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VO2 max means the volume of oxygen a person can consume in one minute as he or she exercises at maximum exertion.  It is the key to a person's aptitude for endurance sports.  It's measured by hooking up test subjects to a breathing apparatus and having them run as hard as they can. In endurance sports, you rely on oxygen to convert the fuel you get from food into energy for your muscles. VO2max is usually expressed in terms of body weight (milliliters of oxygen per kilogram of body weight), so merely losing weight can improve your score over time.

Elite endurance athletes, including distance runners and cyclists, consume vast amounts of oxygen when they compete; they can have VO₂max scores twice as high as most of us mere mortals. Lance Armstrong once registered at 83.8 ml/kg/min; the average man his age would measure between 40 and 50. Even if Armstrong had never taken up cycling or any sport, he likely would have scored exceptionally high.