Increasing VO2 Garmin

[Rabbitpyjamas]

Has anyone successfully increased their VO2?
I’m an active 58 year old who runs, walks and does racket sports with a healthy BMI.
My VO2 is 37, was 39 at the end of last year, but despite trying hard there’s no improvement.
googling doesn’t tell me much.

Why does it drop? Mine dropped from 44 to 41. I'm 46. No idea what it really means tbh.

@LuciferRising no idea! I’m hoping someone with knowledge will explain.

Mine rose the other day. I do not know why either. Also thinks I should be able to run a marathon significantly faster than I can so feels like pinch of salt territory.

You can't measure VO2 on a watch, just take it as a metric of fitness that is increasing/decreasing.

Improvement is not linear, so don't be discouraged by drops in numbers.

I read something about hill climbs being good

It will improve the fitter/faster you get. Over the last 4 years mine has moved between 42 and 51, depending on what I'm training for and how injured I am. I'm 54.

Although I agree the watch isn't an accurate measure of VO2 max, it does give an indication of fitness.

What range are you in? Excellent? I’m 53 and VO2 max is 41 and I’m in the superior range - yours must be pretty good surely?
I don’t take it too seriously- it’s a fun metric. However (!) intervals always give mine a boost… if you felt like trying to increase it. It’s a fine balance though between improving cardio fitness and knee twinges I’ve found😀

I’ve been swapping twice daily cardio for heavy weights sessions and taking the occasional rest day…my V02 has been dropping in exact relation to this.
It’s sad I can’t maintain cardio health and gain muscle.
Its a lovely metric to keep an eye on.

I think it’s calculated by a combination of speed you’re running vs effort. Mine is 47/superior. I’m not especially fast but I do intervals and hills which are probably quite high effort in comparison to my overall speed so maybe that’s why?

I find that mine tends to go up after I've done a long distance race. It was 55 after I ran London marathon, but is now sitting at 53. Previous to training for London, it hovered around 49 - 51 most of the time.

Having said that, I'd take measurements with a pinch of salt.

You cant measure it without a proper lab set up. With a fitness watch you get an extrapolation based on the metrics the device is able to use.
Your potential/ceiling for O2 consumption per bodyweight will decline as you get older. The fitter you are the slower the rate of decline.
Mine goes up if I run more.

it goes down with age & is harder to increase if A) you're older adult already B) you are already quite fit.

Just push yourself to a comfortable tired every time to maintain if not improve.

Thank you for the comments.
I’ve just had a birthday so it seems that Garmin automatically think I’m less fit!
Looks like it’s not very accurate anyways so I’ll try not to think about it so much.

Garmin is a gaslighting b@stard 🤣 I wouldn't pay it TOO much attention. But to increase VO2 max you need to do something like intervals

I’m 38 and my Apple Watch only gives me 31 VO score. I exercise most days though mostly weight training. I comfortably do park run which is only 5k but surely I am not that unfit?

I go between 40 and 47 depending on training. Losing weight takes it up because the calculation divides by weight. Making sure your load focus stays within the target bars (low, high and anaerobic) for a few weeks normally takes it up. You might have to do a few sprint sessions for anaerobic, and some bike rides or some for low. Longer distance running also helps

Mine has dropped several points this week as I have my dd's dog while she's on holiday. My walks have been a lot slower than usual as dog stops for sniffs a lot. I do like to keep an eye on it but know that it's just a general indicator of fitness. It's telling me I have a fitness age of 33 (usually 29) and I'm 54 so I'll take that

Mine has recently gone up to 41 (superior!!) as I've been training for a half and doing more speed intervals.

It also says I have the fitness levels (or something) of a 20 year old, but as I'm 57, a bit overweight and am certainly not as fit as I could be, I do wonder about what kind of shape it thinks your average 20 year old is!

From being very unfit I started the gym in Jan and couch to 10k in March. My Apple Watch first recorded my vo2 as 24 but now it has moved up to 29 which is just below good for Love you age (54). Hoping when I complete the c210k I'll be measuring firmly in the good range.

Mine increases with my increased distance and hard intervals. Hills seems to temporarily make it drop, as I suspect my heart rate is high for the slow pace. Mine is 49 -53 but getting it to climb is harder than the drop.

I’m 52