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Low VO2 Max ALWAYS

Droogles
over 2 years ago

I've had the same issue with Apple and now with Garmin. I've been cycling for years, have a measured 219 FTP through TR and Zwift. However, Garmin today tells me I have a VO2 max score of 35 for cycling. It's basically saying I'm an unfit 46 year old. I find this very hard to believe considering I can easily ride my bike non-stop all day long at 15-20 mph without feeling tired or winded. Then, yesterday I went on a leisure walk with my Mrs, like 2 mph looking at flowers, felt absolutely fine, great actually, and the Garmin watch again told my I have a low 30s VO2 max. I do not find it difficult at all to exercise strenuously for any amount of time, for hours on end. For example, I can get my HR up to 185 for 30 minutes straight, feel fine the entire time, and then my HR will drop to 90 in less than 2 minutes when I stop (which is a sign of very good fitness). I don't get it. Would someone please explain to me what the watch is looking for in this VO2 max score? Seems completely useless to me and not an accurate representation of my fitness. Where's the disconnect?

The same Garmin watch tells me my Training Readiness is HIGH each day, so the low VO2 max is not from a lack of recovery per the watch's magic wand.

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  • 0 over 2 years ago in reply to Droogles

    You don’t owe anything.

    My assumption is that your VO2 max is underestimated because you have not executed super hard workouts yet, so the watch see a very flat power duration curve at this time.

    As you go with the TR plan which is FTP based, you will encounter these workouts

    Report back on the VO2 changes in a few weeks!

    Happy holidays!

  • 0 over 2 years ago in reply to Etupes25

    Quick update on this. Since I started using TrainerRoad, VO2max has been consistently improving.

  • 0 over 2 years ago in reply to Droogles
    Droogles said:
    VO2max has been consistently improving.

    Nice improvement over just a month indeed! Congratulations!

    Thanks for sharing the progress

  • 0 over 2 years ago in reply to Etupes25

    I wasn't sure if 4 points in a month was a significant improvement or not, but the fact that I'm dual recording on the watch, which has no awareness of TR, seems to validate the results. I really do like the simplicity of TR, even though some of the workouts are incredibly difficult. I finish every workout, even if my heart rate is pegged at the max.

  • 0 over 2 years ago in reply to Droogles
    Droogles said:
    I wasn't sure if 4 points in a month was a significant improvement or not

    It is good! The range of potential increase obviously depends on your starting point. If you have trained all your life to be a top athlete, you probably have maxed out your VO2 capacity and optimizing for other metrics. If you are a beginner or haven't trained systematically, you can expect significant gains fast; these gains will taper off though...

    "Indeed, a beginner may increase his/her fitness level during 4- 10 weeks of successive training by up to 10-20% [18-19], although even 44% increase in VO2max in ten weeks has been reported for persons with average aerobic fitness, by using very high-intensity interval training [20]. Still, for highly trained athletes who already have a very high VO2max, it is extremely hard to significantly improve aerobic fitness within a short time period"

    Microsoft Word - EE-white-paper_1 7 6_modified_corrected 2.doc (firstbeat.com)

  • 0 over 1 year ago in reply to Droogles

    Garmin's VO2 Max stat is a joke.

    Mine does not budge off of 51 no matter what I do. It's been there for over 2 years despite wearing the watch for every workout.

    I'm 43, resting HR 39, max HR 185. My VO2 Max is somewhere north of 65. Maybe even 70? It bums me out that Garmin's V02 Max is so useless but I appreciate the watch for logging my exercise.

  • Former Member
    0 Former Member over 1 year ago

    I always thought that Garmin was geared more towards athletes and not regular people like me. My VO2max is 31, and I'm 66 years old. When I google a VO2max for a 66 year old, it says I'm above average, but Garmin puts me in the poor scale.

    They use Firstbeat for all that crap. I call it WorstBeat... lol

  • 0 over 1 year ago in reply to 2785090
    2785090 said:
    It's been there for over 2 years despite wearing the watch for every workout

    That's not unusual if you are a well-trained athlete. Mine has hardly moved for many years, oscillating around the high 40s (I'm 66). When I have done a test in the lab there's not been much variation.

    VO2max cannot, and will not keep increasing once a threshold has been reached. Since it's a measure of how much oxygen the body can uptake there are physiological limitations to the number. Once the 'limit' has been reached, fitness gains come from increasing the percentage of VO2max that you can use at any particular intensity.

    2785090 said:
    My VO2 Max is somewhere north of 65. Maybe even 70?

    How do you know this?

  • 0 over 1 year ago in reply to Dr Phil

    https://www.omnicalculator.com/sports/vo2-max

    How do I know? Try any of the rough VO2 max formulas out there. Age 43, resting HR 39, max HR 185.

    I don't need to perform a 20 minute test for you to acknowledge 51 is way off. All you really need is resting HR and age to get an approximate VO2 max.

    For emphasis: I row a 6:50 2k erg and a 17:55 5k. I run 3.5 miles at a 6:40 pace.

  • 0 over 1 year ago in reply to 2785090

    Also, I should point out that my Garmin's VO2 max hasn't budged during periods of illness or injury when I couldn't maintain my fitness level. It stays at 51. It's wrong.