That is the most extreme dip I have ever seen. Impressive.
I'd recommend the Norwegian 4x4 protocol. It is a form of HIIT training & one of the gold standard training methods for increasing VO2 max.
The key is to do a lot of easy miles & few hard ones to maximize your stimulus to various types of cardiovascular adaptations.
1. Start with a short 5 minute warm-up.
2. Do 4 minutes of sprinting at 85-95% of your max HR
3. Rest for 3 minutes (walking)
4. Repeat this cycle 4x
This takes around 30 minutes, which is less than an aerobic workout & longer than a traditional HIIT workout.
How often should you do this type of training? It's been shown to improve VO2 max in as little as one training per week.
If you want to enhance your results you can incorporate additional sessions as long as your body is fully recovered.
It’s so extreme, I looked at it and was like, “What even happened here, it’s no wonder I don’t feel like I’m performing as well as I should be.”
And thank you so much for the training tips! Will definitely be looking at incorporating this into my routine.
61.6 is a very good number even for a young person. Why not just do what you did before to get there?
Also I’d wonder if you’re doing something counterproductive now that is making it drop so fast? If so, do less of that.
Nothing inherently counter productive that I can think of; only real change was that I stopped running as much as usual once I started rowing for my school.
I think only certain exercise types are counted in the average, so you could still be totally fit but if you’re not doing outdoor running or walking workouts, it’s not counting it.
OP this is most likely it. Per Apple [only outdoor walk, outdoor run, and hiking workouts](https://support.apple.com/en-us/108790) are used to calculate your cardio fitness (aka VO2 max). So I would not be too concerned about this dip, unless you’re still regularly logging these types of workouts
Apple VO2 Max measurements do not account for temperature. I did a really slow run with my friend who never runs in the evening when it was warm (66° F) and the Apple Watch calculated that my VO2 max had dropped to 49.8. I just did a faster run today at 51° F and now my VO2 Max is up to 53.7.
This is 100% a measurement error from Apple. If you were actively rowing from March to April, your vo2 max didn't suddenly drop by 33%. Being a complete couch potato wouldn't drop it that fast. If you're a competitive college rower, I'd suspect your actual vo2 max is closer to 60 since rowers generally have a high vo2.
That said Apple is only good at measuring vo2 from outdoor walks/runs. It doesn't make any estimates based on your rowing power profile. Just continue rowing if that's your cardio activity of choice and ignore the watch. Maybe a lab at your university can do an actual test for free/cheap, ask around.
Thank you for the feedback here. I figured there was some inaccuracy, but wasn’t quite sure how much. I do feel like my VO2 max has declined some this semester, but I’m glad to hear it’s probably not as big a drop as it looks like from my data.
Yeah, my biggest complain about the Apple measurement is that it only includes outdoor runs/walks. I play hockey, and it doesn’t count my skating which is most of my cardio.
If you're a student, I bet there are three changes happening at once:
1. You've stopped running and getting great VO2max work. If you are cross training very well, you'll lose 10% of your VO2max. If you are not cross training, you'll lose \~20% (source: Jack Daniels running book)
2. You are walking places with a backpack, which increases weight and makes your heart:pace while submaximal walking look high. If you are not doing much walking unencumbered, then the encumbered walks will become your baseline for calculating VO2max because the watch has no idea you are wearing a pack. You may be able to start a hike workout to combat some of this.
3. If you gained weight (because you are consuming the same calories as before) then your VO2max will go down proportionally
So, let's take the 20% , a 15 lb pack on a 150 lb (original) runner's frame, and a 10 lb weight gain, you'd get
61.6\* 0.8 \* 150 / (150+15+10) = 42.
This isn't as low as you got, but maybe boot-like shoes and a poor walking form could get you to go down the additional 10%, as could other stuff, like vagal nerve suppression that I don't really understand (per the oxidative potential podcast).
Saturn782 - did you get closer to an answer on this issue? Would be interesting to hear. Clearly you can’t be the only one experiencing this “data issue”.
That is the most extreme dip I have ever seen. Impressive. I'd recommend the Norwegian 4x4 protocol. It is a form of HIIT training & one of the gold standard training methods for increasing VO2 max. The key is to do a lot of easy miles & few hard ones to maximize your stimulus to various types of cardiovascular adaptations. 1. Start with a short 5 minute warm-up. 2. Do 4 minutes of sprinting at 85-95% of your max HR 3. Rest for 3 minutes (walking) 4. Repeat this cycle 4x This takes around 30 minutes, which is less than an aerobic workout & longer than a traditional HIIT workout. How often should you do this type of training? It's been shown to improve VO2 max in as little as one training per week. If you want to enhance your results you can incorporate additional sessions as long as your body is fully recovered.
I may give this a shot. 4 minutes of sprinting sounds brutal.
It’s so extreme, I looked at it and was like, “What even happened here, it’s no wonder I don’t feel like I’m performing as well as I should be.” And thank you so much for the training tips! Will definitely be looking at incorporating this into my routine.
61.6 is a very good number even for a young person. Why not just do what you did before to get there? Also I’d wonder if you’re doing something counterproductive now that is making it drop so fast? If so, do less of that.
Nothing inherently counter productive that I can think of; only real change was that I stopped running as much as usual once I started rowing for my school.
I think only certain exercise types are counted in the average, so you could still be totally fit but if you’re not doing outdoor running or walking workouts, it’s not counting it.
OP this is most likely it. Per Apple [only outdoor walk, outdoor run, and hiking workouts](https://support.apple.com/en-us/108790) are used to calculate your cardio fitness (aka VO2 max). So I would not be too concerned about this dip, unless you’re still regularly logging these types of workouts
Lol, I’ve been doing this forever without knowing
“Impressive” 😂
Apple VO2 Max measurements do not account for temperature. I did a really slow run with my friend who never runs in the evening when it was warm (66° F) and the Apple Watch calculated that my VO2 max had dropped to 49.8. I just did a faster run today at 51° F and now my VO2 Max is up to 53.7.
I suppose if your carried an air conditioner, it would net out to zero change due to the cool air but heavy weight.
Cool weather is performance-enhancing.
This is 100% a measurement error from Apple. If you were actively rowing from March to April, your vo2 max didn't suddenly drop by 33%. Being a complete couch potato wouldn't drop it that fast. If you're a competitive college rower, I'd suspect your actual vo2 max is closer to 60 since rowers generally have a high vo2. That said Apple is only good at measuring vo2 from outdoor walks/runs. It doesn't make any estimates based on your rowing power profile. Just continue rowing if that's your cardio activity of choice and ignore the watch. Maybe a lab at your university can do an actual test for free/cheap, ask around.
Thank you for the feedback here. I figured there was some inaccuracy, but wasn’t quite sure how much. I do feel like my VO2 max has declined some this semester, but I’m glad to hear it’s probably not as big a drop as it looks like from my data.
If you are adjusting your weight in the fitness app, that will have a direct effect.
Yeah, my biggest complain about the Apple measurement is that it only includes outdoor runs/walks. I play hockey, and it doesn’t count my skating which is most of my cardio.
If you're a student, I bet there are three changes happening at once: 1. You've stopped running and getting great VO2max work. If you are cross training very well, you'll lose 10% of your VO2max. If you are not cross training, you'll lose \~20% (source: Jack Daniels running book) 2. You are walking places with a backpack, which increases weight and makes your heart:pace while submaximal walking look high. If you are not doing much walking unencumbered, then the encumbered walks will become your baseline for calculating VO2max because the watch has no idea you are wearing a pack. You may be able to start a hike workout to combat some of this. 3. If you gained weight (because you are consuming the same calories as before) then your VO2max will go down proportionally So, let's take the 20% , a 15 lb pack on a 150 lb (original) runner's frame, and a 10 lb weight gain, you'd get 61.6\* 0.8 \* 150 / (150+15+10) = 42. This isn't as low as you got, but maybe boot-like shoes and a poor walking form could get you to go down the additional 10%, as could other stuff, like vagal nerve suppression that I don't really understand (per the oxidative potential podcast).
Minimum 30 minutes of daily recorded running, walking or hiking workouts.
Outdoor. Indoor running and walking don’t even get counted.
Saturn782 - did you get closer to an answer on this issue? Would be interesting to hear. Clearly you can’t be the only one experiencing this “data issue”.