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I have an Apple Watch 7 and a Garmin Forerunner 265. The Garmin gives me a much higher VO2Max. I have no idea which is right but one factor seems to be the max

I have an Apple Watch 7 and a Garmin Forerunner 265. The Garmin gives me a much higher VO2Max. I have no idea which is right but one factor seems to be the max heart rate, which the Garmin calculates but in Apple Watch seems to be fixed based on age unless you set it manually. Reluctant to set it manually as it will change over time and would neeed re-calculating so the Garmin approach seems better to me.

Gualdrapo 2y ago
> the max heart rate, which the Garmin calculates but in Apple Watch seems to be fixed based on age unless you set it manually. Is it like that for min heart rate? I have bradycardia, but lectures in my blood pressure monitor go from 44 to 41
- esquivalience 2y ago
  Is it possible you mean 'readings' from the monitor rather than 'lectures'? If so that would be a very easy translation error to make. ('Readings' and 'lectures' can be synonyms, in the sense of someone knowledgable reading something out loud.) But it could just be me misunderstanding: sorry, if so.
- dpz 2y ago
  I also have bradycardia, one of the goals for having a good garmin fitness age for me is maintaining sub 46bpm heart rate. So I think it takes it into account
- pimlottc 2y ago
  “Lectures” in your blood pressure monitor?
  - TheCoreh 2y ago
    They probably meant readings, as the cognate for "lecture" in romance languages generally means both a lecture and a reading
iamacyborg 2y ago
> I have an Apple Watch 7 and a Garmin Forerunner 265. The Garmin gives me a much higher VO2Max. Realistically, does it even matter? It’s not a usable metric by any means nor is it particularly meaningful unless you’re an elite athlete (and even then, you probably don’t use the metric to tweak your training).
- timanderson 2y ago
  It's meant to be an indicator of fitness but agreed it doesn't make any practical difference to how you train
- matsemann 2y ago
  The absolute doesn't really matter (except for bragging rights), but the trend is definitely useful if it accurately follows your form. Of course, a vo2max doesn't explain everything as an endurance athlete. As a cyclist it has a big correlation to FTP, but there are also different metrics to be good at. Short sprints, recovery after bursts, plain grit for multi-hour rides etc. are all different skills not shown in a single number.
  - iamacyborg 2y ago
    You’d probably be tracking FTP or lactate threshold (amongst other things) instead of vo2max, right?
    - k1kingy 2y ago
      100%. Every semi-serious cyclists would be running a power meter first and foremost (heck even average joes these days because most modern high-end road bikes come with one already). Far easier to do a 20min/ramp test every so often instead of trying to focus on VO2 max.
      - matsemann 2y ago
        Yup, but as I said, it's nice to not focus on a single number. FTP doesn't tell how well I can recover after a hill at 120% of ftp, so even though I work on increasing my ftp, it's nice to keep in mind other aspects as well. Both vo2max, but also just how I feel when doing it, how my heart rate is during comparative rides, or even how well I'm fueling.

Gualdrapo 2y ago

> the max heart rate, which the Garmin calculates but in Apple Watch seems to be fixed based on age unless you set it manually. Is it like that for min heart rate? I have bradycardia, but lectures in my blood pressure monitor go from 44 to 41

esquivalience 2y ago
Is it possible you mean 'readings' from the monitor rather than 'lectures'? If so that would be a very easy translation error to make. ('Readings' and 'lectures' can be synonyms, in the sense of someone knowledgable reading something out loud.) But it could just be me misunderstanding: sorry, if so.
dpz 2y ago
I also have bradycardia, one of the goals for having a good garmin fitness age for me is maintaining sub 46bpm heart rate. So I think it takes it into account
pimlottc 2y ago
“Lectures” in your blood pressure monitor?
- TheCoreh 2y ago
  They probably meant readings, as the cognate for "lecture" in romance languages generally means both a lecture and a reading

iamacyborg 2y ago

> I have an Apple Watch 7 and a Garmin Forerunner 265. The Garmin gives me a much higher VO2Max. Realistically, does it even matter? It’s not a usable metric by any means nor is it particularly meaningful unless you’re an elite athlete (and even then, you probably don’t use the metric to tweak your training).

timanderson 2y ago
It's meant to be an indicator of fitness but agreed it doesn't make any practical difference to how you train
matsemann 2y ago
The absolute doesn't really matter (except for bragging rights), but the trend is definitely useful if it accurately follows your form. Of course, a vo2max doesn't explain everything as an endurance athlete. As a cyclist it has a big correlation to FTP, but there are also different metrics to be good at. Short sprints, recovery after bursts, plain grit for multi-hour rides etc. are all different skills not shown in a single number.
- iamacyborg 2y ago
  You’d probably be tracking FTP or lactate threshold (amongst other things) instead of vo2max, right?
  - k1kingy 2y ago
    100%. Every semi-serious cyclists would be running a power meter first and foremost (heck even average joes these days because most modern high-end road bikes come with one already). Far easier to do a 20min/ramp test every so often instead of trying to focus on VO2 max.
    - matsemann 2y ago
      Yup, but as I said, it's nice to not focus on a single number. FTP doesn't tell how well I can recover after a hill at 120% of ftp, so even though I work on increasing my ftp, it's nice to keep in mind other aspects as well. Both vo2max, but also just how I feel when doing it, how my heart rate is during comparative rides, or even how well I'm fueling.