Apple Watch is better known for tracking health at any time, anywhere. Now a specific feature has been released to measure cardiovascular fitness. In America, there is a steady increase in the diagnosis of heart disease every year. It will be better for everyone if you can monitor your heart health every year. With Apple Watch, you can. Starting from the iOS 14.3 and WatchOS 7.2 updates, users can measure their VO2 level using the VO2 max option. VO2 Max is nothing but the maximum volume of oxygen used to perform exercises. At least 20 minutes of a workout should be performed, and the user’s age should be more than 20 to get an accurate measurement of VO2 level. You can easily use VO2 Max on watchOS to monitor your cardio levels. In this article, let’s look at the procedures to set up and use VO2 Max on Apple Watch.
How to Set Up VO2 Max on Apple Watch
1. Open the Health app on your mobile and tap Review under the Heath checklist on the top.
2. Under the Health Checklist menu, tap Setup on the Cardio Fitness Levels.
3. You must enter your age, height, gender, and other details.
4. There is also an option that you can use to turn on the notification if you have a low VO2 level. This option is useful for users having heart conditions. So they can consult their doctors immediately.
5. Now you can use the Workout app on your Apple Watch to monitor your health conditions and cardio health.
Related: How to Use Fitness+ on Apple Watch
How to Measure VO2 Max using Apple Watch
First, pair your Apple Watch and your iPhone. The steps to use VO2 Max are:
1. Open the Workout app on your Apple Watch and start an activity like walking, jogging, cycling, etc.
2. Perform an activity for at least 20 minutes at a steady pace to calculate the VO2 level.
3. The data will record on the Apple Server, and you can view the data on your iPhone in a graphical view.
View VO2 Max Level
Users can view their VO2 Max levels on their iPhones in the Heath app. The data from the Apple watch will be sent to Health app on iPhone. The steps to view VO2 Max levels on iPhone are:
1. Open the Health app on the iPhone. Next, tap on the Browse option and search for Heart.
2. Select Cardio fitness to view your VO2 level. The chart can be used to view your VO2 Max levels.
3. Four options will display to view your Cardio levels. They are:
- D – Select this option to view your average VO2 Max daily.
- W – Select this option to view your average VO2 Max weekly.
- M – Select this option to view your average VO2 Max monthly.
- Y – Select this option to view your average VO2 Max yearly.
Related: Lumen on Apple Watch: How to Monitor your Metabolism Health
How Does Apple Watch Record VO2
It is possible to record the VO2 using the heart and motion sensors with Apple Watch Series 3 or later. The sensors will record an estimate of your VO2 while you walk, hike, or run. In addition, the watchOS will record the estimate of your VO2 using the Workout app. For 20 years or older, it supports a maximum range of 14 to 65 mL/kg/min.
Why is VO2 Max Data Not on Apple Watch
Sometimes you cannot find the VO2 max data on your Health app on your watchOS. In other words, it may be like Apple Watch Cardio Fitness data isn’t working. The issue occurs usually when you try to record a workout that isn’t a part of the type of exercises that Apple records.
Besides this, it is essential to exercise for about 20 minutes for the watchOS to record your VO2 max data. i.e., it supports Outdoor Walk, Hike, and Run. Currently, it doesn’t support other exercises, swimming, and cycling.
How to Fix Apple Watch Cardio Fitness Data Not Showing Up Issue
If you want to use the Cardio Fitness Data on your watchOS, you shall try the below things.
- It is essential to use the Workout app by Apple. The issue occurs when you try using third-party apps.
- Check if you have enabled the location services on your Apple Watch. Check that under Settings > Privacy > Location Services > Tap the Slider if it is grey.
- You should enable Fitness Tracking enabled on the watchOS. To do it, go to Settings > Privacy > Motion & Fitness > Tap the slider of Fitness Tracking.
- Try accessing AirPlane mode on your watch. In addition, you shall turn AirPlane mode on your iPhone with Bluetooth disabled.
- Check if you have enabled the necessary exercises enabled for Fitness Tracking. To check that on iPhone, go to Settings > Privacy > Motion & Fitness > Toggle on the slider for Fitness Tracking and Health.
How to Fix VO2 Max Not Working on Apple Watch Issue
If you find VO2 Max not working on Apple Watch, you can do the following things.
- On your iPhone, you should check your stats using the Health app.
- Navigate to Health Data > Activity > Scroll down to check Stats.
- When there is a reading for the current month, you will find that highlighted in the big orange box. Else, you will find No Recorded Data.
- Make sure your data are right, like age, height, weight, etc.
- Ensure that your Apple Watch is calculating your exercises and workouts.
- It is essential to use the right workout apps for outdoor and indoor activities.
Follow these steps to measure VO2 Max using Apple Watch. Pair the Apple Watch and your iPhone to record and calculate VO2 Max. Measuring VO2 Max is necessary as it gives complete details about our Cardio fitness levels.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes. You can record VO2 Max on Apple Watch. To know more, refer to the blog.
VO2 Max is a feature that records and displays the cardio fitness levels of the users. VO2 Max is measured by the health app on Apple Watch.