Can anyone explain 'Net Calories'? OR VO2max???
carolgrn
Posts: 657 Member
I have read several sites trying to understand the "Net Calorie". Some say you should have a deficit at the end of the day - but wouldn't I be in the "red zone" for calories - as in ate more calories than I burned?
I thought that net calories were extra calories burned over the calories of the food I ate for the day.
What is "VO2max"? Is it something I need to understand for fitness?
I thought that net calories were extra calories burned over the calories of the food I ate for the day.
What is "VO2max"? Is it something I need to understand for fitness?
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Replies
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VO2max is the most oxygen your body can consume, per minute and per kilogram. Most cardio exercise is or should be mostly aerobic, which means powered by using oxygen to release the energy stored in fat. The more oxygen you can use the more energy you can produce.1
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How can I measure that and How do I utilize that information?0
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It's somewhat complicated to measure, and requires more data than you'd probably think. Once you figure it out ... you don't really utilize that information. It's a measure of fitness and if you have it tested regularly it can chart your progression over time. Otherwise, it's not really worth testing because you're not going to use the information. If your friends also know theirs you can use it for bragging rights.0
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How does it help with fitness?0
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NorthCascades wrote: »It's somewhat complicated to measure, and requires more data than you'd probably think. Once you figure it out ... you don't really utilize that information. It's a measure of fitness and if you have it tested regularly it can chart your progression over time. Otherwise, it's not really worth testing because you're not going to use the information. If your friends also know theirs you can use it for bragging rights.
Last measured at 47. Not bad for being out 6 months with a knee injury.1 -
In other words - - It does nothing to assist with fitness achievement?0
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As you become more fit, endurance wise, your VO2max will increase a bit. It's not really important except as a measure of capacity at exercise for advanced athletes.1
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Thank you
Can you help me understand about "Net Calories"?0 -
Net calories here means the calories you eat minus the calories you get from exercise.
So, if you eat 1900 and exercise 100 your net here is 1900 - 100 = 1800.
If your Net > Goal then you over ate.
It's an MFP term and not used outside of this site, generally.
If you exercise more than you eat your net is negative ...
Try to keep your net close to your goal and you will get to your objective.1 -
NorthCascades wrote: »It's somewhat complicated to measure, and requires more data than you'd probably think. Once you figure it out ... you don't really utilize that information. It's a measure of fitness and if you have it tested regularly it can chart your progression over time. Otherwise, it's not really worth testing because you're not going to use the information. If your friends also know theirs you can use it for bragging rights.
They are working on a mask that one would wear to measure your VO2 Max while you're cycling. The Prototypes are connecting to a smart phone via ANT+ To connect with Garmin Edge computers, but like you said I have no idea what one would do with that information once they obtained it.0 -
EvgeniZyntx wrote: »Net calories here means the calories you eat minus the calories you get from exercise.
So, if you eat 1900 and exercise 100 your net here is 1900 - 100 = 1800.
If your Net > Goal then you over ate.
It's an MFP term and not used outside of this site, generally.
If you exercise more than you eat your net is negative ...
Try to keep your net close to your goal and you will get to your objective.
My goal is for the bottom numbers to always show "Green" - - - Is that correct?0 -
EvgeniZyntx wrote: »Net calories here means the calories you eat minus the calories you get from exercise.
So, if you eat 1900 and exercise 100 your net here is 1900 - 100 = 1800.
If your Net > Goal then you over ate.
It's an MFP term and not used outside of this site, generally.
If you exercise more than you eat your net is negative ...
Try to keep your net close to your goal and you will get to your objective.
My goal is for the bottom numbers to always show "Green" - - - Is that correct?
Generally correct.
But don't give it a huge deficit - stay close to goal. And if you go over into the "red", it doesn't matter, if the rest of your days are ok.0 -
I actually did a VO2 max test this morning as part of someone's research. Mine was on a bike, with an incredibly uncomfortable mask (think like a snorkel in your mouth but a big headpiece as well) and your nose has to be blocked. The air your breathe in and out is measured, and the amount of oxygen and carbon dioxide. There's a few different ways the tests can run, but mine was done by increasing the resistance of the bike by 25W every 150 seconds until I couldn't go any more. Gradually the amount of oxygen used by the body increases to some maximum value, where even if you work harder your body can't do anything further, this is the VO2 max. With training, especially at higher intensities, this value can increase, so it's a measure of how fit you are in the sense of how much oxygen your body can utilise. There is also a genetic component to it, some people will naturally be able to increase it faster or to a higher level.
It is sometimes used by heart rate monitors (as in running watches or whatever) as part of the algorithm that calculates calories burned. Some have an inbuilt function to test this, with questionable accuracy (though mine I think was predicting 47 and my test today was 45, so quite close).
Basically, unless you're really training for something, it's not really worth knowing. There are much easier and more practical ways to track your fitness progression, such as a time trial ("how fast can I run/walk/ride/etc a particular distance?" or "how far can I run/walk/ride/etc in a given time?") that you can then retest yourself every few weeks to see how you're progressing. If the opportunity to do one for free comes along you might as well, but other than that there's probably not much point.2 -
Thank you0
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No worries
I find all this stuff interesting, I'm a cyclist and runner and have friends who work in these areas, so I like to pick their brains.
One further note on VO2 max while I think about it, is that the number that people are usually quoting is a measure relative to your weight. So if a 100kg person and a 50kg person are both able to use the same amount of oxygen, the 100kg person's value will be half that of the 50kg person's, since it is divided by weight. However, when working at these high intensities the oxygen is mostly required by your muscles, so if the 100kg person and the 50kg person both have a similar amount of muscle mass, their fitness should be comparable despite the difference in the VO2 max values.
If the 100kg person loses 10kg but is still able to use that same amount of oxygen (very likely if their training continues) then their VO2 max will increase even though their fitness may be exactly the same.
There's a joke in the running community that the best thing a runner can do to increase their VO2 max quickly is to cut off an arm...unlikely to really make them run faster, but they'd lose the weight lol
Another thing, if people are curious about what their value might be, there are a few calculators on the web that will estimate it for you based on gender, weight, etc and something like a time to run a certain distance as fast as you can (http://www.runningforfitness.org/calc/vo2max/vo) or using the rowing ergos a lot of gyms have to row a certain distance (http://www.concept2.com.au/indoor-rowers/training/calculators/vo2max-calculator). These use empirical calculations and are not 100% accurate, but will at least give you a ball park.1 -
It is sometimes used by heart rate monitors (as in running watches or whatever) as part of the algorithm that calculates calories burned. Some have an inbuilt function to test this, with questionable accuracy (though mine I think was predicting 47 and my test today was 45, so quite close).
Thanks for posting that my Edge 520 gives me a VO2 max guesstimate and I was wondering how close those really I are. I know there are a ton of variables but it's good to see they're in the ballpark.0 -
See http://www.owascoveloclub.com/Education_files/EXERCISE PHYSIOLOGY.pdfWhat is "VO2max"? Is it something I need to understand for fitness?
Weird that the Edge 520 only use HR to estimate VO2Max when power is more precise. See http://www.hunterallenpowerblog.com/2013/06/how-to-calculate-your-own-vo2max_24.html. Haven't used a HRM since switching to PM except to monitor my resting HR and blood pressure. If you are into data and analytics, try Golden Cheetah.mjneidlinger wrote: »Thanks for posting that my Edge 520 gives me a VO2 max guesstimate and I was wondering how close those really I are. I know there are a ton of variables but it's good to see they're in the ballpark.
Might find this site interesting, http://www.medicineofcycling.com/research/. It's hit and miss pulling up the papers with http://sci-hub.bz/.No worries I find all this stuff interesting, I'm a cyclist and runner and have friends who work in these areas, so I like to pick their brains.
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I think Garmin requires HR + power to calculate VO2max? I don't have a 520 so maybe that one does something differently from mine.0
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EvgeniZyntx wrote: »EvgeniZyntx wrote: »Net calories here means the calories you eat minus the calories you get from exercise.
So, if you eat 1900 and exercise 100 your net here is 1900 - 100 = 1800.
If your Net > Goal then you over ate.
It's an MFP term and not used outside of this site, generally.
If you exercise more than you eat your net is negative ...
Try to keep your net close to your goal and you will get to your objective.
My goal is for the bottom numbers to always show "Green" - - - Is that correct?
Generally correct.
But don't give it a huge deficit - stay close to goal. And if you go over into the "red", it doesn't matter, if the rest of your days are ok.
This, but I'll add one thing. Even if you are in the red every day, it could very well be OK - if you're only over your goal by a little. How much is a little? Well, as long as your Calories are fewer than what it would take to maintain your weight, you'll lose.
For instance: you select a goal of 1 lb per week loss. That means MFP gives you a daily deficit of 500 Cals. Let's say you eat 100 Cals over that goal, which puts you at a 400 Cal/day deficit. Instead of 1 lb that week, you could (reasonably) expect to lose 0.8 lb that week. Maybe not as much as you originally wanted, but not bad.2 -
Weird that the Edge 520 only use HR to estimate VO2Max when power is more precise. See http://www.hunterallenpowerblog.com/2013/06/how-to-calculate-your-own-vo2max_24.html. Haven't used a HRM since switching to PM except to monitor my resting HR and blood pressure. If you are into data and analytics, try Golden Cheetah.
I personally think the Edge 520 was put out there as a devices for the Saturday Morning Competitive cyclist. So I think they wanted to keep the price low, and keep functions obtainable. And of all the riding i've been doing I've only see a few people with PMs.....I personally don't use a hub, crank, or pedal based Power Meter. I've been eyeing the Garmin Vectors but I don't know if I want to drop that kind of change on it. I've also been looking into a Crank based system. I'm wanting to move from Shimano to SRAM on my road bike next season and I was thinking of just dropping the extra cash on a Power Meter crank. The closest thing I've got to a power meter right now is the CycleOps PowerCal, which I'm fully aware it's not a real power meter by any stretch, that I got from a buddy of mine, who works at a LBS. It was Demo Unit so I got it dirt cheap. Less than $25.00 with invoice. I just use it to pit myself against myself.
I'll look into Golden Cheetah. Right now I'm pushing my Garmin Data to Strava and to Training Peaks. But I'll look into GC.0 -
My bike computer is a 500, which I don't think will estimate VO2 max, but my running watch (Polar) has a function that estimates based on resting heart rate variability, which was estimating 47 vs the 45 that I was tested at. If I use my most recent 2km running time in a calculator I get about 40, but I'm far better trained as a cyclist than a runner these days.0
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