I'm new to the Garmin scene, liked on the old TT spark 3 that you could get vo2 max fitness age - is their a way to see this o VA HR ? Noticed theirs a slide bar to view it in the settings menu on Garmin connect but can't find where to view it
No. The vivoactive HR does not support VO[SUB]2[/SUB]max estimation natively. (It once did, shortly after the product was released, which Garmin claimed to be in error and has since duly corrected.)
This is ridiculous. Vivoactive HR records the activities as well as the heart rate. It's not a cheap watch. I don't understand why Garmin would not provide VO2MAX for Vivoactive HR users. I just tried Apple Watch and for the first time, I learned my VO2MAX. Now I am seriously thinking about switching to Apple Watch. I've used Garmin for 4 years.
What is ridiculous is that some consumers unreasonably expect access to features that are not in a device model's technical specifications, user's guide (or owner's manual) or marketing collateral. Giving consumers the most utility, value, return or benefit for their discretionary spending is not a common or agreed goal by every party in society. As a fellow consumer (and, just to be clear, I don't work for Garmin and have no material interest in the company's financial performance), I don't think consumers in general, or you in particular, ought to be given (or offered) as much as it is possible to deliver for a particular price.
Vivoactive HR records the activities as well as the heart rate.
Whether you believe all the critical technical requirements for delivering a feature (if the manufacturer or service provider so chooses) have been met is irrelevant. You have no entitlement to that feature as a product owner.
It's not a cheap watch.
Cheap or not, the manufacturer's technical specifications and other published statements are what count in that regard, and your views as to whether a feature ought to be included at a particular price point has no standing whatsoever. It is your prerogative not to buy a device model that does not include the features you want (regardless of price).
I don't understand why Garmin would not provide VO2MAX for Vivoactive HR users.
You don't need to understand. You just need to accept that is reality, and one you're powerless to change.
I just tried Apple Watch and for the first time, I learned my VO2MAX.
You could get a VO[sub]2[/sub]max assessment done for yourself (at your expense!) in a lab, if you really wanted to know before that.
Guess what? My problem is solved. I've decided to permanently switch to Apple Watch. I'll put all my Garmin devices for sale. Not worth the headache or work around or extra time. Apple Watch gives the peace of mind and allows me to just focus on my activities. I'm happy.
If you're interested, I suspect your Vivoactive HR *is* still calculating VO2 Max, it is just being suppressed from visibility.
Upload your .FIT files to the runalyze website (google it) and you'll find that if you enable their site to show "VO2Max (by file)" you'll see that your watch or the GC service is calculating it, even though you can no-longer see it via Garmin Connect or via your watch itself.
I hope by posting this here that doesn't result in Garmin creating a new firmware to disable it even more...
