Does anxiety affect Vo2 Max

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ControlNinja
ControlNinja Posts: 7 Member
edited January 5 in Sleep, Mindfulness and Overall Wellness
Hi everyone.
I suffer from anxiety and it sucks. I noticed my Vo2 Max is really really bad. This was a surprise as I thought I was doing OK with my cardio. I run on my treadmill and in season, ride my mountain bike. I also lift weights and hit the sauna almost daily.

I am 51 and the Garmin app says I have the fitness level of a 68 year old!

Do you think shallow breathing from anxiety affects V02?

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  • Lietchi
    Lietchi Posts: 6,342 Member
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    A higher heart rate (from anxiety) can certainly give a lower vo2max reading in Garmin, but I'm not sure if that'll cause an actual lower vo2max or if it's just a flaw in the way Garmin estimates. A true vo2max measurement takes a lot more than a fitness watch.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 32,847 Member
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    Lietchi has a point . . . but it also can matter how long you've been treadmilling and biking regularly, how often you do those things and for how long at what intensity. Cardiovascular fitness improvement can be a slow thing requiring consistency and perhaps a nuanced training approach. Genetics also matter.

    Do you have any indication through testing (not age estimates) what your actual max heart rate is? The age estimates are quite wrong for a significant minority of people. If that's true for you, Garmin's VO2max/fitness age estimate could be distorted, too.

    Also, keep in mind that VO2max (not fitness age) is estimated in milliliters per kilogram. The implication is that a high body weight will affect the VO2max number.

    Depending on your specific device model and whatever apps you link to it, Garmin will only use certain activities to estimate VO2max. In my case, it uses only outdoor walking. (I don't run, I don't have the right instrumentation to get biking VO2max estimates.)

    I have reservations about Garmin's estimate of VO2max and fitness age, too, but in the other direction. Mine thinks my VO2max is 39, top 5% for my demographic (F, 68), and currently estimates my fitness age at 26. (Fitness age has meandered up and down from a low of 20 to a high in the 30s since I've had a Garmin, with no obvious reason why. I've been quite CV-active for around 23 years, working out 6 days most weeks (mostly rowing and cycling), my Garmin knows my tested HRmax (which is significantly above the age estimate), and I'm not overweight anymore so the ml/kg has a low denominator. )

    I'd encourage you not to put too much worry into Garmin's estimate . . . but if you want a better VO2max, look into how to train to improve it. The Garmin estimate may be wildly wrong (pretty sure mine is), but improvement of the actual is very possible.

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  • ControlNinja
    ControlNinja Posts: 7 Member
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    Lietchi wrote: »
    A higher heart rate (from anxiety) can certainly give a lower vo2max reading in Garmin, but I'm not sure if that'll cause an actual lower vo2max or if it's just a flaw in the way Garmin estimates. A true vo2max measurement takes a lot more than a fitness watch.

    I agree about the accuracy of the Garmin watch. Alot of stuff online says they are fairly accurate. Not sure why I can push myself when running and biking without being overly out of breath yet have such a poor VO2 max???
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 32,847 Member
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    Do you have a power meter for cycling? There are formulas for estimating VO2max from cycling power over a defined max-effort test period. Sports labs can also do a test that involves using a mask that measures your oxygen consumption more directly. It costs $$, but if you really want to know, check in with something like a research university sports-med department or a hospital system that has sports-lab capabilities.
  • Lietchi
    Lietchi Posts: 6,342 Member
    edited January 6
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    Specifically for running, you might consider using Runalyze - it's easy to set-up, you can simply sync with Garmin. Both Runalyze and Garmin don't actually measure vo2max, but they seem to use different calculations on their estimates and I get very different values in both (for me Runalyze seems better, Garmin seems overly optimistic in my case).
  • yirara
    yirara Posts: 9,545 Member
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    What Lietchi says: At least for me the VO2max estimates from Runalize line up pretty well with two exercise tests I did. Garmin is pure fantasy. However, of course Runalize also only gives half decent results when your HR zones are set up properly.
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,695 Member
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    From my experience it can IF you have an issue breathing while having an anxiety episode.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
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    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 35+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
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  • Stormchaser123
    Stormchaser123 Posts: 14 Member
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    Mate watches are rubbish ignore all that - how can it possibly be -

    Im 408 according to my apple watch and i burn 650 calories per workout.

    Use the garmin for simple things brother and go by how u feel

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