Hello everyone, an avid reader of the forum and I feel I half know some of you, I am not so much of a poster, but I do have a question you might be able to help with.
I have recently purchased a Coros Pace 2 watch for running, upgrading from a fitbit which used to tell me my VO2 max was excellent. Now Coros tells me it is poor ?
I know you need to do this in a lab and the watch is just an estimate and likely wildly wrong but still it is a bit deflating.
So I thought I could do some unscientific comparison and you folk might be able to help out. I am 57 and have a 5km PB of 27mins and a 10km PB of 58mins and a VO2 max (according to Coros) of 34 which it rates as poor.
Does anyone out there roughly equate to my current stats for age and times and what is your VO2 if you are happy to share.
I know worrying about such thing s is foolish and it doesn't deter me from running it is just an annoying number and I secretly hoping you all say my watch is wrong.
Not sure how I will feel if you agree with the watch that my level is poor but I will cross that bridge when I come to it.
Cheers
Written by
B1GK9
To view profiles and participate in discussions please or .
I think 34 does sound rather low, although VO2 Max is an enigma to me too. I’m female and the same age as you, but my times are a lot slower, but my reading is higher.
I know watches don’t appreciate long slow runs, but even when I was HM training recently mine was mid-high 40’s and superior. 🤷♀️ Currently it’s reading as 41, excellent, which confuses me no end as I’ve been very lax for the last month and have barely run compared to usual. Not fast runs either.
So that was probably very unhelpful! Are your stats (height, weight, age etc) input correctly in your new watch? Maybe it’s getting to know your running habits?
Yes I have had a number of Golden Retrievers over the years Usually two at a time so a lot of dog in my life. Thanks for the info and tip on data I will check that out.
Hi! I agree it needs to be taken with a pinch of salt, but that does sound low. When I swapped watches mine was awful for a while, but it does take a bit of time to know your running (it isn't based on historical runs, just the runs this watch has measured since you got it). Mine remained awful until I realised it had a default date of birth in my user profile (I was sure I'd keyed that in, but clearly not properly!). So I suggest you double check all that data too. Hopefully you will get to the bottom of it.
34 sounds a bit low to me particularly with your excellent PB times. My V02 max with my Garmin watch, varies quite a bit, I am 64 and it generally varies from about 45 to 41. I recently ran when I was recovering from a cold (probably wasn't fit to run really) and had an average heart rate of about 180 (as against my normal around 130) and my V02 max shot way down from just one bad run.
Hi, for comparison, I am 5 years younger with very similar 5 and 10km times to you, just a couple of mins slower. I use Jabra headphones that also measure stats as they have inbuilt heart rate monitors etc. They estimate my VO2 as 47 and my Fitbit estimates it at 50 (excellent). So your new watch readings do seem low, maybe they will improve over time, it might need a certain amount of data to become accurate.
One final thought, might be worth checking any stats you have set in the watch/app during setup, in case you have put your height, weight etc in incorrectly as that could affect the result.
I suppose it depends on the parameters in the watch you have too. I’m 54 and run 5k in about 38 mins and a 10k in about 1:20. My Vo2max is 30 which is ‘good’ so yours does seem low. I’m using an Apple Watch and it takes 90 days of data to set your levels. Who knows 🤷🏻♀️😂
Agree with others that you should probably check your age stats etc, and give the watch time to collect data from your runs.
That said, I'm very cynical about how my Garmin judges VO2Max. On holiday around three months ago I had to do three or four extremely boring 5-6k runs on almost flat (to me) roads and tracks. Didn't enjoy the runs, but Garmin loved them and bumped my V02Max up by three points.
As soon as I got home and got back to long runs on hilly forest trails, some quite technical, Garmin docked points from my V02Max. It's annoying, but personally I'd rather enjoy my running than change things to please an algorithm!
Yes like you I love the scenic nature of trails and the surface, hills, twists etc make me work hard so I feel like it is a good work out but my watch hates them almost always rates them as a poor run.
If you know you’re putting the work in does it matter what your watch says? Run those hills and trails regularly and your body will benefit 💪🙂. Your aerobic engine, abs, upper body, ankles etc are going to love you 😍
Male, 63. 75kg. VO2max on Garmin watch is 49. The last time trial I did (1.61km) the HR peak reached 152bpm. By the Fox Equation, 220-age, HRmax would be 157bpm.
Watches are considered the least accurate of HR monitors. A lab is expensive, especially as you’d want to repeat it to see any improvement. Chest straps which actually measure heart beats is best - they’re about £30 in the UK.
Problems with watches I’ve read about are having the strap too loose, and having darker skin, blemishes, moles or tattoos under the sensors, and dirty or obscured sensors. Of course, check your physical data which you put it is correct, and you can check your pulse manually on a stopwatch and compare it to the reading from the watch, at rest and after a “heavy breathing” workout eg. 3 x 400m intervals at best effort (check this first, there are other methods too). Also, this can give a personalised HRR value which is slightly more meaningful than 220 - age.
I wouldn’t worry too much about it though, unless you’re deeply into fitness and things. Just run and enjoy it. 🙂
As others have said, check the settings on the watch, and how well it's fitting.
I'm 53, 70kg, 5'11" and my max HR is manually set to 190, well in excess of the usual formulas. Garmin reckons my VO₂Max is about 49.
Keep an eye on your Heart Rate in normal running. Note the highest it goes (eg. after the sprint finish of a race) and adjust the max HR setting to be up to 10 bpm higher than that.
Then leave the settings alone. These stats take weeks to accumulate.
Talking of deflating, mine once told me i had a fitness age of 79 yes slowly as i got fitter and learned V02max loves shorter faster runs it now tells me I’m 47 yrs, poor willow is 77 so it doesn’t make sense to me as his V02max is higher than mine 😀It does change over time and of course the new watch needs to get to know you
Thats ok, your secret is safe with me……and the rest of HU members 😂, I proudly watched my fitness age go down and then Willows started to go up and we don’t talk about it, glad you chucked though although sad to think of lost tea 😀
Oh and I think 20 is as young as you can get, my grandson is 20 and his real age is 16
I now ignore the VO2max on my Garmin. The harder I tried and the further I ran, the unfitter it rated me. At the last look it gave a fitness age of 70 ! It only seems to like fast runs up to 2km.
I only wear it whilst running as the step count is annoying, and just take note of time, pace, cadence and step length afterwards. Then it can rest on the dressing table till next run. Beware, or it can take away all the joy of running.
Thanks. Yes I have noticed that sometimes I am very happy with my run but my watch is not and it can take off the shine if you let it. Perhaps I should follow your lead and give it a time out until it learns some manners
Similar experience with Garmin, I hit 67 years old earlier this year according to the watch (52 at the time) I was going for 100 but never made it. That was a VO2max of 34 and in the bottom 50% of my age range.It hates long runs and says I’m getting less fit. Perversely I tried Jeffing my weekday 5k runs for a couple of weeks and the vo2 flew up! 🤔 it’s on 38 now in the fair category and my age is sitting at 52.
For comparison I’m 53, 86ish KG. 5k 30’30” and 10k around 1hr 08min
I’m age 63, about 78kg, PB for 5km is 27.50. I use a Garmin 735FX watch. Because of a heart condition, after completing C25K I started running most of my 5k following Maff180 method. VO2 Max crept up and I had a little celebration when it reached 50. The Garmin favours long steady runs with little deviation in heart rate. Most of my runs are at sea level on flattish ground.
Never mamaged to work out vo2 max and Training status. Just when you think you got is sused it does something else. For the record mine is 36 and gives me an age of 58, I am 74. I only use it for pace and distance now, got fed up chasing my watch running d-stresses me so I don't need vo2 as it doesn't give me any credit for my age.My PB this year for 5k is 33.05, 10k is 1 hr 11.59.
Think you need to let it settle. I'm 63, slower than you and VO2max according to Garmin of 45. Make sure your weight is in correctly as thats a key parameter in the calculation. REgarding the HR comments. I also found the 220 minus age to be useless. I suspect this was generated some timne ago and was a curve fit. I set mine by doing a park run, sprinting the last 2oom and then using that plus 5bpm as my max. Now things make sense. Anyway with the times you are getting a non scientific answer would say " Your are fit"
I have tracked what the watch does over my various post-run posts here. It seems to like runs that are short, fast and push into Zone 4. What it doesn't like is long slow runs which sit mainly in Zone 3.
I’ve only had my Garmin a couple of weeks, I’m 60, 5k average time about 31 minutes, 10k average time about 1.05. My VO2 max is apparently also 34 (up from 32 after first recorded run) which it says is Excellent and in the top 20% for my age. Fitness age 45 😃😃 For me it’s of interest and I’ll hopefully see it increase, but it’s not something I’m going to worry about!
I would read up on how their system works, it is different to garmin (they say superior but who knows)
There's a link in here to specific types of workouts that it looks for too.
Because I know that trail running is not good for vo2max I use a trail profile that doesn't track vo2 and only track vo2 on short or road runs that it know it is more likely to like.
Content on HealthUnlocked does not replace the relationship between you and doctors or other healthcare professionals nor the advice you receive from them.
Never delay seeking advice or dialling emergency services because of something that you have read on HealthUnlocked.
'Be Still, my Beating Heart'!
Day 5 HM training:
Another 4K in the right direction
Bleuch! And other musings
