others, Accuracy of VO2 max estimates from Apple Watch Series 10, Mayo Clinic Proceedings: Digital Health, 2026pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Molina-Garcia P and others, Validity of estimating the maximal oxygen consumption by consumer wearables: a systematic review with meta-analysis and expert statement of the INTERLIVE network, Sports Medicine, 2022pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Helgerud J and others, Aerobic high-intensity intervals improve VO2max more than moderate training, Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, 2007europepmc.org
- Mandsager K and others, Association of Cardiorespiratory Fitness With Long-term Mortality Among Adults Undergoing Exercise Treadmill Testing, JAMA Network Open, 2018pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
