Epix 2 vo2 max does not update

socorsu said:

Firstbeat THA

socorsu, what are Firstbeat THA and LHA? Do you know?

Has there been any update on this?  My (cycling) VO2 Max used to fluctuate, but has been flat since mid September.  Performance condition indicators suggest it should change, but it never does.  When looking at the detailed graph that is available on the watch via the Training Status widget there are minuscule changes, but never enough to change the number.  (Using Epix 2 and Edge 1040).  Thanks all!

harmen said:

When looking at the detailed graph that is available on the watch via the Training Status widget there are minuscule changes, but never enough to change the number.

Then the VO2Max updates!

In previous models, the VO2 Max estimate could change by a point after every calculation. This is expected because the error rate is 5% on average, and higher if the HR Max is not accurate. In this model, apparently Garmin has smoothed out the changes, maybe by using a rolling average.

VO2 Max is anchored in your physiology. It can be improved over time with hard work, but it cannot change from one run/ride to another. Because Garmin cannot measure respiration gas exchange, they use HR data to evaluate your VO2. Because HR data can be affected by stress, illness, temperature/perspiration, fatigue, etc. it is more sensitive to context than your sheer biological ability to take in, transport and make use of oxygen for effort production.

In trained athletes who push themselves very hard, the VO2 Max will not change. In week-end athletes, the VO2 Max will not change if very intense training is avoided, or if the training is not balanced. Untrained athletes can see VO2 Max improve in the 25% range or above, but somewhat trained athletes might see only 5%-15% increase after very hard training blocks, over months.

Since VO2 Max can decrease up to a point per year (.5-.7 for well training athletes), maintaining your VO2 Max over 12 months is already an achievement.

More important than the sheer VO2 Max number is to see whether your performance at VO2Max (pace or power) is improving. BTW, the same observation is true for the other 2 significant ventilation thresholds (VT1 and VT2).

If you don't recover enough, your HR kinetics will be sluggish, your peak HR will plateau earlier and it will feel impossible to reach you HR Max and the watch will see a lower ventilation capability.

Finally, the above is all good and can be evaluated by the watch with very good accuracy (for life sciences) is your HR Max is accurate, you fill out your performance duration curve by having a balanced training and there is no data capture issues.

I have contacted the helpdesk since no Vo2 Max updates for a month on my epix gen 2

if there are suggestions this would helpful