Doubt about vo2max readings

ab956f66ece54a278a1fb27b3369078b over 1 year ago

Hi everyone.

I have been using my Instinct 2 for 3 months now; I am a swimmer, but I also go to the gym (weights activity on the watch) and go cycling once or twice a week.

When I go cycling I use a chest strap but no power meter. My VO2Max value is somehow registered, but I can see that the cycling and the running ones are not there (as I would expect based on Garmin instructions about VO2Max readings).

I occasionally go for a hike, but being it quite rare I don't think is taken in consideration.

When I export the VO2 Max data from Connect website I get a CSV and it reports "running" under the "standard" column.

Can anyone tell me what is happening here? How is the value being calculated given my activities?

Thanks

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trux over 1 year ago +1 verified

ab956f66ece54a278a1fb27b3369078b said:
Can anyone tell me what is happening here? How is the value being calculated given my activities?

The following articles may perhaps help understanding it, if you…
trux over 1 year ago in reply to ab956f66ece54a278a1fb27b3369078b +1

You avoid the randomness best by doing an activity with a more reliable VO₂max - like running (better with a chest strap) or cycling with a powermeter (that's an expensive option, though). Anything other…

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+1 trux over 1 year ago

ab956f66ece54a278a1fb27b3369078b said:
Can anyone tell me what is happening here? How is the value being calculated given my activities?

The following articles may perhaps help understanding it, if you did not read them yet:

ab956f66ece54a278a1fb27b3369078b said:
When I export the VO2 Max data from Connect website I get a CSV and it reports "running" under the "standard" column.

There are actually only two VO₂max categories - Cycling (you need a powermeter for that) and the Standard including all non-cycling VO₂max values, including also the VO₂max values calculated from the all-day HR data, if there is no other VO₂max data with higher priority - see the linked articles for the priority order. In your case it may the all-day HR that is used, if you tell you do not have a powermeter and the value appeared for the day you did a cycling activity, and if you did not have any other VO₂max value with higher priority.

0 ab956f66ece54a278a1fb27b3369078b over 1 year ago in reply to trux

Thanks for your answer; I had read the articles you mentioned, but missed the all-day HR data option, which must be the one the watch uses, since I have no other eligible data.
The curious thing is also that the VO2 Max value updates "randomly", in the sense that some days I have the reading, others I don't, and I can't actually relate it to anything about my activities or other stuff

0 trux over 1 year ago in reply to ab956f66ece54a278a1fb27b3369078b

You avoid the randomness best by doing an activity with a more reliable VO₂max - like running (better with a chest strap) or cycling with a powermeter (that's an expensive option, though). Anything other than running and cycling with a powermeter is (on my mind) completely useless, and cannot give any reliable results.

0 ab956f66ece54a278a1fb27b3369078b over 1 year ago in reply to trux

Yeah I feel like you're right. However I'm not considering running or buying a powermeter anytime soon, so I'll take that random value and just know it is quite meaningless. Thank you anyway!