I'm a UK Athletics qualified and licensed Coach in Running Fitness (CiRF), Endurance Event Group Coach and Certified Running Technique Coach.
In this article, I am going to explain four popular Garmin data points: I will detail how Garmin collects this data, how accurate it is, and how to make it more accurate. Thank you, your email will be added to the mailing list once you click on the link in the confirmation email. Therefore the more oxygen you can deliver to your working muscles - the more energy you can produce = a fitter and faster you. Click on the video below to see how. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Join my mailing list to get weekly running tips & motivation direct to your inbox! I have several different Garmin devices, wear a small activity tracker everyday, 635 with HR strap for running and use a cycling computer on my mountain bike. Glad to meet a Fitness Twin, hehe. Log your personal information including age, gender, weight, and height. I am very similar to you, female 35yrs BMI 22 VO2 Max 43! My vivosmart 4 shows a VO2Max of 42 while my Forerunner 235 shows VO2Max=50. So, the more you use your Garmin the more accurately it will predict your VO2 Max.
that is an interesting observation and I wonder where you are now with it, because since I started running again (due to COVID), my resting heart rate has decreased and my vo2max has increased quite a bit. As oxygen is a gas, gasses are normally measured by volume - in Litres or millilitres. A high VO2 Max score means you are fit. So its not true ! It goes on the add that my fitness age is the same as an excellent 20 year-old. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Hi! The tables Garmin use appear to be very similar to those produced by the Cooper Institute of Dallas, Texas. Productive status on Garmin means that your VO2 Max is improving, and your training load is high. A community for discussing Garmin hardware, software and services. To get a VO2 Max reading on your Garmin you will need to complete your profile data. I've made a short video showing you how to get to it on a forerunner and also in the Garmin Connect App. Simply because the lower your baseline score, the more room you have for improvement. This means, run hard two to three times per week. Much cleverer people than myself seem to think so Having a higher score for VO2 Max than someone else does not necessarily mean that you will be able to run faster than they can. There is a greater amount of variability in the male group; however, this could be due to miscalculations in HRmax and potential variations in levels of effort in participant during the 10 minute self guided run.Although there is greater variability within the male group, the devices still appear fairly accurate at predicting VO2max. For endurance athletes everywhere, this is a huge sigh of relief. In this post I'm going to cover the following aspects of VO2 Max: The picture at the top of the page is of my own wrist. Congratulations, you have good cardiovascular fitness. Thus, your VO2 Max will go back up once you feel better or run in cooler weather, for example. I have also been vegan for the last 2 years and veggie since I was 9! The high degree of accuracy found in their study remains consistent with other larger scientific studies.[4]. Here is the latest on Fitbit accuracy. Spam protection has stopped this request. Hi, I'm Dave. Another term that is sometimes used instead of VO2 Max is "Maximal aerobic capacity". You did the work. If you feel like you could be over- or undertraining, or arent recovering well, then you need to take a hard look at your training and how it is fitting with the demands of your life. But only if that power is used efficiently. I am 65, run at 8mph So keep an eye on the bigger picture, rather than panicking when your Garmin says your score has dropped after a single run. In my humble opinion until you can add additional variables such as weather (when exercising outdoors) and added weight (I walk with 2 4lb D weights ) the vo2 max feature on the Garmin vivosmart 4 is flawed during the summer for sure and quite possibly the winter in extreme cold conditions. My wife is just a few years younger than I am, again a long term Veggie. Does the Garmin calculation include correction for the altitude that the exercise is performed? Claims to be accurate within 5%, 1 point out of 59 is less than 2%. Cycling: Theoretical VO2 (ml/kg/min)=(12.35*Power+300)/persons weight
The video below shows just how such a lab test is conducted: Lactate threshold can also be measured during this type of test. Respectively, if the HRmax is estimated 15 beats/min too high, the error in VO2max result is 7%. One interesting personal observation is that a couple of rest weeks (lower volume not no volume) have increased my vo2max. Wow that is really impressive to see that Garmin has such accurate estimates of VO2max. Women have an extra layer of fat (needed for pregnancy). If you use a Garmin Forerunner or other Garmin device and you're not sure how to access and view your VO2 Max information. Because it will cause your body to respond to the training load by for example: All of the above will help you to absorb, transport and process oxygen. Another important point to keep in mind is that as with most things your readings will fluctuate. We could keep in touch about our health journeys. Presumably as it will have more data-points for it's calculations. I was actually disappointed that my vo2max didnt increase from all that training, but perhaps fatigue was to blame, or my body hadnt had a chance to adapt. The life battery well ran 80 minutes at 5, not sure this helpful. Again, HOW and WHY? & Smith, B. K. (2017). There you have it - if you're interested in being healthy and avoiding heart attacks, then you should probably pay attention to improving your VO2 Max. Garmin dont use wind or climbing to calculate Vo2max ! (35.97 x distance in miles run in 12 minutes) - 11.29 =.
Didnt know about EPOC and. I've been a vegetarian for 23 years and nearly vegan for the last two. Traveling along the trails, sidewalks, and main streets of the towns they reside in, runners, cyclists, and endurance sports athletes everywhere all know a familiar sound. But as with the average recreational runner - having a higher VO2Max than another elite does not instantly translate into faster race times for them either. Really not sure which number to trust. In a controlled environment I imagine that the device is accurate however when adding variables like weather and added weight during my walking I have noticed while my strength and endurance are increasing my vo2 max has been decreasing at an alarming you should go to the doctor rate. Across the board, there appears to be a high degree of accuracy with Firstbeats Fitness Test in estimating VO2max. https://www.firstbeat.com/en/blog/whats-your-fitness-age-vo2max-reveals-it/. But it is a good indicator of your overall aerobic fitness and a benchmark for improvements that you can monitor. Running in a Hilly Terrain: Theoretical VO2 (ml/kg/min)=3.33*speed+15*tan(inclination)*speed+3.5 What are everyone's experience with "Fitness Age"? Instead it looks at your heart rate compared with your speed and effort. As will your fitness generally. Don't miss out on getting more valuable advice like this - sign-up to the, {"email":"Email address invalid","url":"Website address invalid","required":"Required field missing"}, So, it is definitely worth trying to improve it. Your scores are likely to increase and decrease over time. I bought a few knock off Fitbits for some experiments in my lab, then did my own pilot testing to compare them to Fitbit. The process involves wearing a face mask that is connected to devices that measure the amount of oxygen inhaled and carbon dioxide exhaled. Run a time trial or use another race result, and plug in the result into, Wear a chest-strap heart rate monitor, take your Garmin VO2 Max score and see the corresponding race times in. EPOC is the increased rate of oxygen intake following activity. Focus on hard and easy efforts, and lots of rest to be your best. We are pretty much the same person, From the other end of the age scale. Veggie for over 55 years and mainly Vegan recently. The Garmin Training Status uses your VO2 Max estimations and training load (how much and how hard you are running) to assess how effective your training is. Thanks for this. Nominate her here. I have also found that the highest (accurate) HR readings come from the activities that you do the most and are best at. Garmin Vo2max calculator is a bulls.. This activity type-based variation is normal in both direct and indirect VO2 max measurements and is simply the result of different muscle groups being used and sport-specific training adaptations. You can find the full info here https://www.garmin.com/en-US/blog/fitness/v02-max-and-aerobic-performance/. Despite what Firstbeat claim and I'm sure they have lots of data to back up their 95% accuracy rate - the fact is you just can't get an accurate measure without doing a lab test. Two weeks on I can feel my easy loops feel easier and lo and behold, Garmin agrees with an extra point of vo2ma: brilliant! Otherwise Im constantly in productive I find. Including calibrating the Vor max, which they say takes 15 minutes but mine did in 5min. Looking at a seven-day window, the watch can determine whether youre getting more or less fit as your training load increases or decreases. Hi, Im having similar issues with VO2 on my vivoactive 3 watch. I am 58 with a supposed fitness age of 35. what?!?!? There are so many variables in running and Garmin doesnt take these into consideration. This means I can only trust it in spring and fall which makes it of no use more than 1/2 the year, I have experienced exactly the same during a period of doing more cardio training. For example, Garmin doesnt know if: All these factors can raise your heart rate and lower your VO2 Max score. A more powerful engine can result in higher speeds. Related: Running on No Sleep: Do or Dont? Download my FREE FULL MONTH of strength workouts for runners! My Garmin 245 shows my VO2max as 45 and my fitness age as 20!!! Your VO2 Max decreases on Garmin when your heart rate is higher relative to your pace. I have seen a paper that found VO2 max decreasing 6.3% per 1000 meters elevation, linearly over the range 0 2800 M. Since I live at 7400 ft (2255 M), My VO2 max of 34 would increase significantly to 39 (age 70), if an elevation correction needed to be applied. Use the simple calculator below to estimate your VO2Max based on your resting heart rate and your age: A word of caution, I personally find this method far too simplistic. I would LOVE to start a structured weight training program of some kind. Firstbeat have created a good video that explains what VO2 Max is - which you can watch here: It doesn't really matter what your VO2 Max is or what your Garmin or other assessment says (guesses) it is. Garmin divides your training status into the following categories: Your Garmin will move you to an unproductive status when your heart rate is high relative to your pace. And if i run in hill, still 130 bpm, garmin says my Vo2max is 43 If you're a bit like me then you may be curious about the extremes in human ability and that tends to lead me to ask questions like this. Heres how to get the most accurate Garmin Race Predictor: Remember that these times are predictions and do not factor in all the variables that come with running such as the terrain, course, or weather. At the end of the day having a bigger score than someone else does not mean that you're going to be a faster or better runner than them. A low VO2 Max score means you arent fit. but for running both activity tracker and the 635 differ running V02 max 41 vs 48. [2], A group of scientists atSouthern Illinois University Edwardsville evaluated the wearable technologys accuracy by conducting a laboratory VO2max test on male and female runners, then allowing participants to use the wearable technology to calculate VO2max in a 10 minute self guided run. Ever since I entered the world of endurance sports training eight years ago, Ive heard athletes talking about their VO2 max, how to improve it, and how accurate (or not?) Will recording a walk (obviously slower than running) as a run lower the estimated VO2max? 4) The most reliable data segments are used for estimating the persons aerobic fitness level (VO2max) by utilizingthe persons heart rate and speed data. 3) The activity collected data is segmented to different heart rate ranges based off the persons background info and the reliability of different data segments is calculated(reliability is measured based off how continuous the activity is- uninterrupted segments are better than those where the user has to stop) This explains why my VO2 Max dropped the week I tested positive for COVID. 0.6 How to view your Garmin VO2Max estimate. But how accurate is this technology and how does it match up to laboratory testing? Fatigue, or lack of recovery, can raise heart rate which will lower your VO2 Max score. Like carrying a 25-pound load over a given distance compared to carrying nothing: Same step count, but a different level of exertion. VO2 Max is the most important overall correlate of healthand the strongest predictor of cardio vascular disease. 0.10 What is the highest Vo2 Max ever recorded? They also say that it learns from you over time and becomes more accurate with use. So my advice is to treat the number on your Garmin as a 'best guess' and an indicator of fitness rather than anything like an accurate number. Great write up Whitney. For example, the marathon training you did before kids may not suit you when youre in the throes of parenting young kids. My forerunner stated a vo2 of 42 while walking[ gym shut] now back at the gym and working harder the watches says 40 when running and on line it says 39. Press J to jump to the feed. My resting heart rate has decreased over time which shows how my cardiovascular system is becoming more and more healthy over time but my vo2max calculation says that I am becoming less and less healthy with each subsequent journey of more than 3 miles a day, I am eager to see if, as the weather starts to cool, my readings get more accurate. Progress is not linear. Sufficient intensity is something approaching 70% of your maximum effort. I noticed that most of my VO2 max last year was 58 and it plummeted 1 point when I push hard my training run (with anaerobic capacity training effect per Garmin) my ave HR goes up as well. Because it will need to know your gender, age, height, weight and ideally maximum heart rate too. 2) The person starts to exercise with a device that measures heart rate and speed Go to the UD twitter page (external link)>, Go to the UD facebook page (external link)>, Go to the UD instagram page (external link)>, Go to the UD youtube page (external link)>, Go to the UD pintrest page (external link)>, Go to the UD linkedin page (external link)>, evaluated the wearable technologys accuracy, Can you trust the data on your fitbit? Your Garmin is obviously not taking samples of your breath as you run. also the other day watch had gained 6 minutes, Your email address will not be published. For some time now Ive thought that a good measure of exertion per unit time would be the count of heart beats during that interval, rather than the number of steps. I was running slow but my heart rate was high because I was sick. Firstbeat Technologys Fitness Testis used by Garmin and other fitness companies to calculate VO2max for a variety of different activities. Related: How to Return to Running After Having COVID. Conversely, chest strap data seems to have a margin of error of about 2 percent. A bit like strapping a jet engine to a hang-glider. For example, road cycling is fine, mountain biking (especially on rough trails) can give false readings. Ive wanted to research this topic for a while since Garmins training status, Garmin training load, Garmin VO2 max, and the Garmin race predictor times have puzzled me.
She has a fitness age of 23. But I am not going to get into that. Im currently using Garmin Fnix 6 Pro. [2] Firstbeat Technology(2014).Automated Fitness Level (VO2max) Estimation with Heart Rate and Speed Data. Great summary of garmins training terms. Unless you're an elite level athlete then I don't consider it's of any real benefit to go to the extent and cost of getting your VO2 Max tested in a lab. To get an accurate VO2 Max score on Garmin you need to: Garmins VO2 Max status is pretty accurate. Recently I did an easy run with a lower ave HR and surprisingly my VO2 max increased by 1 point to 59. If I extend my work to have an exercise group, I might have to have my lab invest in a Garmin. Therefore, bear in mind that Garmin doesnt know extenuating circumstances. According to Garmin/Firstbeat their 'best guess' of my VO2 Max would put me in the top 1% for my age (52 & three quarters at the time of typing this, in case you were curious). 0.8.3 Why do men have higher VO2 Max than Women? It was like my garmin saying, well you arent getting worse now, you have plateaued. Endurance running is primarily an aerobic activity. Retrieved from https://www.wareable.com/running/best-vo2-max-devices-tested-9129. I would love to see some research on wearable devices accuracy on calories expended! Resting heart beat averages 60-65. If your fitness appears to be getting better at the same time your training load is increasing, you are in a, If your training load is increasing but your fitness seems to be decreasing (e.g. Required fields are marked *. Im thrilled to share all I learn with you so you can be your best selves on and off the roads. As I mentioned above there's far more involved in running fast than just your ability to process oxygen. I am crap at running and would call myself of average fitness so was suprised I was 20 in fitness age. Men: 97.5 recorded for an 18 year old Norwegian cyclist called, Producing more red blood cells & mitochondria, Increasing the number of capillaries feeding blood to the muscles, Increase in number and size of bronchioles in the lungs. 20-30s bouts are used to calculate VO2 across segments using one of the following theoretical VO2 calculations: Walking and Pole Walking: Theoretical VO2 (ml/kg/min)=1.78*speed*16.67[tan(inclination)+0.073] Methodaccuracy varied with respect to estimated maximum heart rate(HRmax). Hi, I'm Dave. Be sure to recover well in between these sessions. Error in estimated VO2max was less 3.5ml/kg/min in most cases, which is fairly accurate considering most submaximal testing has an error of 10-15%. (2016, December 21). I decided to write this article now when I watched my VO2 Max number plummet 3 spots in a matter of dayswhen running my highest mileage since I tore my plantar fascia in early July of 2021. Thats because the contact with the wrist gets lost. Im 73, and my Garmin Fenix 5X shows my VO2 Max as 32, in the top 45% of my age group. Otherwise that additional power will be wasted and could even damage you. Dont do back-to-back hard workouts. In addition to watching our paces, heart rates, and overall progress, we can also monitor our cardiovascular health and athletic progress as we continue to train and push ourselves everyday. I'll be 71 in a couple of weeks with a V02 Max of 45 and a fitness age of 20. I like to think of it as the a measure of the maximum power output of my aerobic engine. I have daydreams of quitting my career and hiring a personal trainer and actually getting really strong, like for real this time. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, 49(5S), 761. doi: 10.1249/01.mss.0000519024.10358.0b. Have you updated the weight and HR personal data in your watch. Now recover. I was wondering why the cycling v02 estimate is total shit on my watch. That helps a lot. Its important to take the Garmin data into consideration but also with a grain of salt. Average heart rate and VO2 Max are inversely related. Sigh. This study suggests a high degree of accuracy for Firstbeats fitness test technology in predicting VO2max. Which = 75 years old. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. My Experience with a Torn Plantar Fascia, 9 Running Hacks that WILL Make You Run Faster, 36 Game-changing Running Habits that Will Transform Your Running, The Surprising Benefits of Running in Heat, 8 Clever Tips for Running While Breastfeeding, The Best Running Gear that Holds Your Phone, 13 Smart Race Day Tips to Nail Your Marathon PR, The Danger of Low Iron in Runners During Summer, The Benefits of Running on the Beach (+ Tips), How to Prepare for a Marathon (+ Your Ultimate Marathon Checklist). Looking for a free running plan? My running mileage is not that great and I don't consider myself fit by any means. Be sure to enter in your personal info such as your gender, age, height, and weight. The biggest reason for the inaccuracy in Garmin VO2 Max values are the use of wrist-based heart rate monitors which can underestimate heart rate which them overestimates VO2 Max. Im only ever peaking with I stop working out. [1]Seppanen, M., Pulkkenin, A., Kurunmaki, V., Saalasti, S., & Kettunen, J. That cannot be right. If you feel good, that is all that matters. Get in tip-top shape to crush your race training and smash that new PB. [3], Wearable conducted an evaluation of their own putting fitness watches to the test assessing the accuracy of Garmin, Fitbit, and Jabra devices in measuring VO2max. Firstbeat claim that the algorithms they use to calculate your scores are 95% accurate compared to lab testing. Pingback: Can you trust the data on your fitbit? Mind you, if I combine fitness and freshness in Strava I would see that I should be at my fittest . The average VO2MAX of 20 year old females is 43. Their scoring system is colour coded from Red through to Purple: Garmin have actually produced some tables on their website to show how these relate to different age ranges. The more intense your run, the higher your EPOC will be.