What should I do if my VO2Max Is Inaccurate on my Apple Watch?

Goonerboy23 wrote:

Every training metric outside of the Apple Health app is showing my fitness levels increasing over time.

Personal Bests

longer lasting training sessions

more reps on Zwift running and cycling

significant weight loss

[Re-Titled By Moderator]

For reasons known to Apple, Watch does not use cycling to calculate VO2 fitness, and as ingo2711 suggested, you must run or walk using the Watch workouts and no other apps or exercise will contribute.

Watch is known (on here) to give lower results than other smart watches and in some cases like yours, lower than a full lab test. Neither watch is more accurate , they are estimates. Just use them as an indication of your fitness improving or otherwise over time. Or pay for more lab tests.

I found, that if your heart rate is lower over the same distance walking outdoors, you will get a higher VO2max estimate, even if your pace is slower than having a higher heart rate at a higher walking speed, taking less time to finish the same distance.

Which theoretically makes sense, since your blood contains more oxygen.

I did find this page on the Internet to compare the results of the Apple Watch to a VO2max test, that works without the Apple Watch:

VO2max TrainerMetrics test

LD150 wrote:

...

All I care about is that its no declining over the year, being 73 yrs old.

Respect, that's the spirit 🖖🏻

However, the Health App subtracted 3 points of my VO2max within 3 days after my birthday, when I entered the next age group 🤔

How did you record the VO2 Max estimate on your watch?

Did you start an Outdoor Run or Outdoor Walk, using the default workout app?

I have the feeling, that if I'm not using the Outdoor Walk or Outdoor Run as an exercise from time to time, the shown VO2max in Health will decrease somehow automatically.

That is a problem. You can cycle your tail off and get nowhere on VO2 fitness, particularly if your measured walks are leisurely or a warm down.

That calculator puts me at 25, whereas Watch + Health says I'm above average at 33.

It also doesn't take into account that my resting HR is below 50 beats so my exercise HR is bound to be lower than someone starting from 70 beats resting

All I care about is that its no declining over the year, being 73 yrs old.