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What is the algorithm voor Vigorous Intensity Minutes?

jleeuwer
over 4 years ago

Lately I am trying to find out what the algorithm is for moderate versus vigorous intensity minutes.

I was hoping it was directly linked to HR Zones. My hypothesis was:

  • Moderate minutes = Z1
  • Vigorous = Z2

So I did a Floor Climb activity to try it out. Result was:

  • Time in Z1: 14:48
  • Time in Z2: 00:19 (just 19 seconds)

I then looked at the difference in intensity minutes (noted before and after) and saw the following:

  • Moderate + 16
  • Vigorous + 4

Now I can understand the moderate minutes being 16 instead of 14/15. This could be because while cooling down after the activity my heart rate took a while to drop. However, I am confused by the Vigorous minutes. There I would expect either 0 or 1 minute instead of 4 (if linked to zone Z2).

Or are the intensity minutes (vigorous or moderate) not linked to HR zones at all?

Thanks for your help with this.

  • 0 over 4 years ago

    It is a bit more complex, and may depend not only on the situation, HR Zones, type of the activity, but also on the model of the device you use. Besides the HR Zones, also the average Resting HR for given day plays a role, and also the anaerobic threshold that is measured with the help of HR Variability.

    You can read some details about it in the support document How Does the Intensity Minutes Feature Work on My Garmin Watch?, though the exact algorithm is not revealed.

  • 0 over 4 years ago in reply to trux

    Thx a lot for your answer.

    I was looking into this because I tend to get "vigorous activity minutes" way to easily. Even when I take it easy on a bike ride to work (around 20 minutes), pretty much all those minutes are counted as vigorous.

    I hoped I was somehow able to influence the measurement of "vigorous" because I would like it better if it would align more with my own perception of vigorous. Right now I get "double minutes" all over the place and I can easily get around 750 minutes per week (5x recommended of 150) without doing anything special (3 or 4 short runs, and the rest is biking to work and a short stroll during lunch).

  • 0 over 4 years ago in reply to jleeuwer

    Try adjusting the HR zones, but as I wrote, depending on the watch model, it may not have any effect. Also note, than on some devices you can have sperated HR Zone definition for biking and for running. And then, make sure your Average Resting HR is properly acquired every day (wear the watch also when sleeping or deep resting). And verify whether the watch reliaby detects your HR while biking. With a bad wristband fit, the OHRM sensor can easily lock on the pace instead of the true HR. If you do not manage to get reliable HR with the watch, consider using a HRM chestbelt.

  • 0 over 4 years ago in reply to trux

    Thx, I will try.

    By the way I use a Fenix 5X. And I only configured 1 default set of HR zones (no specific zones per activity).