What is considered a good VO2 max?

In the ACSM framework, "Good" means the 60th–79th percentile for your age and sex. For a 35-year-old man, that's roughly 45–49 ml/kg/min. For a 35-year-old woman, 33–36 ml/kg/min.

Is 50 a good VO2 max?

For a man under 40, 50 ml/kg/min is "Good to Excellent" (roughly 75th–85th percentile). For a woman under 40, 50 is "Superior" (95th percentile or above). For a man over 60, 50 is well into "Superior" territory.

What is an elite VO2 max?

Elite endurance athletes typically test 65–85 ml/kg/min (men) and 55–75 ml/kg/min (women). Cross-country skier Bjørn Dæhlie tested above 96; elite road cyclists routinely test 75–85. These are 10–20 ml/kg/min above the general-population 95th percentile.

Is there a minimum VO2 max for health?

Research suggests mortality risk rises sharply below ~18 ml/kg/min in men and ~15 in women. The ACSM classifies below the 20th percentile as "Poor" — a category associated with 2–3× higher all-cause mortality risk compared to the 60th–79th percentile.

What Is a Good VO2 Max?

A "good" VO2 max depends entirely on your age and sex. In the ACSM framework used by exercise physiologists, the 60th–79th percentile is "Good" and the 80th–94th is "Excellent." For a 35-year-old man, that means 45–49 ml/kg/min is good and 49–57 is excellent. For a 35-year-old woman, 33–36 is good and 36–41 is excellent.

Know your number? Enter it to see your exact percentile.

Drill down

By sex: men

Good VO2 max for men at every age decade.

By sex: women

Good VO2 max for women at every age decade.

By age

Good-VO2-max thresholds by decade, both sexes.

Full percentile chart

Every value from 5th to 95th, every age bracket.

The six ACSM categories

ACSM's Guidelines for Exercise Testing and Prescription, 11th edition, uses six categories based on percentile rank within age and sex. They are:

Poor: below 20th percentile.
Fair: 20th–39th percentile.
Average: 40th–59th percentile.
Good: 60th–79th percentile.
Excellent: 80th–94th percentile.
Superior: 95th percentile and above.

"Good" is the practical target for most people: it is achievable in 12–24 weeks of structured training from Average, and it is associated with meaningfully lower all-cause mortality in long-term cohort studies.

Looking up specific values

Want to know if a specific number is good? We have dedicated pages for every integer VO2 max from 25 to 70. Examples:

Frequently asked questions

What is considered a good VO2 max?: In the ACSM framework, "Good" means the 60th–79th percentile for your age and sex. For a 35-year-old man, that's roughly 45–49 ml/kg/min. For a 35-year-old woman, 33–36 ml/kg/min.
Is 50 a good VO2 max?: For a man under 40, 50 ml/kg/min is "Good to Excellent" (roughly 75th–85th percentile). For a woman under 40, 50 is "Superior" (95th percentile or above). For a man over 60, 50 is well into "Superior" territory.
What is an elite VO2 max?: Elite endurance athletes typically test 65–85 ml/kg/min (men) and 55–75 ml/kg/min (women). Cross-country skier Bjørn Dæhlie tested above 96; elite road cyclists routinely test 75–85. These are 10–20 ml/kg/min above the general-population 95th percentile.
Is there a minimum VO2 max for health?: Research suggests mortality risk rises sharply below ~18 ml/kg/min in men and ~15 in women. The ACSM classifies below the 20th percentile as "Poor" — a category associated with 2–3× higher all-cause mortality risk compared to the 60th–79th percentile.