Having a high VO2 max means your body is able to deliver more oxygen to your muscles, which in turn can help you run faster.

VO2 max has a large genetic component, so once you improve your score, there will be a limit to what you're capable of, meaning genetic factors set an individual ceiling on VO2 max improvement potential.

Workout 2 involves performing 10 burpees every minute on the minute, taking the rest of the minute as recovery, and continuing for 20 minutes in total, with the caveat that participants might need to increase the number of burpees if they find they're spending more than half of each minute recovering.

Workout 4 involves eight exercises (squat jumps, push-ups, skater jumps, mountain climbers, jumping lunges, jumping jacks, tuck jumps, burpees) performed for 40 seconds each with 20 seconds rest between them for 8 minutes per set, with a goal of 2-4 sets depending on fitness level and 2 minutes recovery between sets.

Workout 3 uses burpees, mountain climbers, squats and thrusts with overhead press using 3 kg dumbbells, and jumping jacks, performed in order for 20 seconds with 10 seconds rest for one set at all-out effort, completing 10-16 sets with no rest between sets.

The video building on previous content about VO2 max is important for viewers to understand why VO2 max improvement matters before learning how to improve it.

There is a large genetic factor to VO2 max that will limit how much an individual is able to improve their score by, meaning runners with similar VO2 max scores can have drastically different running performances depending on running economy and how effectively their body uses oxygen.

Running economy is a measure of how efficiently a runner is, and a runner with better running economy can sustain a pace closer to the velocity at which they hit VO2 max compared to someone with lower running economy, making it a critical factor distinct from VO2 max itself.

Lactate threshold is a measure of your aerobic capacity, usually used to define your tempo or long runs, and pushing up the speed at which you hit your lactate threshold is a key benefit of endurance aerobic training, allowing you to hold faster paces during races and longer runs.

Research has shown that running intervals of only 30 seconds with total session volumes of only around 5 minutes completed over a period of only around 4 weeks can still have a positive impact on VO2 max, but for maximum impact you need intervals in excess of 2 minutes for a session duration of more than 15 minutes over a period of between 4 and 12 weeks.

VO2 max is a numerical measurement of your body's ability to consume oxygen, measured in milliliters of oxygen per kilogram of mass per minute, and directly impacts endurance performance because running and cardiovascular exercise require oxygen to produce energy.

A 2018 study compared three groups assigned to treadmill running HIT workouts, bodyweight circuit HIT workouts, or moderate intensity continuous running, and found that undertaking whole body circuit training improved VO2 max, speed at VO2 max, and running economy comparably to treadmill running.

A 2019 study showed that it was possible to achieve the same cardiovascular response as running through repeated drop jumps—where you drop off a step or platform and rebound into a jump—with repeated sets of nine drop jumps every 15 seconds with 15 seconds recovery producing the same amount of time working above 90% of VO2 max as running interval sessions.

While the best way to improve VO2 max for running is through running, there are a whole load of workouts you can do at home without specialist equipment that can increase your VO2 max, with research supporting this approach.

To maximize VO2 max improvement from non-running home workouts, you need to hit in excess of 15 minutes of overall session volume, which is achieved by putting together exercises with very short recovery intervals that keep your heart rate elevated and give it very little time to drop.

For VO2 max training workouts, you should work at between 90 and 100 percent of VO2 max, which is very tough, and 'all-out' in high-intensity interval training means an intensity level you can sustain for the entire workout without excessive exhaustion.

Workout 1 consists of squat jumps, mountain climbers, skater jumps, and squat thrusts performed in order for 30 seconds with 15 seconds of rest for one set lasting 6 minutes, then complete 2-4 sets in total depending on fitness level with 2 minutes rest between sets.

Plyometric exercises involve jumping and rebounding which can put extra stress through muscles and tendons, so if you aren't used to doing that kind of exercise or are building up to it, it's recommended to stick to bodyweight exercises first before building up to more extreme plyometric exercises.

Skipping or jump rope is a simple and relatively low-impact alternative to plyometric exercises that has been shown to have similar positive benefits to running, as demonstrated by a 2020 study showing that skipping improved foot arch stiffness, reactive strength index, ground contact time, and 3-kilometer time trial performance.

The recommendation for building up to plyometric exercises is to integrate 5 minutes of skipping rope drills into your running warm-up routine 2-4 times a week, which should be enough to have a positive impact on foot arch stiffness, reactive strength, and running performance.