Polar VO2max vs "real" VO2max

I gather from a previous post that a fair amount of people get their VO2max tested in a lab. Has anyone compared these results to the Polar VO2max tests? I’ve never done one in a lab, but I’ve done the test on my S710 a few times, and the last one came in around 68. This seems high to me, given that I’ve heard that elite athletes are in the 70-80 range, and I’m no elite athlete by any stretch of the imagination. Also, someone mentioned in a previous post that VO2max is different for each sport. Which sport would the Polar VO2max be closest to, given that you take the test lying down in a quiet room? Is this my couch potato VO2max? That would make sense as I AM an elite couch potato.

Polar VO2 - 34 mL/Kg-Min

Actual Vo2 max tested in a lab - 60.

My opinion, the test is crap.

Agree with both kevin and Francois, both the Vo2 and calorie counter functions are worthless,particularly on the high end models where the target users tend to be fairly fit and therefore facotrs such as Vo2 and calorie intake/output stray considerably from the norm. Did the V02 test lab and polar and the difference was big.

Is it safe, at least, to generalize that that the Polar VO2max will be consistently understated compared to lab VO2max, and that the calorie counter will consistently overstate calorie expenditure? Based on Kevin’s and Francois’ comments the Polar VO2max was lower than the lab VO2max.

It was on their website at one time. Deep in the uncharted bowels. They may have rearranged the site. It was in a section called ppolar research or something.

They had published a paper that said the vo2max was correlated witht eh standard deviation of the time differences between heartbeats at rest. Did you get that?

Write down the time between each eartbeat for 70 beats, take the standard deviation of that data set. Now take that number and multiply by some number they determined emprically; bamm you got a vo2max number.

That’s how they do it.

Gee Francois, I have never had my VO2 Max tested. I am guessing it would be high 40s or so.

Do you think the fact that your VO2 Max is about twice mine might have something to do with the fact that you ride about 6 mph faster than me?

Ouch.

MOP for a reason in Florida,

Problem is your results depend on when you take it, so when are you at rest. I would guess best time is right upon awakening, before you take a leak! This variable also affects lab testing to some extent.

Accepting that the value given may be off. Do you think that changes in the Polar VO2Max represent changes in actual VO2Max? In other words, is it a good indicator of the effects your training is having?

Then what is the advatage of testing and knowing your ‘real’ VO2Max?

I’ve never had my V02max tested in a lab, so I can’t make any meaningful comparison with what’s shown on my Polar S710. But, the calories expended number seems pretty accurate when I compare it with what I would theoretically expend in a six-mile run. On the bike, there are just too many variables that factor into the equation (head winds, hills, etc.), but here again the numbers “feel” about right. (They’re close enough for this guy.)

Even if Polar’s approximated V02max numbers aren’t laboratory accurate, they’re still useful to me. I can compare my pre-season results with my results along the way, and see if I’m improving at all. I’ve seen my Polar numbers increase (slightly) after, say, three weeks of speed work, then decrease again (slightly) over time as I concentrated on endurance for a very long mountain bike race (or as I got closer to being “overtrained”). In this way, I find the Polar numbers to be very helpful.