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How is my Cardio Fitness score so high?

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I'm not trying to brag, but my Cardio Fitness score seems way too high.

I started running two months ago, and I could only run for a mile and half before being exhausted.  I knew I had to build endurance.  In the beginning of this month I bought the Charge 2 to really track my progress, and I discover the app has a cardio fitness score.  My score is already above 55, excellent for a man of my age.  How is it so high when I was never really athletic until two months ago?  Also, I can now run 3.4 miles for 30 minutes.

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Well Done!

 

Cardio Fitness is a lot about your v02 Max, and v02 Max is in large part hereditary.  Exercise and healthy eating can greatly influence it, but only to an extent.  Elite marathon runners and other endurance athletes were born to run, in a sense.  They achieve a v02 Max that would be simply impossible for most people, no matter how hard they work at it.  

 

So it looks like you've had running genes all along and just never knew it!  

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63 REPLIES 63

Yeah the body is a miracle machine for sure. A yr ago i couldn't ride an exercise bike for more than 5 minutes and now i ride at a better pace for an hr a day plus walk the 10000 steps.

Just have to get that old heart and lungs pumping .

 

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You get that score because you deserve it. Not many people run and you are actually more fit than you realise if you can now run 3.4 miles for 30 minutes.

Karolien | The Netherlands

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Well Done!

 

Cardio Fitness is a lot about your v02 Max, and v02 Max is in large part hereditary.  Exercise and healthy eating can greatly influence it, but only to an extent.  Elite marathon runners and other endurance athletes were born to run, in a sense.  They achieve a v02 Max that would be simply impossible for most people, no matter how hard they work at it.  

 

So it looks like you've had running genes all along and just never knew it!  

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PS. If you enjoy running and want to keep it up, I recommend joining a running group, or finding tips online.  It will help you avoid injury, and continue your progression if you so desire.

Hal Higdon is a source I always use.  For brand new runners I always recommend the 30-30 Plan or one of the 5K training programs. But you seemed to have progressed beyond that already, so maybe a 10K training plan?  You don't even have to be training for an actual race if you don't want to, it could just be a good way to work up to running 6.2 miles safely.

I'm not sure if links work here, I'm going to try to link  you to Hal Higdon's 10k Novice plan.  (He has free plans and interactive plans which you have to pay for, I've always found the free plans just fine.)  If the link doesn't work, just Google Hal Higdon and click training plans.  Good luck!

http://www.halhigdon.com/training/51122/10K-Novice-Training-Program

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DBS504,

 

Thanks for the tips!  I'll check out Hal's website and push forward toward hitting a 6.2 mile mark.

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Interesting, 7 weeks ago my cardio score was 38 and I struggled to jog for 60secs ... A few days ago I completed my first ever 5k (28:50) and my cardio score is now 50. Excellent for my age.

 

My dad once said I was a distant relative of a well known 80s track runner, perhaps I too should of taken up running 30 years ago.

https://www.fitbit.com/user/5KRRJY
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I wonder what the formula is for this. I'm a 45-yr-old woman and mine is 44 - I recently went up against a 23-yr-old "cross-fitting" intern on the treadmill at work doing the Bruce protocol. (Cardiac Eval dept) and I went longer than her, getting 30 seconds into Stage 6 and 18 mets. Last fall mine was 2 points higher - 46 - when I ran a 12K - got 2nd  in my age group - pace was lowish 8 min miles. I don't think I could ever get mine up to 55. 

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Wijody,

It seems resting heart rate is also a factor, mine is around 56-58bpm according to my tracker.

Your 8min/mile 12k sounds impressive to me. I hope to achieve that endurance in a few months.

-Sfurry
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My resting heart rate is usually low 60's. Sometimes if I'm eating a lot more (carbs) it goes up to upper 60's (metabolism speeding up I guess) and goes down into upper 50's when eating less. 

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Interesting. I had the opposite. I am 40 and have run outdoors for most of my life. When I got mine I was in the low 'good' range and remained there for the few months I've had mine. I eat well and exercise every day with at least every other day being a run. Running is relaxing for me. Cardio I can do, just not winning any lifting competitions. 

 

This is week I find myself in a hotel with tornados and high wind so I turned to the treadmill. I was watching the news as I did this so I just did a 2 mile run at 18 mins. When I finished the Fitbit read it as .78 miles in 18 mins and my score dropped all the way to mid 'fair'

 

I don't know the calculation that goes into this, but for it to never improve and then drop 2 whole levels after one poorly recorded run was disappointing. 

 

I love the Fitbit, but disappointed in this area. 

 

Congrats on on getting out there and your impressive improvements. 

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Syty,

I recommend checking your stride length settings on your Fitbit. Running outdoors with GPS to map out your distance is more accurate than running in one place if your stride length isn't set properly. I don't expect the cardio scores to be real indicators of health. It's better to judge on how well you are by improved running, working out, and regular physicals from a doctor.

-sfurry
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@sfurry wrote:

I can now run 3.4 miles for 30 minutes.


3.4 miles in 30 minutes is not bad at all (it’s almost 11 km/h). You may want to perform the Cooper’s test (run the longest possible distance in 12 minutes on a standard 400 meters track & field track), it’s a good proxy for VO2Max, which the Fitbit Cardio Fitness Score attempts to mimick. 

Dominique | Finland

Ionic, Aria, Flyer, TrendWeight | Windows 7, OS X 10.13.5 | Motorola Moto G6 (Android 9), iPad Air (iOS 12.4.4)

Take a look at the Fitbit help site for further assistance and information.

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Dominique,

Thanks for the tip.  I'll learn more about the Cooper's test.  I've been trying to improve my VO2 max using Brendan Brazier method in his book, "Thrive Fitness"

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There’s an app called Fitdigits you can use to perform Cooper’s test. Also see this Wikipedia article.

 

I also found Fitbit’s cardio fitness score to be higher than what I got with Cooper (though I performed the test 3.5 years ago and I’ve probably improved my cardio fitness a bit since).

Dominique | Finland

Ionic, Aria, Flyer, TrendWeight | Windows 7, OS X 10.13.5 | Motorola Moto G6 (Android 9), iPad Air (iOS 12.4.4)

Take a look at the Fitbit help site for further assistance and information.

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Here is another test..... The Rockport test.. Probably similar to the Cooper test and in this one you need to walk 1 mile (1609 m) and immediately record the time taken and take you HR and then apply the results to the calculator..

 

My Fitbit V02Max number is definitely genetically affected.. I'm 77 and have a Fitbit cardio Fitness of 42-46.. It was 43-47 but my RHR has gone from 51-55 over the last few weeks.. Probably affected by vaccination shots for Flu, Pneumonia and Shingles.  Never had the shots before. Also need more blankets because Autumn is setting in here and colder nights.

 

So RHR definitely affects the result. and I average 8 hrs sleep under the new sleep system..

 

My average step count is 7k/day...

 

 

Colin:Victoria, Australia
Ionic (OS 4.2.1, 27.72.1.15), Android App 3.45.1, Premium, Phone Sony Xperia XA2, Android 9.0
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I was a bit surprised by my VO2 when the app first gave me it. 51 to 55 which is well into the excellent range. I am fairly fit I think, but didnt think I was anywhere near that score. I have a low resting heart rate though (usually around 46 or so) which I think is genetic as my mothers was low too. 

Community Council Member

Helen | Western Australia

Want to discuss ways to increase your activity? Visit Get Moving in the Lifestyle Discussion Forum.

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@NellyGJoin the genetic clan.  My mother the same... She seemed to go all day, walking to the shopping centres when I was 5 yrs old.. No car in those days. That was my legacy because my doctors, including my heart specialists over the years kept telling me to blame my parents. The shopping centres were typically 4km (2.5 miles)  8km (5 miles) total there and back. And mum was pushing a pram with my younger sister.  I can see my little legs going like mad..

 

That legacy today is that I can walk at exercise speed, never get breathless and still talk if needed. On a 30 minutes walk last night I accumulated 30 minutes of Very Active Minutes, 10 METS/minute on both my Surge and Blaze. HR was in the cardio zone and no erratic graphs. It surprised me, but I was walking at HiiT method using treking poles with rubber feet on pavement at 45 fast steps followed by 15 steps relaxed/slow.

 

But like all of this, we should be cleared by our GP's and fortunately I had my heart assessed at my last annual check-up because my doctor has always been concerned about my low HR. Last night most of my sleep was 46-49bpm. It's 51 at 10pm while I'm typing this post.  My RHR has come back to 51 over the last few days.

 

Thanks for all of the enthusiastic forum posters who keep an eye on us....and Fitbit for helping and  giving us the choice of tools to help us continue our quality of life.

Colin:Victoria, Australia
Ionic (OS 4.2.1, 27.72.1.15), Android App 3.45.1, Premium, Phone Sony Xperia XA2, Android 9.0
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I performed The Cooper Test today and ran 2430 meters in 12 minutes.  According to the chart, I'm rated "good", above average for my age.  It looks like I can improve, which I like, so I have a goal to obtain!

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@sfurry: did you also record your 12-minute Cooper’s run on your Fitbit? If so, did it change your cardio fitness score? Of course, the problem with running on a track (loop) is that it’s not optimal for getting the distance with GPS (especially with a phone’s GPS). Straight line would be better. Congrats in any case for getting 2450 meters, it’s very good for an "older" guy! In fact, most 20-somethings wouldn’t get that far.

Dominique | Finland

Ionic, Aria, Flyer, TrendWeight | Windows 7, OS X 10.13.5 | Motorola Moto G6 (Android 9), iPad Air (iOS 12.4.4)

Take a look at the Fitbit help site for further assistance and information.

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