If you wear a fitness band or Garmin or Apple watch all day, what is your computed VO2 Max reading?
Asked by
LuckyGuy (
43867
)
March 1st, 2023
Does the reading seem about right? If it says you are sedentary, are you? If it says you are very active, are you?
Please take a look.
I am aware that the only true way to measure VO2 Max is in a lab, on a treadmill, with a respirator/ventilator with gas sensors. But that is expensive and not available to most people.
The idea of a smart watch doing it is brilliant!
Supposedly it calculates the VO2 Max by looking at your heart rate for different activity levels over a few days and then considers your age, height and weight to determine an estimated value. This is a clever idea – if it works! But my results seems way off for me.
It puts me in the bottom 40% of people my age, which does not seem right. I am in pretty good shape and am way more active than other guys my age. It also does not know I am wearing arm and leg weights when I exercise. Nor does it know I carry extra weight in my pockets when I go outdoors.
If you are reluctant to mention your numbers publicly, feel free to PM me. I mostly want to know if the numbers make sense to you.
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4 Answers
76 years old; last week’s number was 31.99.
Wow! That is fantastic! Clearly that tropical living is really good for you!
Here is a subjective follow-up question. Does that fantastic reading make sense to you? Are you in that much better shape than other guys your age? Would you put yourself in the top 10%?
Thanks for answering!
I have a low normal resting heart rate, sometimes under 55. The number was calculated.
I’m still wearing the watch and after some research and discussions with a Garmin guy have learned a lot about the algorithm.
It absolutely needs to use GPS. Any data derived from treadmill is “as good as a random number” according to the Garmin engineer.
Also you need to put in your actual, equipped weight when you are doing a run. That means weighing yourself with running shoes, coat, leg and arm weights etc. If you just want to look for change then you can always enter your birthday suit weight.
The device uses your weight, and GPS readings to determine how much power your body is generating, Then it looks at your heat rate to determine how hard it is working. Age, height, are also included and fine tune the value. The algorithm is proprietary but the dominant factor is how much distance you cover in a set time – above 10 minutes. He said it is best to track your VO2 Max over a long period of time and not consider a single value.
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