What I Learned from My VO₂ Max Test with Jason Crow at The Better Body Group

As a Nutritional Therapist, I spend most of my time helping others understand their bodies better, how food, lifestyle, and stress influence how we feel and function. But this week, I became the client. I went to see Jason Crow, Founder and Owner of The Body Group personal training gym in Sevenoaks, to experience something I’d never done before: a VO₂ Max test.

I’ll be honest, it sounded a bit intimidating at first. The specialist breathing apparatus and data-driven set-up looked like something from a sports science lab. I’d always assumed that VO₂ Max testing was reserved for serious athletes. And while fitness has always been an important part of my adult life, I wouldn’t describe myself as one!

But I was very wrong to think this test wasn’t for me.

What is a VO₂ Max Test?

In simple terms, a VO₂ Max test measures how efficiently your body uses oxygen during exercise. It gives a snapshot of your aerobic fitness and helps identify how your body produces and uses energy - whether it’s primarily drawing on fat or carbohydrates (via glycolysis) for fuel at different intensities.

Jason guided me through the process with calm expertise, explaining each step as we went. As Jason increased the intensity, the equipment measured my oxygen intake and carbon dioxide output, providing a detailed map of how my metabolism responds to physical effort.

The Surprising Insights

What amazed me most was the precision of the information. Jason was able to show the exact point at which my body transitioned from burning fat to burning carbohydrates, a powerful insight for anyone looking to train more effectively or support healthy fat metabolism.

He also identified the heart rate training zone where my body is most efficient at burning fat. This is gold-standard information for shaping an exercise plan that’s truly personalised.

We then discussed how to complement this aerobic work with targeted strength training to build muscle, improve metabolic flexibility, and support overall health, something that aligns beautifully with the principles I teach in Nutritional Therapy.

Why It Matters (Even If You’re Not an Athlete)

This experience reminded me how valuable it is to step outside your comfort zone and learn from other disciplines. I know my way around a Peloton routine and feel confident in my workouts, but the level of insight from this test was on another level.

For me, the biggest takeaway was this: you don’t need to be an athlete to benefit from understanding your physiology. The more we can tailor both nutrition and exercise to our individual bodies, the more effective and sustainable our results become.

Lessons Learned

• Personal data empowers smart choices. Just as functional testing helps me tailor nutrition for my clients, metabolic testing can personalise fitness for optimal results.

• Collaboration matters. Working with experts like Jason reminds me that health is multi-dimensional and combining our expertise creates powerful outcomes.

• Small insights can drive big change. Knowing my precise fat-burning zone will transform how I approach training and it’s an insight I would never have had without testing.

I walked away feeling not only educated but inspired and with a new respect for how science and personalised data can refine even the most familiar routines.

If you’re curious about your own fitness efficiency or looking for a smart, evidence-based way to make your training work harder for you, I can’t recommend Jason and the team at The Better Body Group enough.

Sometimes, even for those of us who teach health, the best learning happens when we become the client again.