Consistently low V02?

[Celeriac]

Hello everyone 👋 I have a question about V02. Mine never changes on the Garmin. Well maybe by 1 or 2 points but it always says 'poor' and is 31 or 32. My Garmin says I have a fitness age of 51 (I'm 46). I feel quite disheartened by it. I started running around 2 years ago and consistently run three times a week unless on the IC.

Talking of IC, the weirdest thing was that when I tore my calf last year and during the time I couldn't run for 6 weeks, my V02 started creeping up!! I think it went up to about 37 🤷‍♀️ I just don't get it.

My heart rate is fairly high when I run Average HR is normally around 165bpm. I have tried intervals occasionally but normally run between 5k and 10k at a modest 6.50min/km pace.

Should I be bothered about it? I keep wondering if there's something wrong with me! I definitely feel a lot fitter since I've been running than I used to be 2 years ago! Any thoughts or experiences would be appreciated. Thanks!

[Sandraj39 Half Marathon]

Garmin will be calculating this based on average stats for your age, along with your HR and your pace I should think. It is possible to alter heart rate zones if you are someone who naturally has a higher heart rate when exercising.

For what it’s worth, I also have a high average heart rate when running and it caused me no end of worry when I first got my Garmin and started looking at my stats 😦 so I did change my HR zones on the device but to be honest, I try not to concern myself too much and prefer to go with how I feel! I have been running for 6 years and think I would know by now if there was a problem.😬🤞 Despite my HR, Garmin seems to think I have a VO2 max of 40! Easier to ignore if it’s a good figure I guess...!🤣

[Celeriac in reply to Sandraj39]

Thanks Sandraj39 I'll try adjusting it on Garmin. I have actually changed it on Strava as half the time I was in the 'threshold' zone otherwise and it did freak me out! I don't know why I didn't think of it on Garmin. Come to think of it, Garmin puts the majority of my runs in zone 5, that can't be right can it??

I'll let you know if I get a boost of V02 max score!

😊

[Sandraj39 Half Marathon in reply to Celeriac]

No - there’s no way you could run every run, all run in Zone 5!

[Tasha99 Marathon in reply to Sandraj39]

Have you got your HR max set accurately? Garmin may have set it at an average based on your age, but if you have a higher heart rate you need to override it. In the app, click the watch icon at the top, go to user settings then heart rate zones. You can type your max in the box and press enter on your phone and it’ll change your zones. What is it set at?

[GoGo_JoJo Ultramarathon]

I really wouldn't worry. These devices are based on the "average" human and we are all not average.

When you say your hr is around 165 normally how do you feel? Are you out of breath? Do you feel your body is under stress?

If not you could try changing your hr settings in connect which will calculate things differently. I adjusted mine as it thought I was killing myself. I adjusted my max hr up to 190, which I've hit frequently when pushing really hard, and as I didn't die I'm happy is about right. It now knows that my average hr when running is in the right zone, I'm not out of breath, very comfortable for hours on end etc.

Of course the other possibility is that it's just plain wrong. Do you have any other device you can use to double check your hr against? I've got a BP cuff and it helped to confirm my watch is pretty good.

It's really easy to get hung up on the tech when we should really just enjoy the running 👍🏻😁

[Celeriac in reply to GoGo_JoJo]

Thanks for your reply GoGo_JoJo I have double checked my HR and it is right. I bought a chest band to try it out and it showed the same, plus my fitbit did beforehand too. I feel fine when I'm running, well, I'm a bit out of breath, probably more than I should be. I couldn't really chat to anyone to be honest. However, I don't feel unwell or faint and my recovery is normal so I don't really think I've got a problem. I'm going to change my max heart rate on Garmin now as I have been known to get up to 200bpm when I'm really pushing it which I know is over average for my age. But you are right, it's easy to get hung up on tech!! Bit daft really

🤪

[GoGo_JoJo Ultramarathon in reply to Celeriac]

We just want that constant reassurance that we're doing it "right" and that we're improving. Over time though you should be able to get nicely in tune with your body so that you can tell what's going on without the tech.

Apart from distance I rarely look at any stats these days, but it is nice to know it's collected. 🤣

[roseabi Ultramarathon]

This article has ideas from the horse's mouth about how to increase your Garmin VO2max 😊

garmin.com/en-US/blog/fitne...

[Celeriac in reply to roseabi]

Thanks roseabi I'll give it a read😊

[SueAppleRun 10 Miles]

For what it’s worth my v02 max went down and down when I was running longer slower runs, then for no reason I ran a few 20 minute runs and it steadily went up again, I’m slow and barely get out of breath, sometimes I run a little faster to see what happens, heart rate is strange, I run a bit faster and further than Willow and my fitness age is a lot younger than his but my heart rate is higher. None of it makes sense, I better follow that link above and find out Good luck, even though only a guide it’s good to see it go up

[Celeriac in reply to SueAppleRun]

Thanks SueAppleRun It's funny how it varies so much from person to person isn't it? I suppose that's why we have to take it all with a pinch of salt and if we feel OK and are enjoying it then it's all good

😊

[SueAppleRun 10 Miles in reply to Celeriac]

Yes that’s it exactly, mine isn’t moving lately and poor willow is getting older every run

[Celeriac in reply to SueAppleRun]

How discouraging for Willow, he has my sympathy!

[SueAppleRun 10 Miles in reply to Celeriac]

He’s getting a bit cross with it but he still comes for a run

[HeavyFoot Half Marathon]

Celeriac, it completely foxes me as well and I have a low heart rate: yesterday I ran a hilly 16 km with average HR of 125 and max of 145. And I was trying. Nevertheless bloomin’ Garmin gives me a VO2 max of 36 at the lower end of Fair. If I adjust my HR zones settings lower, I think it’ll rate me lower still. Mind you, Garmin often tells me I’ve had a good night’s sleep when I haven’t slept a wink.

[Speedy60 Half Marathon in reply to HeavyFoot]

Mine's told me I've had a bad night's sleep and should take time to recover when I haven't actually been wearing it! 😆

[over61andstilltrying Half Marathon in reply to HeavyFoot]

🤣

[Celeriac in reply to HeavyFoot]

Thanks Heavyfoot. Wow, if I ran a hilly 16K which I never have, my heart rate would be up to about 180 I think! Funny how it varies so much with different people. It's annoying isn't it when Garmin makes out you're not trying hard enough- how rude!

[HeavyFoot Half Marathon in reply to Celeriac]

Going through my Garmin stats I see that my maximum HR has been 145. So , with much difficulty, have revised my zones lower. Let’s see what that does. In the end, if you’re doing your best, you’re doing your best.

[Celeriac in reply to HeavyFoot]

Great. I'll do mine too, I've been putting it off thinking it probably involves a bit of faffing...Let's compare notes after we've seen what happens 👍

[HeavyFoot Half Marathon in reply to Celeriac]

Will do. If I remember aright you have to go through Profile then Settings. Complicated.

[KevinFG]

Garmin only estimates your VO2 max and cannot be considered anything other than a guide, same with Heart rate zones you would need a proper stress test to get real results. If you really want to do this find out if a local University has the equipment, but be warned it is not a nice test takes you well out of your comfort zone. Otherwise as you already know Running at lowish speeds is good for you whatever some peice of tech says.

[Celeriac in reply to KevinFG]

Thanks KevinFG It's a good reminder and I'm not sure I really do fancy the test really!

[nowster Metric Marathon]

What will help is setting the Max HR to something more realistic for you. The age-based calculation is totally wrong for me. I have seen my HR hit 188 regularly during hard runs, without being in obvious distress, so I reset the max to 190.

[Celeriac in reply to nowster]

Thanks nowster I'm going to do that now on my Garmin. I'll be interested to see what happens. It's definitely wrong on Garmin as it says that 96% of my run today was in zone 5!!

[Speedy60 Half Marathon]

If your heart rate goes up to 200bpm when you're really pushing it, but you can't keep up that pace for long, that is your maximum heart rate by definition (or as close as you're going to get outside of a laboratory).

[linda9389 Administrator Marathon]

Agree with lots of the above. Have you checked what age garmin thinks you are? When I moved from fitbit to garmin my VO2max plummetted. Turned out I had a default age set up which was way younger than I am (though I was sure I had input it properly). Once I fixed all my personal details it was much more realistic 😀

[Celeriac in reply to linda9389]

Thanks linda9389 I'm going to have a look now at all my personal details on there because I don't really know what they are! I know the max heart rate must be wrong but not sure about everything else. I'll see what happens, will be quite interesting....

[linda9389 Administrator Marathon in reply to Celeriac]

If your age is wrong, that would instantly make the HR zones wrong for you. Even with the correct age though, you may still want to adjust the calculated HR zones to be more appropriate to you. Good luck.

[Celeriac in reply to linda9389]

Thanks, I'll give it a go and let you know 👍