Longevity
- Basic$275VO2 max
- Pro$450VO2 maxRMR
The Lab
VO2 max testing in Santa Monica
The maximum amount of oxygen your body can use under load — the single best-studied marker of cardiovascular fitness.
Price
$275
Improve health + longevity
Cardiovascular fitness
& longevity
A VO2 max test measures the maximum amount of oxygen your body can use during intense exercise. Technically, that is millilitres of oxygen consumed per kilogram of body weight per minute (ml/kg/min) — the number a VO2 max test is built to find, not a score estimated from a watch or a calculator. Optimising your VO2 max is essential for longevity and sports performance. The higher your VO2, the better.
Allow around an hour in total, which includes the setup and the consultation where Gareth reads your results back to you.
Every test is run and read by Gareth Thomas — Coach to world & national champions · 30+ years. You do not get emailed a PDF and left to interpret it.
- Measure cardiovascular fitness objectively
- Find your Fat-Max fuelling intensity
- Track improvement test over test
- Maximise the return on your training
- BookIncludes consultation$275
The size of the engine
You cannot change the engine.
You can tune it.
Your VO2 is the size of your engine. Some people are born with a Ferrari and others a Ford Focus. You cannot change the size of the engine — that part is genetics — but you can tune whatever engine you have. Using more oxygen at rapid rates makes you faster. Keeping VO2 high is associated with longevity. That is why, at ECLYPSE Fitness Lab, the VO2 max test sits under the goal “improve health + longevity”: cardiovascular fitness first, race day second.
VO2 max and Zone 2 are all the rage right now, with people like Peter Attia and Andrew Huberman podcasting about it and training buddies dropping it into every conversation. Underneath the noise the idea is simpler than the internet makes it sound. The highest readings sit in the 90s for men and about 80 for women. Those are the top of the sport. Most people who come through the lab are not chasing a figure that large. They want an honest reading of the engine they actually have, so they can train it.
A high VO2 max is built on other factors, first of which is bodyweight. Because the score is relative to kilograms, the same heart and the same lungs produce a higher reading on a lighter body. Diet and blood sugar are part of the equation, not a side note. That is why a VO2 max test is often paired with an RMR test.
What you leave with
Fat-Max and VO2 peak
Two numbers from the same session: the intensity at which you burn the most fat per minute, and the top of your aerobic range.
The test also tells us Fat-Max: the intensity — and the heart rate — at which you burn the greatest total amount of fat. It drives fuelling strategy for long efforts, and it can help fine-tune fuelling, pacing and nutrition programming for the endurance athlete. It is not a colour on a watch face. It is measured while you are actually working, on the movement you train.
VO2 peak is your maximal aerobic capacity: the maximum amount of oxygen your body can utilise for energy production during exercise. It is the top of your aerobic range. It sets the upper bound on everything below it and is the marker most tied to long-term health.
The more flexible the system, the better — and the highest rate of fat burn possible. Track it test over test. The point of an objective marker is that the next number either moved or it did not. Maximise the return on the training you are already doing by knowing whether the engine got larger, or only felt like it did.
Fat-Max
Peak Fat Oxidation
The intensity at which you burn the most fat per minute. It drives fuelling strategy for long efforts.
VO2 peak
Maximum Aerobic Capacity
The top of your aerobic range. It sets the upper bound on everything below it and is the marker most tied to long-term health.
Lactate or VO2
They answer different questions
A blood lactate test measures how your body produces and clears lactate as intensity rises, which gives you your aerobic and threshold training zones. A VO2 max test measures the oxygen ceiling and Fat-Max. They answer different questions.
Lactate testing is the better choice if you are training for a race. VO2 max is the better choice if you want a single objective marker of cardiovascular fitness. Plenty of people book both in one visit: the running and cycling Pro packages are lactate plus VO2 max, and Ultimate adds RMR. Longevity Basic is the VO2 max test on its own; Longevity Pro is VO2 max and RMR in the same visit.
A VO2-only visit is not a substitute for a lactate curve. The oxygen ceiling is the top of the range. The thresholds that divide the range into training zones come from blood.
What actually happens
Treadmill or erg.
Read with you.
You test in your own discipline — treadmill for runners, ergometer for cyclists. The data is only useful if it comes from the movement you actually train. Allow around an hour in total, which includes the setup and the consultation.
You do not need to be a serious athlete to get tested. Roughly half the people tested at the lab are not racing anything. VO2 max and RMR are used just as often for body composition, longevity and general health as they are for performance, and the protocol is scaled to whatever you can currently do.
You do not get emailed a PDF and left to interpret it. Every test is run by Gareth Thomas and read back to you in person, in plain language, with what to change on Monday morning.
Retest every 9–12 weeks. That is long enough for a training block to produce real physiological change and short enough that the number does not go stale while you are still training to it. The lab is at 1736 Ashland Avenue, Santa Monica, CA 90405 — Tuesday to Friday 10–7, Saturday and Sunday 12–5, closed Monday.
Longevity packages
Start with VO2
Longevity Basic is the VO2 max test on its own. Longevity Pro is VO2 Max + RMR — Both tests in one visit, one consultation.
Both in one visit
VO2 Max + RMR
Both tests in one visit, one consultation.
$450
BookEvery price includes the consultation and a full explanation of your results. Call (858) 361-4733 if you are not sure which to book.
Questions
Before you
book
Still not sure? Call (858) 361-4733. There's no sales pitch — if a test isn't worth it for you, he'll say so.
What is the difference between a lactate test and a VO2 max test?
A blood lactate test measures how your body produces and clears lactate as intensity rises, which gives you your aerobic and threshold training zones. A VO2 max test measures the maximum amount of oxygen your body can use during intense exercise, which gives you your aerobic ceiling and your Fat-Max fuelling intensity. Lactate testing is the better choice if you are training for a race; VO2 max is the better choice if you want a single objective marker of cardiovascular fitness.
Do I need to be a serious athlete to get tested?
No. Roughly half the people tested at the lab are not racing anything. RMR and VO2 max testing are used just as often for body composition, longevity and general health as they are for performance, and the protocol is scaled to whatever you can currently do.
How often should I retest?
Every 9 to 12 weeks. That is long enough for a training block to produce real physiological change and short enough that your zones do not drift out of date while you are still training to them.
How much does testing cost in Santa Monica?
A blood lactate test is $350, a VO2 max test is $275, and an RMR test is $175. A combined VO2 max and RMR test in one visit is $450. Every price includes the consultation and a full explanation of your results.
Where is the lab?
The lab is at 1736 Ashland Avenue, Santa Monica, CA 90405, and serves athletes across Los Angeles, the Westside, Venice, Culver City and the South Bay. Call (858) 361-4733 to book.
Also in the lab
The other tests
Book a VO2 max test
Know your aerobic ceiling
The maximum amount of oxygen your body can use under load — measured in Santa Monica and read back to you in person.