What is VO2 max? Why does it make the best athletes?
February 19, 2026
5,607
149
22
3.05%
Search the Record
IndexedEvery word spoken in this episode is indexed. Type any phrase to jump straight to the moment it was said.
Type any word or phrase that may have been spoken. Click a result to seek the player to that exact moment.
Try a name, a topic, or a quoted line
Npr Episodes Around February 19, 2026
See what was published immediately before and after this episode.
8:32Now PlayingWhat is VO2 max? Why does it make the best athletes?
Segments
YouTube Description
as posted by the channelWhich sport has the greatest athletes? It might not be the one you think if you’re using VO2 max as your measure of fitness. NPR Science Correspondent Jonathan Lambert spoke with A Martínez to teach him all about VO2 max: what it is, how to raise yours and why athletes from a surprising sport have the highest VO2 max. NPR is bringing you the latest from the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan and Cortina with “Up First Winter Games.”
Watch the full episode here
🔔 Subscribe and never miss an episode: bit.ly/4oVAImb
🔔 Subscribe to our daily Olympics newsletter: npr.org/wintergames
----------------------------
SUBSCRIBE TO OTHER NPR CHANNELS
NPR Podcasts
----------------------------
FOLLOW NPR ELSEWHERE
#olympics #olympics2026
Guests & Subjects Covered
Sentinel Indexing in Progress
Metadata and chapters are available. Claim extraction for this episode is pending.
All video content is delivered via YouTube embedded players in accordance with the YouTube Terms of Service. Sentinel provides research tools that promote discovery and accountability across political media.