According to intervals.icu my VO2Max is 48, and I’m 70 years old. To me this number seems to be exaggerated very much. In the summer I cycle 3 session in the zon 2, and maybe 50 km in average, with average speeds about 27 km/h.
How accurate is the VO2Max number?
I wouldn’t pay too much attention to it Markku. It’s only a ‘guesstimate’
The estimate on Intervals is based on your best 5m power.
See this article - Five-Minute Power-Based Test to Predict Maximal Oxygen Consumption in Road Cycling in: International Journal of Sports Physiology and Performance Volume 17 Issue 1 (2021)
If you want a better guestimate then you already have you could try a 5m all out effort using a power meter but the only way you’ll get an accurate result is in a lab test
My lab tested value, vs. the various estimates out there, are out by 14 mL/Kg/min, with the lab tested value showing higher. My Garmin was used at the same time, so it’s was a side-by-side test and not at different days, times, feelings, etc.
It’s probably accurate enough to track changes, eg. if you become less active, then you should see a drop in the number, vs more active (with intensity) you should see a rise. That’s where the value could be useful.
Thanks for answers. Yes, I understand the predicted VO2-max could be and probably is way off.
But as Gerald@ says, the number can be used to show changes of my VO2-max, depending how much I exercise. But as an fitness cyclist, these numbers are not important to me.
Why be so concerned by a made up number. If it is “calculated” by your 5min best power value why not just track the change in this number. This is after all a metric they actually is a performance measure more so than even a lab based evaluation of VO2 max.
I’m not sure if you are addressing me, but I was only curious how the VO2-max number was calculated. As I ride only for fun and fitness, all the performance numbers are interesting to see, but not so important to me.
Apologies. It was not meant as criticism but only to highlight the relative emphasis on some metrics that are not actual direct measures of performance when there are more direct measures readily available.
He never said he wanted to measure performance though or use VO2 Max as a measure of performance.
As a 70 year old his VO2 Max is a very important metric (important for everyone really) and correlates directly with expected life span.
I totally agree that VO2 max is very important for everyone but the point I’m trying to make is the values your see on smart watches and the calculations on intervals and similar platforms is a surrogate for VO2 max based on one’s actual performance. I’d rather just follow the performance Metric whether it was produced by fun, health or competitive activity than a number produced by an algorithm.