Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Your V02 Max (Cardio Fitness) experience
- Thread starter sterumbelow
- Start date
-
- Tags
- accuracy apple watch health v02 v02 max
- Sort by reaction score
Yea it does, I just looked at mine, if you scroll the graph it changes based on time, so it purely your average over the time shown, and also if you change it to year
here are two shots from my iPhone , also on 7.2
Attachments
The two low numbers near the beginning was from Outdoor Walks. The rest are from runs. Seems consistent with how I feel as I’m getting more comfortable with running.
The two low numbers near the beginning was from Outdoor Walks. The rest are from runs. Seems consistent with how I feel as I’m getting more comfortable with running.
I cannot believe that you increased your fitness level so significantly within 10 days.
im a marathoner. Up until March ‘20 my Apple Watch reported VO2 was around 48 (48 yrs old). Then I was locked in a hotel room for 6 months until August 20, and my measurements collapsed (Weight went up +15kg!) Since Sept I’ve been training again, weights 5 days a week, running building up to 5 days a week, including intervals and hill sprints. My VO2 max has hardly crept back at all, currently stuck around 38m seems to have almost levelled out.
I'm a fat 35 year old who is obese (barely, cough, according to my BMI). 5'11 - 236 pounds.
Back in November 2020 (see the drop?) I got sick with pneumonia to the point where I couldn't breathe and my lungs were full of crap. This went on for about a month. (I got tested and was negative for Covid). But it knocked me off my feet and lowered my mile by 3 minutes. No idea what the massive jump was - but I remember before getting pneumonia - I could run a 12 min mile and feel AMAZING (strangely).
Anyway.... I started running 2 miles every day on the 31st of December 2020. Note the slow increases as I've been running daily (for the first time in my life) 2 miles a day (12-13 min miles - fast for me).
Figured I'd post my experience here. I'm not a marathon runner or super in shape. Before December 31 2020 --- I ran 2-3 times a week (2 miles) at a 14-15 min mile pace for most of 2020.
Back in November 2020 (see the drop?) I got sick with pneumonia to the point where I couldn't breathe and my lungs were full of crap. This went on for about a month. (I got tested and was negative for Covid). But it knocked me off my feet and lowered my mile by 3 minutes. No idea what the massive jump was - but I remember before getting pneumonia - I could run a 12 min mile and feel AMAZING (strangely).
Anyway.... I started running 2 miles every day on the 31st of December 2020. Note the slow increases as I've been running daily (for the first time in my life) 2 miles a day (12-13 min miles - fast for me).
Figured I'd post my experience here. I'm not a marathon runner or super in shape. Before December 31 2020 --- I ran 2-3 times a week (2 miles) at a 14-15 min mile pace for most of 2020.
Attachments
Last edited:
I’m getting there. I’ve always been a lifter and the drop on the month view threw me off before. When I zoom it out to the year view it corresponds with when I started getting into running. If I’m below average now I can’t wait to see how I feel when I get back into the average and (hopefully) above average ranges.
For reference, I’m 5’9, 195lbs and have been doing 3+ mile runs a couple of times per week and have increased it to 5.5ish over the last couple of months. This morning I ran sprint intervals for about 18 minutes and my lungs were on fire but it was also 22 degrees (F). 8’29” average pace for speed and 9’31” for distance. I’ve also put on about 10 - 12 lbs since I started running vs. when I was lifting consistently but that very well could be due to diet.
For reference, I’m 5’9, 195lbs and have been doing 3+ mile runs a couple of times per week and have increased it to 5.5ish over the last couple of months. This morning I ran sprint intervals for about 18 minutes and my lungs were on fire but it was also 22 degrees (F). 8’29” average pace for speed and 9’31” for distance. I’ve also put on about 10 - 12 lbs since I started running vs. when I was lifting consistently but that very well could be due to diet.
Do I have to do a certain number of workouts before my VO2 Max starts registering on my iphone and watch? ThanksFinally breached 43. Onwards and upwards!!
I think it works best with walking or running for at least 20 minutes... if it works.
I've done quite a few workouts for longer than 20 minutes and nothing is showing. I'm getting the "No Data" message. Sat on a chat with someone for an hour trying to get a resolved. I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong.
I think I'm going to try to unpair and repair the watch. Should I not use a back-up when I repair the watch? I'm afraid this will put me back in the same boat as before. I did have an apple watch before but I did unpair that one before switching. Thanks
Calibrate your Apple Watch for improved Workout and Activity accuracy - Apple Support
You can calibrate your Apple Watch to improve the accuracy of your distance, pace, and calorie measurements. Calibrating your watch can also help it learn your fitness level and stride, which improves accuracy when GPS is limited or unavailable.
From the Health app under the cardio fitness subsection-"AW can record an estimated VO2 max between 14 and 60 ml/kg/min when you do a brisk walk, hike or run outdoors with a persistent heart rate measurement. It can estimate your VO2 max if you start one of those workouts in the Workout App"
Oxygen uptake is a blood-lab and echocardiographic procedure which can be approximated by using the Bruce protocol, on a calibrated treadmill. Other methods are less accurate.
Where VO2 is the oxygen uptake, HR is the heart rate, SV is the left ventricular stroke volume, "a-vO2" is the difference between the oxygen content of the arterial blood and the oxygen content of the venous blood: VO2 (mL/min) = (HR x SV) x a-vO2.
VO2 can be approximated using a bicycle in lieu of a treadmill but it is not as accurate as the total body mass is not exerted against.
Calculating from the Bruce protocol:
For men: VO2 max = 14.8 - (1.379 x T) + (0.451 x T²) - (0.012 x T³) where T = total time walking, T2 = stage 2 time, T3 = stage 3 time.
For women: VO2 max = 4.38 x T - 3.9 where T = total time walking
Where VO2 is the oxygen uptake, HR is the heart rate, SV is the left ventricular stroke volume, "a-vO2" is the difference between the oxygen content of the arterial blood and the oxygen content of the venous blood: VO2 (mL/min) = (HR x SV) x a-vO2.
VO2 can be approximated using a bicycle in lieu of a treadmill but it is not as accurate as the total body mass is not exerted against.
Calculating from the Bruce protocol:
For men: VO2 max = 14.8 - (1.379 x T) + (0.451 x T²) - (0.012 x T³) where T = total time walking, T2 = stage 2 time, T3 = stage 3 time.
For women: VO2 max = 4.38 x T - 3.9 where T = total time walking
I just found this thread after finding the "Cardio Fitness" section in the health app. I've been in the "high" bracket for 6 months (a little blip to "above average" in september) then from Nov - Dec like yours it dropped from my highest to right on the boundary between below average and low.
I've not really changed my routine. Still workout 5 days a week and push myself to the limit. Did a fundraiser doing 3334 burpees over 10 hours in December and a couple of weeks ago ran 13km up to my knees in snow in the Black Mountains. My resting heart rate is mid-low 50s and my Blood O2 always between 95-100%.
So with everything else going on in the world, just felt like a kick in the teeth after continuing to push myself harder and harder.
Anyway, that's all. Happier now I've got that off my chest. ?
Right. "Below average" means that your V02 max (per Apple) is in the below-average range for people of your gender and age.
Mine also seems to be too low. Do you have a higher actual max HR than you get from the general formula (220 minus age)? I max out around 201 but the formula says it should be closer to 190, and I think it causes my VO2 Max to be abnormally low.
Seems as if, like most health metrics, its more useful to look at relative values instead of absolute.
Seems as if, like most health metrics, its more useful to look at relative values instead of absolute.
One thing I've noticed is that changes in the VO2 max seem to lag. I'm guessing it takes an average over a period of time. I reached my peak fitness in early April but then had a calf injury, with two weeks off running, that seemed to affect my fitness. My VO2 max has only been dropping slightly where as it seems like, from my heart rate data, my fitness is back to where it was in early January.
