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Cycling V02 Max Guestimation and how to change it...

Martin
over 4 years ago

Hi all.

Since getting a Vivoactive 4, I've had my Training load appear on the Connect app, and both my watch and EDGE 530 contribute to this... I think???

I use my EDGE 530 for cycling, and the watch for Running, Walking, etc.

However, this Training Status has my VO2 Max pegged at 50 for running, but 43 for cycling dating back to October 20 This has to be 2019 since I didn't have the unit in 2018 and I only got the watch 3 weeks ago.

I run once a week. It's hardly my "thing". I ride desert trails for some 7000km a year on average. 150-200km/week.
I would expect my VO2 Max to be better or the same for my cycling than my running. 

And, it is my understanding that the EDGE 530 cannot give me a V02 max figure or FTP figure without a power meter. I only have a chest HRM and no power-meter.
So it begs the question, where did the EDGE pull this figure from and why?

I'll admit ignorance on these training metrics, since my EDGE 530 sometimes gives me the impression it does what it wants in this department. Especially annoying is the heat acclimation which is always wrong. There is no such thing as accurate weather in my area, and living at a coastal town, and riding 4km into a hot desert, makes this feature seriously redundant. 

Is there a way to get this cycling V02 Max either manually adjusted or remove it entirely for cycling? I've tried editing it in User Settings in Connect, but it makes no difference.


  • 0 over 4 years ago

    No, it's a calculated value that you cannot change.  If you have access to an indoor trainer with a power output, that will count as a VO2 measuring ride too.

  • 0 over 4 years ago in reply to muppetkeeper

    Thank you. I just cannot understand why it is so low and why it hasn't updated since then...

    I'm pretty sure Garmin's literature states it cannot calculate a V02 max without a power meter and I've never been on a bike or fitness apparatus with one 

  • 0 over 4 years ago

    Right, so I should have remembered I didn't even have my Edge 530 in October last year. I was still using my Forerunner 35 for cycling...

    I suspect this Cycling V02 Max could be calculated by the watch, for some inexplicable reason.

    I'll use my watch next time and see if it updates it... 

  • 0 over 4 years ago

    This support article outlines when the device guesses - https://support.garmin.com/en-US/?faq=lWqSVlq3w76z5WoihLy5f8.

    TLDR; you don't need a power meter (it helps, but not necessary), but you do need to be at 70% of max HR for a sustained period, or your max HR is set incorrectly.

    The time period is different for different activities, so it's quite possible that the type of riding you do doesn't meet the threshold for a VO2 Max estimate without a PM.

  • 0 over 4 years ago in reply to Andrew Van Til

    Thanks Andrew, but the very support article you quoted states for cycling a power meter is required... see image.

    Also, I do spend most of my time cycling above the 70% threshold...

    Below is an average cycle for me... My EDGE hasn't contributed any data to V02 Max. Only my old Foreunner 35

  • 0 over 4 years ago in reply to Martin

    Oops. You're correct, I totally misread that.

  • 0 over 4 years ago in reply to Martin

    I can only speculate, but it's possible that the VO2 Max value for cycling is somehow estimated from the VO2 for running. It could be an approximate empirical estimate, based on statistical trends for those 2 metrics across a population of people. I wouldn't be surprised if this is the case. A great deal of the metrics Garmin provides using the FirstBeat algorithms are estimates like this.

  • 0 over 4 years ago in reply to Kyle J

    Yes, that could be, but when I look at the graphs it's not making much sense... have a look at these screenshots.
    I'm really not a runner. Back before our lockdown in March, I ran perhaps every few months for a distance of 2-4km. But I cycle 3-5 times a week and my average speed and cycling fitness is definitely much much higher than when I started in Nov 2018.

    My Garmin timeline:
    Forerunner: Jan 2019
    EDGE 530: November 2019
    Vivoactive 4: Aug 2019

    So the below data all came from pretty much my Forerunner 35...


  • 0 over 4 years ago

    The computer doesn't estimate YOUR VO2 max, it just calculates the ongoing VO2 and records the highest value it has seen you produce.  If you don't do intensity training like intervals where you max out your HR and cardiovascular system repeatedly, and regularly, then the max it has recorded won't be the max you're capable of.

  • 0 over 4 years ago in reply to Jan

    Did you perhaps not read the entire thread?

    Cycling V02 Max shouldn't even be on this graph since I don't own a power meter nor have I been on a bike with one. The Cycling VO2 Max seen in the graphs here are ALL numbers from the Garmin Forerunner 35... and it's all counter intuitive.

    My fitness has increased considerably from Feb 2019 to Aug 2019, and I've achieved several hard earned KOM's or Top 10 on segments where my HR was clearly elevated and sustained for several minutes... yet my V02 Max came down.