VO2Max and walking/hiking
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@Tomas5 how many people do you know who train to improve their vo2max by walking? By definition it’s maximal oxygen consumption and maybe I am uneducated, but you improve it by reaching a certain percentage of you max HR, by running/cycling intervals, hiit, anything that brings your heart rate up for a certain amount of time. At least this is how I do it. Certainly not by walking. Maaaybe hiking uphill. For me measuring it for sports other than running or cycling doesn’t make sense. But that is my opinion, I am not arguing.
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@OutdoorMan hey, i am unedicated here, thats why i have this silly questions. I don’t know anyone training to improve VO2max by running, hiking, walking, cycling etc. My questions are based on uneducated observing that it worked with S5, don’t work with Race 2. I see that all you agree it is related mainly to running. So i am glad for this feedback and i will ignore it.
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@Tomas5 well in the end it doesn’t really matter because it’s not very accurate no matter what you do
I personally take it just as an informative number/ trend over a period of time. Going up = improving fitness, going down = decreasing fitness over time. -
@OutdoorMan said in VO2Max and walking/hiking:
@Tomas5 By definition it’s maximal oxygen consumption and maybe I am uneducated, but you improve it by reaching a certain percentage of you max HR, by running/cycling intervals, hiit, anything that brings your heart rate up for a certain amount of time. At least this is how I do it. Certainly not by walking. Maaaybe hiking uphill. For me measuring it for sports other than running or cycling doesn’t make sense. But that is my opinion, I am not arguing.
So, I think here for a trained individual the only way to improve VO2M is to exercise above VO2M. That is the case for me and for @OutdoorMan. I probably am a minority here, just about 69y old with a VO2M in the low to mid 50s (watch says 47-50). I train 11-15h per week with 2-3h of body weight and the rest trail/mountain running or SkiMo.
Individuals with no or low training history will have a low VO2M and thus, the walking is likely providing an estimate that can be used for improvement. However, unless the untrained individual does higher intensity cardiac work (begin running or walking steep hills, etc) there will be no change or improvement in the VO2M estimate. Because of this, I see why Suunto and other manufacuturers (Apple, Garmin, Coros, etc.) provide these estimates.
The idea behind this is to improve cardiac fitness. @OutdoorMan (depends on age) may be able to improve VO2M, for me I cannot as I peaked years ago and as I age improving VO2M is simply not possible. I am trying to hang on to what I have.
More importantly, if you are seeking to improve cardiac fitness and you are untrained, observing VO2M trends is a good idea and improving the number will improve your health.
For example @Tomas5 here is my graph. The Race2 should give you values walking. I will try to test a walk today. As you can see my values are flat for VO2M.
Vector/T6c/Ambit 3 Peak/S5 Copper/S3/S7 Ti/S9 baro Ti/S9P Ti/S9PP Ti/Vertical Ti/Race Ti/RaceS/Ocean/Wing/Race2Ti
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@Brad_Olwin thanks
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@Tomas5 I added my graph so you can see it. I’ll test walking on Race2 today.
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@Brad_Olwin last 3 days i did short but quick 5km hikes, 2,5km up hill in quick pace. I was in 3rd or 4th zone even in 5th. But yes it was mentioned hiking doesn’t count. And when i track walking usually i have only zone 1. Thats maybe reason why watch doesn’t measure at all.
I can track it next time as walk. Until now i used waling only for activity in city (commute tu work) but in hills i always tracked hiking.
Suunto Ambit 2, Suunto 5, Suunto Race 2
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@Tomas5 Two solutions….track as trail run if you are on trails or walk as you suggested. That should give you the VO2M. I don’t know if Trekking works either.
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@Brad_Olwin @Tomas5 I am 39, well 40 in just 3 months and for me it’s fluctuating a bit. My peak was 50, now just 45-ish as I am not training very hard the last year (or even two) due to bad work life balance and stress at work. I am hardly spending time in upper zones, so Suunto is screaming at me that my vo2max is just good
So there is clearly room for improvement, but in my case I need to really train hard for that. Probably also genetics play a role in this, I don’t know. -
@Tomas5 After about one month and maybe 10 or more walking/hiking activities, VO2Max appeared on my Race 2. But is it reliable ?
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After 17 walking activities with SV2, some on flat terrain and some on hilly terrain I got 1st V02max today. It was a brisk walk on flat terrain in zone 1 with good GPS and OHR. Great way to finish this year.
