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Training Effect, Training Status, VO2 Max, and Lactate Treshhold help...

For the life of me...I can't make sense of these metrics!

Without explaining every detail, I've had my Fenix 5 for about 1.5 months, and I can't figure out how to improve these metrics. In fact, despite my consistent training and drive to push myself (with appropriate rest) they're only decreasing. For instance...

I've gone on multiple runs this week with the majority of time spent at or above zone 4, with a good portion spent in zone 5. My aerobic training effect has consistently been at 3.0 or above, and has said "Improving Lactate Threshold: Exerting Intense aerobic effort at or near your lactate threshold during this activity is expected to improve your Lactate Threshold" on multiple occasions. So...I check out my Lactate Threshold, and it is indicating it's only getting worse this week, specifically after the very activities that said it's improving!

On top of that...No matter what I do, I can't move my training status into "Productive". Long runs, short runs, hard runs, easier runs, steady pace, intervals...It doesn't matter. Apparently I'm never productive in my runs and it's really starting to irritate and discourage me. Don't even get me started on VO2 max. That one is a complete mystery to me. Can't improve it to save my life.

I'm not an elite athlete by any means, but I'm certainly in shape with a tendency to consistently push myself for better and better results. According to the Fenix 5, not only am I a below average athlete...I'm getting worse.

Could anyone either (a) help me understand what's going on, or (b) give me some insight as to how to start improving these metrics, and what workouts would help accomplish that? I feel like I'm trying everything in many varieties, but nothing is working! ciq.forums.garmin.com/.../1239637.png ciq.forums.garmin.com/.../1239638.png ciq.forums.garmin.com/.../1239639.png ciq.forums.garmin.com/.../1239641.png

0 Robstunner over 7 years ago

Have you figured anything out yet to increase this number? I've been in the same boat. I've tried easy runs, long runs, races, setting my pace to stay out of max HR, running at max HR, literaly everything and im at a V02max of 42 as a 31 yo male. There is just no way im in "the bottom 50% of men my age with a fitness age of 35.". It's absolutely frustrating as I am consistently improving pace, and was at a v02 max of 50 with my old fitbit before this fenix 5.

0 TomasMelbourne over 7 years ago

Just playing the Devil's Advocate here. Does it really matter Robstunner? The key information is whether you're improving, stagnating or regressing. The number itself, while it might feel like a pat on the back when you're doing well, is just a number.

0 chunkywizard over 7 years ago

Rob, how do you current PBs stack up with the race predictor? If you can run quicker than them then something is up. Also how much do you weigh? The lighter you are the better your VO2Max. There is a similar thread in the 935 forum at the moment.

0 mcalista over 7 years ago

Have you figured anything out yet to increase this number? I've been in the same boat. I've tried easy runs, long runs, races, setting my pace to stay out of max HR, running at max HR, literaly everything and im at a V02max of 42 as a 31 yo male. There is just no way im in "the bottom 50% of men my age with a fitness age of 35.". It's absolutely frustrating as I am consistently improving pace, and was at a v02 max of 50 with my old fitbit before this fenix 5.

Rob,

What is your watch telling you heart rate is during your runs? If the watch is loose on your wrist, it can "bounce" with each stride and let extra light into the sensor, which typically results in a falsely high heart rate, which in turn will give you a low VO2Max. The watch should be positioned high on the wrist away from the wrist bone, and snug. Personally, I find I have to have the band one notch tighter for accurate HR measurement while running than I do for 24/7 wear.

The other thing is knowing your true maximum heart rate - Firstbeat (who provide the underlying algorithm that Garmin use) explicitly note that having an accurate MHR will improve the accuracy of the VO2Max calculation significantly. The classic 220 minus your age equation is OK for the population average, but it is #$%^ at predicting the MHR for any one individual. And even MHR auto-detect (which is an optional setting on the F5) tends to underestimate MHR, as most people don't hit their true MHR's during training (it hurts, and it's not particularly effective training).

0 Robstunner over 7 years ago

Rob,

What is your watch telling you heart rate is during your runs? If the watch is loose on your wrist, it can "bounce" with each stride and let extra light into the sensor, which typically results in a falsely high heart rate, which in turn will give you a low VO2Max. The watch should be positioned high on the wrist away from the wrist bone, and snug. Personally, I find I have to have the band one notch tighter for accurate HR measurement while running than I do for 24/7 wear.

The other thing is knowing your true maximum heart rate - Firstbeat (who provide the underlying algorithm that Garmin use) explicitly note that having an accurate MHR will improve the accuracy of the VO2Max calculation significantly. The classic 220 minus your age equation is OK for the population average, but it is #$%^ at predicting the MHR for any one individual. And even MHR auto-detect (which is an optional setting on the F5) tends to underestimate MHR, as most people don't hit their true MHR's during training (it hurts, and it's not particularly effective training).

It depends on how hard im running. I recently changed the heart rate zones to match the numbers that a few websites were in agreement with, which was different from garmin's, but I still have no change. One example is that the HR between threshold and max went up from 168 to 176. I usually keep my heart rate in aerobic or threshold. my MHR was 188 but it did recognized on a run recently that I got up to 189 on a sprint.