Vo2Max Calculations Show Cardio-Vascular Changes
Vo2max is a fitness and health measurement that is defined as, “The Maximal Volume of Oxygen that can be consumed by a person during physical exertion.” I’ve discussed Vo2max in the past, and I even own a Vo2Master assessment device, for testing and training purposes. Garmin Connect uses information collected on their head units to determine Vo2Max via a calculation. The data comes from Heart Rate Variability, traditional heart rate, time, and wattage. Testing myself over the years, the data from my Vo2master is about 98% consistent with the data from Garmin Connect. That may not be the case across a wider population, however. That said, the Garmin 1040 Vo2Max post-ride analysis graph is something I enjoy viewing, and then comparing with my own perception of a ride’s efficacy.
In short, I think the Vo2Max reading on a Garmin watch or head unit, as well as in Garmin Connect CAN provide a good and consistent value, showing improvement, stability, or detraining.
Vo2Max On Garmin Connect
Here’s my Garmin Connect Vo2Max Chart. I’m including a 1-year outlook to show seasonal variations with volume and intensity. I’m also showing a 4-week chart to refine the image a bit.
Now – there’s a bit of a caveat here…
The Vo2Max value you see on Garmin Connect is RELATIVE.
It’s looking at:
Milliliters of Oxygen,
per Kilogram of body weight,
per minute of effort.
Let’s start with the TIME requirement. At a minimum, a rolling 60-second maximum effort is needed to get the best information. Achieving Vo2Max is REALLY FREAKING HARD. It should leave you exhausted.
Next, look at body weight. Body weight is one of the most toxic topics a cyclist or coach could ever encounter. Our culture is obsessed with weight and image, but ‘fixing’ it has been a third rail, as our society has only become MORE Diabese and LESS active over the last five decades. Furthermore, there’s the impression that ‘nothing works’. The only thing I’ll say about weight and Vo2Max is… if you want to achieve a higher level of time-limited performance, you need to SMARTLY and STEADILY increase your caloric expenditure while limiting your caloric intake, over time.
I can help, and I have clients who use a Lumen to help with dietary choices, but it’s VERY personal, and it should be a VERY private discussion. You CAN improve Vo2Max with fitness alone; it’s just that losing the weight provides that much more fitness and performance, up to a point that very, very few will ever reach. To be honest, most of us don’t need to, either.
Finally, there’s Milliliters of Oxygen Consumption. This requires a LOT of breathing. It requires that you train to expand your lungs. It requires that you train your diaphragm to suck in as much air as possible, and then utilize it in the bloodstream to the greatest degree possible. Vo2Max training also requires that you expel as much CO2 as possible, so that the body can treat the strain and continue to operate.
Vo2Max is an indicator of POTENTIAL. It doesn’t guarantee a good ride. Still, a higher Vo2Max is a strong indicator that your fitness and wellbeing are improving from regular training, diet, nutrition, and hydration. ALL of those parameters can be recorded, measured, and interpreted inside Garmin Connect!
How Do I Improve Vo2Max?
Here’s the painful truth; Vo2Max training requires eyeball-popping intervals of high intensity, and a duration of anywhere from 30-seconds to about 6 minutes. For traditional heart rate zones, it’s intensity that elicits heart rate above Threshold, or 85-90% of Max Heart Rate. I recommend Heart Rate Reserve, because in Garmin Connect, it allows for measurement of overnight resting heart rate, and altered max heart rates over time as well.
These are Published, Peer-Reviewed Professionals, who do not use conjecture to make their claims. Garmin’s Heart Rate Variability Research Arm, FirstBeat, has published their own studies in Peer-Reviewed Journals, for decades.
What the Studies Show for Vo2Max Improvements…
The studies all show that for one to improve Vo2Max, you need to spend time near… Vo2Max intensity. In the Garmin Connect world of Zones, I go with intervals in Zone 5 or even 6 (out of 7 zones) for wattage, and above 90% Heart Rate Reserve (HRR). The metabolic response starts to hurt at about 25 seconds or so, hence Billat’s 30-30’s and 60-60’s. Ronnestad tested 30-15’s to good effect. Seiler’s 4×8’s also work, but convincing an amateur athlete to attempt 4 separate 8-minute efforts at such a high intensity has often proved too much.
Now, before I give out advice on how many intervals to do and how often to do them, STOP. Don’t ask. This is why you need a coach. A coach will help with a plan for improvement, progression, periodization, and overall health. Vo2Max efforts should never be performed alone, for safety purposes. They’re highly effective, but they strain the heart and body and mind, and should be performed in a controlled, supervised environment. We do this in my VQ Velocity Virtual Studio; supervised, coached intervals with perpetual feedback about intensity, strain, stress, and training dose.
The 28-Day Vo2Max Graph On Your Head Unit or Watch
The features list on Garmin head units and watches continues to grow. There are so many features, fields, and widgets, that it’s hard to keep up. But one of my favorite post-ride features is the Garmin 1040’s Training Status pages, found in the main menu. Swipe one screen in, and you get this chart:
Swipe right, and this image pops up:
Keep swiping and more charts come up, along with general guidelines about suggested intensities and how your specific mix of intensity is categorizing you as a cyclist. I’ll blog about that later. But go back to the Vo2Max 28-day chart.
Here’s my post-ride data from March 4th of 2024 through May 31st of 2024. I did not record every day, but I did take screenshots of 58 days out of 88 days. The time block coincided with training blocks of Threshold, Vo2Max, and lately, Sprint/Anaerobic Intervals to really tax the upper limits of the Power-Duration curves of my clients and myself at the VQ Velocity Virtual Studio. I put it into a GIF so you could follow the growth pattern.
Use the Garmin Vo2Max Chart to Better Understand How Your Training Is Helping – Or Isn’t!
Remember – Vo2Max is an indicator of fitness POTENTIAL. ‘Zone 2’ training is all the rage right now, but it’s been around in scientific circles since the 1970’s. Anyone who remembers Dr. Ken Cooper and ‘Aerobics’, knows about ‘LSD’, or, Long-Steady-Distance. That’s Zone 2. It lays the groundwork for improved Vo2 in lots and lots of ways. But it’s the time spent above Functional Threshold, the time spent at or near Vo2Max, that improves fitness for the biggest bang-per-buck-per-minute.
Garmin Post-Ride Analytics yields a pretty good assessment of how a workout impacted your fitness. The Vo2Max chart, with accurate heart rate and power meter data, can provide a short history, and a future guide, to get the results you want, in a timely fashion.
Stick with it, and if you need help, write, call, or text. The #1 way to improve Vo2Max is through consistent training at any intensity.
Let’s go.
Post-Script: The DIP in my Vo2Max.
So what happened? Why did I go from 60ml/kg/min down to 54ml/kg/min for a few days, before rebounding back to 58? My body weight stayed the same… So what was it?
Altitude. I moved from Sacramento, CA, back to our home in Reno, NV.
The altitude in Sacramento? 42 meters.
The altitude at my home in Nevada? 1585 meters.
The nearly 10% drop in available Oxygen required about 10 days to adapt.
There’s even a Garmin Graph for that!
After roughly two weeks of shorter breath, a lowered Threshold Power from 305 down to… 258…., I finally started rebounding, and the power is coming back up. Now, I just have to adapt to the upcoming HEAT!
That’s all I’ve got for now. If you liked this post, feel free to share it, and as always, click on the button below to buy me a Cup of Coffee.
#ENJOYTHERIDE!
