Declining Cardio Fitness Level despite faster pace at same HR

Question

Level 1

4 points

Declining Cardio Fitness Level despite faster pace at same HR

i did a 3 mile walk at 13:57 pace and average HR of 121 and it said my fitness level was 36.3. A week later i walked the exact course at 13:45 at the exact same an average HR and it says my fitness is only 35.7. Today I did the same course at 13:26 and the same HR and it says my fitness level is only 35.1. How can my fitness level keep declining if i can go faster at the same HR?

[Re-Titled by Moderator]

Apple Watch Series 7, watchOS 11

Posted on Jan 18, 2025 10:31 AM

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Answer 1

Ingo2711

Level 9

75,411 points

Jan 18, 2025 11:00 AM in response to Rreg0

The VO2max shown is just an estimate. My fitness level estimates are fluctuating as well, that's why I did the VO2MAX - 1-Mile Walk to compare the results.

You should also let Apple know about this by using the Feedback link, so that they can fine tune this feature some more.

Feedback - Apple Watch - Apple

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Answer 2

Ingo2711

Level 9

75,411 points

Jan 18, 2025 12:36 PM in response to Rreg0

Yes, it is really just an estimate.

After I entered a new Age Range two years ago, my VO2max estimate dropped within three days from 35 to 32, and it took me another year to improve it again. I did not change any workout habits, just got one year older.

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Answer 3

Rreg0 Author

Level 1

4 points

Jan 18, 2025 1:03 PM in response to Ingo2711

That’s unfortunate. They should just remove it until they get it right. It’s useless as is and just creates more stress with worrying if our fitness is declining. Same thing with cardio recovery. If I do a 95% max hr workout and stop immediately without cooling down , my recovery is 70-80 bpm. But if I do a 5 minute cooldown first which is important , my recovery will only be 20-30 bpm.

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Answer 4

Rreg0 Author

Level 1

4 points

Jan 18, 2025 12:01 PM in response to Ingo2711

Thanks. It’s a pretty poor and inconsistent feature The 1 mile VO2 walk test gives me a much higher VO2 max than the Apple Watch. The watch feature needs some work

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Answer 5

Ingo2711

Level 9

75,411 points

Jan 18, 2025 1:38 PM in response to Rreg0

Well, I'm trying to interpret the numbers as a trend, in the end they are just estimates.

Not breaking my Move Streak and closing all rings is more relevant for me. 🙂

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Declining Cardio Fitness Level despite faster pace at same HR