About VO2 Max. Estimates
VO2 max. is the maximum volume of oxygen (in milliliters) you can consume per minute per kilogram of body
weight at your maximum performance. In simple terms, VO2 max. is an indication of athletic performance
and should increase as your level of fitness improves. The epix device requires wrist-based heart rate or a
compatible chest heart rate monitor to display your VO2 max. estimate. The device has separate VO2 max.
estimates for running and cycling. You must run either outside with GPS or ride with a compatible power meter
at a moderate level of intensity for several minutes to get an accurate VO2 max. estimate.
On the device, your VO2 max. estimate appears as a number, description, and position on the color gauge. On
your Garmin Connect account, you can view additional details about your VO2 max. estimate, such as where it
ranks for your age and sex.
Purple
Superior
Blue
Excellent
Green
Good
Orange
Fair
Red
Poor
VO2 max. data is provided by Firstbeat Analytics. VO2 max. analysis is provided with permission from The
Cooper Institute
®
. For more information, see the appendix (
VO2 Max. Standard Ratings, page 142
), and go to
.
Getting Your VO2 Max. Estimate for Running
This feature requires wrist-based heart rate or a compatible chest heart rate monitor. If you are using a chest
heart rate monitor, you must put it on and pair it with your watch (
Pairing Your Wireless Sensors, page 86
).
For the most accurate estimate, complete the user profile setup (
Setting Up Your User Profile, page 102
), and set
your maximum heart rate (
Setting Your Heart Rate Zones, page 103
). The estimate may seem inaccurate at first.
The watch requires a few runs to learn about your running performance. You can disable VO2 max. recording for
ultra run and trail run activities if you do not want those run types to affect your VO2 max. estimate (
).
1 Start a running activity.
2 Run for at least 10 minutes outdoors.
3 After your run, select Save.
4 Press UP or DOWN to scroll through the performance measurements.
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