VOâ‚‚ Max & Metabolic Testing
(A.K.A. Cardiopulmonary Exercise Testing)
VOâ‚‚ max and metabolic testing is the gold standard for measuring your true fitness and metabolic efficiency – far beyond what wearables or algorithms can estimate. Using laboratory-grade equipment and clinician-led analysis, we measure how your body uses oxygen and fuel at different intensities, giving you the most accurate picture of your cardiovascular, metabolic, and overall health.
This information is arguably more predictive of long-term health than BMI (body mass index), cholesterol, blood pressure and smoking. Your true VO2 max is a vital sign. Take the opportunity to get tested as early as you can.
Why Test Instead of Guess?
​Most fitness devices estimate your VO₂ max and training zones, but their accuracy can vary widely, leading to false health information and inefficient training targets.
A professional test lets you calibrate your numbers and uncover personalised health insights that wearables simply can’t provide.
This type of testing has previously only been accessible to elite athletes or high-paying clients in physiology laboratories.
Now, we can bring the test to you.
How the Test Works
​You’ll walk, run, or cycle* at increasing intensity for around 10 minutes while we accurately measure your breathing and heart rate.
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​From this, we calculate:
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VOâ‚‚ max (or peak): your body’s maximum oxygen uptake – a key marker of fitness and longevity.
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Accurate training zones: the only way to truly identify your Zone 2
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Aerobic and anaerobic thresholds: these can be called by many different names, e.g. fat max, lactate threshold, LT1, LT2, VT1, VT2… Read more here (link to blog article)
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Substrate utilisation: how much fat or carbohydrate your body burns at different intensities.​
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(*Other exercise modes are possible – contact us to discuss)
Why It Matters
Your VOâ‚‚ max reflects how efficiently your heart, lungs, and muscles deliver and use oxygen – a powerful indicator of both performance and long-term health.
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With this data, you can:
Identify inefficiencies or early health concerns such as REDs, metabolic, heart or lung issues
Optimise energy, weight loss, performance, and recovery – whatever your goals
Track real progress, not estimates. Take out the guesswork
Train smarter using heart rate zones tailored to your personal physiology.
The Active Medicine Difference
​Every test is analysed by a specialist Doctor with expertise in exercise physiology – ensuring your results are interpreted with medical insight and translated into clear, actionable guidance you can use immediately.
We use cutting edge equipment that is directly comparable to doing a test in an elite physiology laboratory, and we can bring it to you!