Your aerobic ceiling, measured rather than estimated.
You walk, then run, on a treadmill that gets progressively harder while we measure the air you breathe in and out. Around ten to fifteen minutes of effort, ending at your genuine limit. What comes out is the number your watch has been guessing at for years — and the training zones that follow from it.
- Graded treadmill test
- ~15 min of effort
- Zones you can train to
What comes out of it
VO₂ max, in ml/kg/min
The maximum oxygen your body can use per minute, per kilogram. It's one of the most consistently strong predictors of long-term health outcomes in the literature — and unlike most such markers, it responds to training within weeks.
Real heart-rate zones
Zones derived from your measured thresholds, not from 220-minus-age. If your easy runs have felt too hard for years, this is usually why.
Ventilatory thresholds
The two points where your breathing changes character — the boundaries of true Zone 2 and the pace you can hold for an hour. These matter more for programming than the max itself.
Fuel crossover point
The intensity at which you shift from mostly fat to mostly carbohydrate. Useful for fueling long efforts, and for knowing where your aerobic base actually ends.
It's harder than a workout, and it's over quickly.
People worry about the mask. In practice you forget about it within a minute, because the rest of the test asks for your full attention. You'll start at a walk, the belt will get faster and steeper on a fixed schedule, and you'll signal when you're done. Most people last ten to fifteen minutes.
Stopping is normal and expected. A valid test just needs you to reach your own limit — the plateau in oxygen uptake is what defines a maximum, not a particular pace or duration. There's a technician beside you the entire time.
You do not need to be an athlete for this to be worth doing. A fifty-year-old who has never tested has the most to gain from knowing their number, because the improvement curve is steepest at the bottom and the health association is strongest there too.
Who this is worth the effort for
Runners and cyclists
Zones you can actually train in, and a number to retest against after a build.
Anyone doing Zone 2
Most estimates put Zone 2 well above where it belongs. One test settles it.
Longevity-minded
Cardiorespiratory fitness is one of the strongest modifiable markers there is. Worth a yearly number.
Coming back from a layoff
A starting point that makes early progress visible instead of theoretical.
Pair with a DEXA scan
VO₂ max is expressed per kilogram, so body composition moves it directly. Having both readings in the same visit tells you whether a change came from the engine or from the load it's carrying.
Book both — $198Or the full panel
Add RMR and you have resting metabolism, working metabolism, and structure in ninety minutes — the yearly checkpoint version.
Book the full panel — $297