MAXIMAL OXYGEN UPTAKE NORMS FOR MEN (ml/kg/min)

18-25
years old

26-35
years old

36-45
years old

46-55
years old

56-65
years old

65+
years old

excellent

>60

>56

>51

>45

>41

>37

good

52-60

49-56

43-51

39-45

36-41

33-37

above average

47-51

43-48

39-42

35-38

32-35

29-32

average

42-46

40-42

35-38

32-35

30-31

26-28

below average

37-41

35-39

31-34

29-31

26-29

22-25

poor

30-36

30-34

26-30

25-28

22-25

20-21

very poor

<30

<30

<26

<25

<22

<20

MAXIMAL OXYGEN UPTAKE NORMS FOR WOMEN (ml/kg/min)

18-25
years old

26-35
years old

36-45
years old

46-55
years old

56-65
years old

65+
years old

excellent

>56

>52

>45

>40

>37

>32

good

47-56

45-52

38-45

34-40

32-37

28-32

above average

42-46

39-44

34-37

31-33

28-31

25-27

average

38-41

35-38

31-33

28-30

25-27

22-24

below average

33-37

31-34

27-30

25-27

22-24

19-22

poor

28-32

26-30

22-26

20-24

18-21

17-18

very poor

<28

<26

<22

<20

<18

<17

These are Relative, not absolute VO2 max figures (liters of Oxygen divided by body mass in kg).

VO2 max is the product of systemic blood flow (cardiac output) and systemic oxygen extraction (arteriovenous oxygen difference).  More simply, VO2 max is a technical term for your aerobic capacity.  It indicates the maximal capacity of the cardiorespiratory system to utilize O2.  

HOW VO2 max RELATES TO MASTERS SWIMMING :

Endurance training through swimming, for at least 1 hr (three x wk) at an intensity of 50-85% VO2 max will improve your VO2 max.  The range of improvement can be as high as a 15% increase in VO2 max after 3 months of training, but this depends on where your fitness level starts from.  (A more fit person may only see a 3% gain in this time).

Interval training designed to improve VO2 max should utilize intervals longer than 60 seconds to maximize the involvement of ATP production. 

Furthermore, interval training provides training “overload”, meaning the number of intervals can be modulated, as well as the duration and intensity of the interval.

The 5 components that we consider when designing interval training sets are:

length of interval (time)
  1. intensity of the effort
  2. duration of rest in between each swim
  3.  number of interval sets
  4. number of work repetitions  

.