Well now I REALLY don’t understand VO2 Max!!

[limberlou]

Well all the time I was trying to run faster and then further my VO2 went down and down

Then I have 3 months off with a virus... and shuffle round starting from C25k Wk1 and then Wk2 and it goes up and up.

No idea!!! 😲

[RunningMigster Graduate]

I'm far too simple to understand it 🤣🤣

I see people talk about it, but it goes right over my head lol.

I struggle enough to understand why my Fitbit and RunKeeper app give me such different stats for exactly the same run 3 🤣

[BestLife19 Graduate in reply to RunningMigster]

Yep. I have a fitness tracker and used strava last year too. Totally different distances for my post graduation runs one said about 5k the other over 7k. Sadly it was definitely 5k!

[linda9389 Graduate]

I had the same thing! It's currently higher than it's ever been. Garmin VO2 max appears to hate speed and long distance; it likes short distances and most of all low average heart rate. Because the early weeks of C25k are interval based, my average heart rate was much lower than normal and Garmin loved it! Average heart rate seems to get a much higher weighting than any other factor as far as I can tell. I'm sure it must be more sophistiated than it seems to me ... 🤔. I still get ridiculously excited when I trick it into bumping my score up though 😍

[John_W Graduate Ambassador]

It's based on your Heart Rate and if that's taken from an optical sensor on your watch/Fitbit then I'd take VO2 with a pinch of salt. Wrist-based HR readings are notoriously unreliable.

[limberlou Graduate in reply to John_W]

Ahh - I dont really care -as long as I can run without collapsing breathlessly I’m happy.🤣

[Chris--B Graduate]

Before I started C25k my FitBit gave a range (45-49) as it needed a ten minute run to be accurate. I couldnt run a minute but had a low rhr (57). Since recording my runs over ten mins my VO2 now stays at 47. My rhr is now 55 but during my runs peaks well over my max hr for my age. So it hasnt really changed which seems odd too.

[limberlou Graduate in reply to Chris--B]

Mine had dropped to 26 ( from 34) when I was running regularly - up to HM distances and now I’m on first weeks of C25k again is up to 30