Apple Watch estimates Cardio Fitness, or VO₂ max, during eligible outdoor workouts. It saves the result in Apple Health. Body Insights compares that value with your age and sex. The app then shows one of five levels: Poor, Fair, Good, Excellent, or Superior.
That fitness level is the headline result. The rows below it show activity, distance, and workout measures. They stay separate from the headline, so a busy week does not become an all-purpose fitness score.
What does the Fitness card show?
The card starts with the longer-term cardio-fitness result. It then shows the weekly and yearly measures that help you read the context around it.
Fitness level
Poor, Fair, Good, Excellent, or Superior, plus a gaugeYour latest supported Cardio Fitness value, age, and sex
Fitness Minutes
Minutes in fitness heart-rate zones this weekTime recorded in the app's fitness zones
Activity Minutes
Active minutes this weekActivity recorded in Apple Health
Distance This Week
This week's totalWalking, running, and other distance records
Year Distance
This year's distance beside last year's totalSupported distance records across each year
Max HR Hits
How often you reached your maximum heart-rate range in the last seven daysHeart-rate samples from recent workouts
Calculated VO₂ Max
A separate calculated value when the app has enough dataSupported workout and profile data
Fitness Age also uses Cardio Fitness. It is a separate result with its own calculation. Training Load, heart-rate zones, and recovery each keep their own inputs and update time.
How does Apple Watch data become a fitness level?
- An eligible outdoor workout can create a Cardio Fitness estimate. Apple supports Outdoor Walk, Outdoor Run, and Hiking workouts.
- Apple Health stores the Cardio Fitness result with your profile data.
- Body Insights compares the latest supported value with the reference tier for your age and sex. It then shows the fitness level and gauge.
Each supporting row reads its own Apple Health records. New steps or distance change the matching row. They do not move the headline gauge.
How can you use the Fitness card?
Use the headline for longer-term cardio fitness. Then choose the supporting row that matches the question you have today.
Check the Cardio Fitness trend
Look for a pattern across several eligible workouts. Workout conditions can move one estimate. The longer trend gives you better context.
Review the week you actually had
Use Fitness Minutes, Activity Minutes, and Distance This Week to review the week. These rows show how much activity Apple Health recorded. Open Training Load when you need the exercise-demand view.
Example: Excellent level, quieter week
The headline may read Excellent while Activity Minutes are lower than last week. These results describe different things. The fitness level shows your VO₂ max tier. Activity Minutes describes the current week.
When does the Fitness card update?
The headline can change after a new Cardio Fitness estimate reaches Apple Health. A correction to age or sex can also change the reference tier. Each supporting row updates from its own activity, distance, heart-rate, or workout records.
If the fitness level is missing, check Apple Health for your age, sex, and Cardio Fitness value. Apple lists the supported workouts in its Cardio Fitness guide.
Check your fitness level
See your VO₂ max tier and the fitness metrics around it.
See my fitness level