The Surprising Ingredient That Can Improve Your VO2 Max
By — Front Office Sports
Posted — January 22, 2025
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In the high-stakes world of sports, where half a second can define legacies and multimillion-dollar contracts, VO2 max—or maximum oxygen consumption—has emerged as a critical marker of endurance and performance.
But VO2 max isn’t just for elite athletes; it’s a must-know metric for all of us. Whether you’re a marathon runner chasing a personal best or a casual gym-goer, your VO2 max provides a reflection of your exercise capacity, overall health, and even longevity.
Keep reading to learn more about this metric, plus two key strategies to boost your VO2 max.
VO2 max measures how efficiently your body uses and distributes oxygen during physical effort. The higher your VO2 max, the easier it will feel to perform any activity—from your morning jog to pick-up basketball game. It can be measured in a lab setting, but today, many people estimate it using certain smartwatches and fitness trackers.
To understand the important role oxygen plays during exercise, let’s review what happens in the body. First, your heart rate increases, pumping blood to your muscles to deliver oxygen and other nutrients. Aided by nitric oxide, your blood vessels and arteries dilate (or open), making it easier for the blood to flow.
Your breath also quickens, allowing more oxygen into your lungs and eliminating carbon dioxide. Your lungs distribute this fresh oxygen to your hardworking muscles, where they convert it into fuel to carry you through your workout.
However, unlike your social newsfeed and group chats, VO2 max isn’t all about sports. It’s also one of the most reliable predictors of overall health and lifespan. Other studies link a high VO2 max to benefits such as sleep quality, cognitive health and memory, and even better mental health.
A healthy VO2 max depends on the health of your cardiovascular system. In addition to regular physical activity, a healthy diet, and quality sleep, adding CocoaVia™ Cardio Health, the most concentrated flavanol extract supplement on the U.S. market, provides an extra heart-healthy boost to your daily routine.
Before you reach for a cup of hot cocoa, let’s break down what cocoa flavanols actually are. A specific type of heart-healthy flavonoids, flavanols are naturally found in foods like cocoa, tea, berries, and apples. They are clinically proven to support heart health and improve memory, with over decades of research.
For me, heart health isn’t just a buzzword—it’s personal. Every workout, every push, requires a foundation of health I can trust. That’s why I incorporate CocoaVia Cardio Health before my workouts.
Jay Williams, Former basketball player and analyst
The good news: Research suggests you can increase VO2 max through lifestyle changes, like improving your heart health and specific types of exercise.
Whether in the boardroom, on the court, or at home with my family, maintaining my heart health ensures I can show up fully—not just for myself but for the people who rely on me.
Jay Williams, Former basketball player and analyst
As you may have guessed, exercise is a surefire way to increase your VO2 max. Each week, aim for about 150 minutes of lower-intensity, endurance training—think: a long walk or leisurely bike ride.
When you feel ready, incorporate high-intensity interval training (HIIT) into your routine. It should feel breathless, but you don’t need a lot: Just five to 15 minutes of HIIT one to two times per week has been shown to help improve VO2 max.
Remember, improving your VO2 max will help you show up stronger in all areas of your life. As Williams says, “Whether in the boardroom, on the court, or at home with my family, maintaining my heart health ensures I can show up fully—not just for myself but for the people who rely on me.”
By combining heart-healthy habits, exercise, and science-backed supplements like CocoaVia™ Cardio Health, you can boost your VO2 max, feel stronger during physical activities, and support your cardiovascular system for years to come.
Learn More about CocoaVia today.
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Learn why VO2 max matters for everyone—not just elite athletes, plus two simple strategies you can start today to strengthen yours.
What is VO2 Max?
How to Improve Your VO2 Max
Step 1: Build a Foundation of Heart Health
The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (AND), the world's largest organization of nutrition and dietitian practitioners, recommends a daily intake of 400 to 600mg from a variety of foods for cardiometabolic health.
The catch: Getting this level of flavanols through diet alone may be difficult to achieve consistently, and food labels do not list flavanol content. This is where CocoaVia™ Cardio Health comes in: Each serving offers 500mg of powerful cocoa flavanols.
Research shows that when taken daily, cocoa flavanols can retain healthy blood pressure levels and support cardiovascular performance. That’s because cocoa flavanols help boost the body’s nitric oxide levels, which promotes artery dilation and blood vessel health (an important part of your body’s exercise response).
In fact, one study also found that cocoa flavanols can improve VO2 max by up to 12% by enhancing nitric oxide function and supporting heart health.
Don’t just take it from us. As Jay Williams, former basketball player and analyst, says: “For me, heart health isn’t just a buzzword—it’s personal. Every workout, every push, requires a foundation of health I can trust. That’s why I incorporate CocoaVia Cardio Health before my workouts.”
Available in two convenient, easy-to-use forms—capsules and powder—each daily dose of CocoaVia™ Cardio Health contains a proprietary Cocoapro™ blend, sourced from cocoa beans grown in Indonesia. Plus, CocoaVia™ is backed by decades of research, including more than 30 human clinical studies with leading research institutions demonstrating the efficacy and safety of cocoa flavanols.
Step 2: Add Endurance and Interval Training to Your Workout Routine
Use Promo Code "FOS2025" for 20% OFF any single, bulk, or subscription order of CocoaVia Cardio and Memory products (excluding Cardio Health stick packs)