This discussion has been locked.

You can no longer post new replies to this discussion. If you have a question you can start a new discussion

VO2 Max bands

Former Member over 5 years ago

Hi,

I'm very new to cycling (other than casual rides) and have recently started to work towards improving my VO2 Max value. My 1030 is rating my current VO2 Max as 'untrained' yet according to tables I find online, for my age group, I'm in the 'above average' category.

Is this just an artifact of different upper and lower bands from differing sources? I guess in the long run I shouldn't worry as long as it's going up but I'm curious.

Many thanks in advance

0 Martin868 over 5 years ago

If you are new ty cycling and have no prior training in endurance/ cardio sport like running, it is very unlikely you are above average. VO2max is highly trainable and deteriorate relatively quickly if you don't train. Notice Garmin use VO2max as a ratio of your weight rather than an absolute number so there is that, if you are a heavier rider like me it is harder to get a high VO2max number since your weight bring it down. What are your other references for VO2max ?

0 vortex255 over 5 years ago

Also, as far as I know, to be "reliable" Garmin uses data from a power meter for cycling VO2max.

But, even with a power meter it is still a somewhat sketchy number (I assume that the computation somehow correlates power with heart rate / heart rate variability or something along these lines) as different types of riding can mess up the estimated numbers. For example, I get rather high numbers when using the road bike on a decently flat and straight course (full focus on cycling efficiency), but if I throw in a ride on my power-enabled MTB, that ride is most of the time "unproductive" and lowers the VO2max value. (most likely due to the fact that MTB'ing is more demanding on your whole body as you also need to stabilize / balance / steer / etc.; thus the power output is typically lower for higher heart rates / heart steadiness as compared to roads?)
If I use VO2 on an indoor trainer, I get really bad values (I assume due to issues with cooling which are not even fixed using 2 ventilators), but then VO2 max quickly bounces back when I ride outdoors again.
As VO2max should be a somewhat stable value that is not supposed to change on a daily basis, I don't trust these values a lot.

So, my current believe is that while VO2max values obtained by highly similar training sessions are somewhat comparable, values from different types of training sessions are not (also stuff like temperature plays a role here, something the newer devices supposedly take care of.)