Using Cardio Fitness on iPhone and Apple Watch

Another valuable health feature has been added to iPhone and Apple Watch with iOS 14.3 and watchOS 7.2 – Cardio Fitness. The measurement is based on your VO₂ max that Apple Watch can estimate when recording certain workouts. Follow on to learn how to use Cardio Fitness on iPhone and Apple Watch, including why it’s important, how to set it up, and how to measure / view Cardio Fitness levels.

This is how Apple describes Cardio Fitness levels:

With iOS 14.3 and watchOS 7.2, Apple Watch users can view their cardio fitness level in the Health app on iPhone and get notified on Apple Watch if it is in the low range. Thanks to breakthrough technology released in watchOS 7, Apple Watch can easily measure low cardio fitness, and today, cardio fitness alerts allow users to be more active for dramatic long-term health benefits.

Cardiorespiratory fitness, as measured by VO2 max, is the maximum amount of oxygen the body can use during exercise and can be increased through physical activity. Apple Watch already estimates the average and higher VO2 max level during vigorous outdoor walks, runs or treks, which many runners and other athletes monitor to improve their performance.

In essence, cardio fitness is a measure of overall health and can also predict long-term health. While low cardio fitness levels have been linked to future health problems, you have the power to increase your levels with consistent aerobic exercise 🙂.

Using Cardio Fitness on iPhone and Apple Watch

Setting it up

• Make sure you have updated to iOS 14.3 and watchOS 7.2 on your iPhone and Apple Watch
• When you first open the Health app after updating, you should see some new splash screens about new EKG features and cardio fitness
• If you don’t see it automatically, you can tap Leaves > Heart
• Look for the blue Established button below Cardio Fitness Levels
• Follow the prompts such as confirming your health information
• You can choose to enable low cardio fitness notifications for your Apple Watch
• Now you will see Cardio Fitness appear under the Heart section in the Health app

This is what the installation process looks like:

Measure cardio fitness with Apple Watch

• You won’t see any Cardio Fitness level data points for any workout recorded with Apple Watch, here’s what Apple says:
  • Apple Watch can record an estimated VO₂ between 14 and 60 ml / kg / min when you take a brisk walk, hike or run outside with continuous heart rate measurement. It can estimate your VO₂ max if you start one of those workouts in the Workouts app
  • VO₂ max has been validated for users 20 years and older. Most people can improve their VO₂ max with more intensive and frequent cardiovascular exercise. Certain conditions or medications that limit your heart rate can cause your VO to be overestimated₂ max. height In the health details you can indicate that you are taking certain medicines.
  • You can read more details about cardio fitness in the Cardio fitness section in the Health app.

Something important to keep in mind: This means you won’t actually see Cardio Fitness data measured with Apple Fitness + workouts (unless Apple expands which workout types VO₂ max).

Interestingly, Cardio Fitness levels even show up for outdoor walking / walking / running that you did before iOS 14.3. You can tap the time frame icons at the top of Cardio Fitness to see daily, weekly, monthly and annual data (see more on this below).

Apple notes that cycling is another great aerobic exercise to improve cardio fitness, but for now, cycling tracking on Apple Watch doesn’t look like it will record Cardio Fitness data for now.

View Cardio Fitness Levels on iPhone

• You can view your Cardio Fitness levels at any time by going to the Health app
• Tap Browse> Heart> Cardio Fitness
• Tap the blue “Show All Cardio Fitness Levels” to see all of your available data
• Now you can see how many months you have been in the low, below average, above average and high categories

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