VO2 max declines about 10% per decade after 30 in untrained adults, roughly 5% per decade in trained adults. To compare your score meaningfully, use age- and sex-adjusted norms. Pick your decade below for the full percentile breakdown, category thresholds, and training targets for your bracket.
VO2 max in your 20s
Ages 20–29Median for men: 48.0 ml/kg/min. Median for women: 37.6.
See full norms →VO2 max in your 30s
Ages 30–39Median for men: 42.4 ml/kg/min. Median for women: 30.2.
See full norms →VO2 max in your 40s
Ages 40–49Median for men: 37.8 ml/kg/min. Median for women: 26.7.
See full norms →VO2 max in your 50s
Ages 50–59Median for men: 32.6 ml/kg/min. Median for women: 23.4.
See full norms →VO2 max in your 60s
Ages 60–69Median for men: 28.2 ml/kg/min. Median for women: 20.0.
See full norms →VO2 max in your 70s
Ages 70–79Median for men: 24.4 ml/kg/min. Median for women: 18.3.
See full norms →
Split by sex
If you only want one side of the chart, these two pages list every age bracket on a single page:
Why age-adjusted norms matter
Raw VO2 max numbers are misleading across age groups. A 40 ml/kg/min result sits at the ~55th percentile for a 35-year-old man (average) but at the ~80th percentile for a 55-year-old (excellent). Without age adjustment, a 55-year-old who improves from 35 to 40 might conclude they are still "below average" — when in fact they have moved from good to excellent for their age.
The same logic applies across sexes. A 30 ml/kg/min reading is "fair" for a 30-year-old man but "average" for a 30-year-old woman. The ACSM categories — Poor, Fair, Average, Good, Excellent, Superior — are always interpreted within a single age-and-sex bracket.