Cardio Fitness Score

[Rudefit]

I have a cardio fitness score of 55-59, which is rated excellent, for my age group. ( which is in the older category :-). Does anyone have knowledge of what “ excellent “ cardio scores might be, for the various age groups, as I would like to know how my score compares to younger age groups. 

[SunsetRunner]

See Mayo Clinic article:

https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/fitness/in-depth/fitness/art-20046433

Alan

[LZeeW · Accepted solution]

Hello @Rudefit and a warm welcome.  Your Cardio Fitness Score is an estimate of your VO2max.  There are charts that show VO2max by age.  Just a little internet searching required.

[Rudefit]

Thx very much, Racer. Most helpful!👍

[TryHeartr]

The ranges are explained on this page: https://www.topendsports.com/testing/norms/vo2max.htm

This paper gives detailed statistical data that show percentiles.  So you can take your VO2max score and see that you are in the top X% of people the same age/gender.  It is based on German data though.

https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/8/3/e018697

This is similar data for the US:  https://www.mayoclinicproceedings.org/article/S0025-6196(15)00642-4/pdf

[JK001]

Hello,

I have a question for a Fitbit rep, unless someone knows this.  The docs say to go for a run to get a better measurement of cardio fitness #.  I'm older *ha) and don't like to run (too much impact on knees etc), but do alot of fast uphill hiking at elevation and other things that keep heart rate high.  Is there something magical about running or does any high intensity activity work to get a better measurement?  If anyone knows that would be great because I have tried to find it in these discussion threads and didn't.  Thanks!

[TryHeartr]

Hello,  I'm not a Fitbit rep, but I think the reason that only running can be used for VO2max measurement is that the energy expended can be accurately estimated, and heart rate is 

relatively stable during the exercise compared to other exercises.  Fitbit has access to limited data and measures VO2max is measured indirectly not directly (ie. Oxygen intake via a hose connected to the mouth/nose).  If you run over flat terrain then your energy expended can be calculated from distance measurement from GPS, time (to get speed) and your weight. For running, most of the energy expended goes into propelling you forward, and Fitbit can measure that.

Extraneous energy expenditure such as in arms is relatively consistent and can be estimated from experiments ad then compensated for in the algorithm.  Compared to hiking as an example, heart rate would be a lot more variable, and there is more energy expended in body that Fitbit cannot measure or estimate.  In scientific speak we say there are more variables and unknowns.  So this makes an estimate of VO2max a lot less accurate.  Think about other exercises such as aerobics, swimming, kick boxing, and some of those would be even harder to estimate energy expended compared to hiking, because Fitbit cannot use distance data for anything.

All this makes sense when you consider the instructions for VO2max measurement:  running, GPS tracking on, flat terrain, enter weight/height settings.

[TryHeartr]

Also forgot, one more point in the instructions:  run has to be at least 10min long (to get enough data to work with)  This suggests that a consistent pattern/iuniformity in the data is necessary.

[TryHeartr]

Also forgot one more point. Running is easy for most people to push their body close to their cardio/aerobic maximum.   That's why they call the measurement VO2max.  If your body doesn't get close to the cardio/aerobic max then it's just a measurement of VO2 and not of VO2max.

[JK001]

Thank you for your great response, I appreciate it.  Interesting.  I have had a vo2 max test before a long time ago...and figured this fitbit thing must be very general.  Anyway, your answer was very helpful, that makes sense.  Thanks for it!  

[LHTX]

I am in the same age group with an excellent fitness score also, and would like to see how I rank in younger age groups.

[TryHeartr]

These references give some percentile data for VO2max:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4711926/

https://www.alpfitness.com/glossary/

There is also an online calculator for percentile though the source of the data upon which it is based is unclear (looks to be US or Canada possibly).

http://www.kumc.edu/fitness-ranking.html

There is a lot more public data available on percentile rankings for resting heart rate though.

HTH

[TryHeartr]

Two more:

Canadian data, more granular age groups

https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/82-003-x/2019010/article/00002/tbl/tbl02-eng.htm

Brazilian/Norway/US data:

https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0209897&type=printable

[TryHeartr]

German data previously referenced above:

ttps://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/8/3/e018697