I depend on this Garmin training tool to improve, but it needs one obvious fix

Apple and Google/Fitbit jumped onto the coaching load bandwagon in 2024, and it is lengthy overdue. I credit score my boosted VO2 Max on to following my operating watches’ coaching load steerage, particularly Garmin’s coaching load focus graph. However no model does it completely, and I am more than pleased to vent about their flaws.

Some go away their coaching load information too imprecise to grasp. Some do not differentiate sufficient between several types of load. And a few put an excessive amount of weight in your coronary heart charge common when deciding on load as an alternative of your various coronary heart charges all through a run.

I might love to mix coaching load components from Garmin, Coros, Apple, and Fitbit into one ideally suited coaching software that higher displays my precise coaching effort.

The coaching load TL;DR

For individuals who don’t know what I am speaking about, coaching load is an arbitrary quantity calculated by your minutes of exercise multiplied by your coronary heart charge effort stage. 

A 30-minute zone-2 or 3 run may web you 60 factors of coaching load (aka 30 x 2), whereas a gentle two-hour stroll may solely offer you 40 factors (120 x 0.33). A 15-minute observe exercise may web you 150–200 factors, relying in your effort.

Totally different manufacturers calculate load with comparable strategies however their very own multipliers and distinctive coronary heart charge zones. I ran a 10K sporting 4 watches at present and obtained coaching load scores of 130, 140, 160, and 220 regardless of near-identical HR and GPS information. As I stated, the quantity is bigoted. 

Why does it matter, then? As a result of they evaluate your acute load — your added-up rating throughout every week of exercises — towards your persistent load — 4 weeks of exercises — and see how they evaluate. You all the time need your current acute load to match or beat your long-term persistent load. It does not matter in case your load complete is 200 or 1,000, solely whether or not it is a greater quantity than it was final week or month, with out being a lot larger that you just harm your self overtraining.

What Garmin will get proper (and improper) about coaching load

Like different manufacturers, Garmin tells you in case your acute load is “optimum” to get fitter, with a coaching load ratio evaluating your weekly complete and month-to-month common. What I particularly want, although, is “coaching load focus.”

Underneath Coaching Standing on my Garmin Forerunner 965, I can discover a graph that splits my four-week load into three classes: anaerobic, excessive cardio, or low cardio exercises. 

Standard operating knowledge is which you could’t enhance your VO2 Max by operating arduous each time. You want “conversational tempo” exercises in decrease coronary heart charge zones to enhance base health (low cardio), plus max-effort sprints the place your physique cannot achieve oxygen quick sufficient and burns muscular vitality as an alternative (anaerobic).

Garmin’s graph yells at me each time I’ve a low cardio or anaerobic “scarcity,” so I make a degree of various my coaching load varieties, whereas different manufacturers may merely encourage you to realize as a lot load as doable. It is helped me enhance my VO2 Max from 46 to 51 prior to now 12 months or so.

My one (main) criticism with Garmin coaching load focus is that it places manner an excessive amount of inventory on coronary heart charge common. If I run three miles in my zone 2 coronary heart charge zone (HRZ), I normally get about 60 low-aerobic load. In the present day, I ran three miles in zone 2 and three miles in zones 3–4; ultimately, all of that load went on to excessive cardio.

Each run “is analyzed from begin to end to find out the *main* class into which it falls,” the Garmin Forerunner crew defined to me. They do “cut up the load inside an exercise into anaerobic and cardio, however we is not going to additional cut up it into excessive and low cardio.”

After I requested if they’d “take into account calculating and splitting up load focus based mostly on mile splits or different standards,” I acquired the somewhat terse response, “We’ve thought-about it.”

Their reply made me lower than optimistic, however in a perfect world, Garmin would cut up up coaching load in smaller increments as an alternative of specializing in the typical. That manner, I may jog for just a few miles after which finish with a high-aerobic mile for enjoyable with out worrying that it will drag the typical up sufficient to cancel out my earlier restraint.

I am additionally skeptical about how effectively Garmin’s cardio/anaerobic cut up works, for what it is value. I ran a half marathon final month the place I used to be largely in zones 3/4 however persistently hit 90%+ my most coronary heart charge for many of the final half-hour. I obtained no anaerobic coaching impact on the finish, solely excessive cardio.

What Apple, Fitbit, and Coros get proper (and improper)

My ideally suited coaching load system would use the center of the Garmin expertise. I nonetheless love its coaching load focus and each day recommended exercises that modify based mostly on whether or not you want extra anaerobic or low-aerobic load. I would just “borrow” some issues from Coros, Apple, and Fitbit/Google.

With my COROS Tempo 3 or Vertix 2X, I haven’t got to fret about averages. Every run splits the coaching load into three classes: straightforward, medium, and arduous. So, whenever you have a look at the four-week depth distribution graph, you realize it is correct. You additionally get extra specifics with the month-to-month Tempo Zone Distribution graph, which splits precise load totals throughout every coronary heart charge zone.

What holds me again from utilizing COROS extra usually is the dearth of steerage. I like how Garmin marks the “optimum” straightforward/arduous coaching load I ought to have and adjusts exercise recommendations accordingly, whereas COROS lets unbiased runners determine that out for themselves. I am going to admit I want the additional assist.

I can not speak specifics about Fitbit Cardio Load, the brand-new system being added to the Pixel Watch 3 and different Fitbits, till I can overview the watch. Speaking solely about what Google revealed publicly at its Made by Google occasion, I really like that Fitbit calculates load based mostly on each “logged exercises” and “normal exercise.”

Each different health watch model solely tracks coaching load in the event you’re “coaching.” However Fitbit does not distinguish; you may get coaching load any time your coronary heart charge elevates above the norm, whatever the exercise. Some individuals may desire having extra management over coaching load, however others will like being validated for sweaty on a regular basis duties or strolling their canine for 10 minutes. Little issues add up.

As for Apple, I have not had an opportunity to check its new 7- and 28-day coaching load graphs but; they give the impression of being promising and accessible for informal athletes, if a bit quick on the numbers Garmin and Coros supply.

What I do like about Apple is how one can manually change your coaching load affect by ranking the exercise depth from 1–10. I have been doing extra climbing not too long ago, and Garmin tends to lowball my coaching load for hikes as a result of my coronary heart charge is pretty regular, even when my muscle tissues are getting sore from the hills and valleys. I would not thoughts with the ability to bump up (or down) my load numbers after I really feel just like the auto-generated quantity is not excellent.

No health watch will get issues excellent with coaching load. Every has its strengths and downsides. And albeit, I might somewhat have an imperfect coaching load software than no load in any respect! The truth that extra manufacturers are implementing it signifies that we’ll see extra innovation throughout the board as they, ahem, “borrow” from each other.

For now, I will maintain utilizing Garmin, however I am going to must maintain utilizing my workaround: Finish a run after I’m finished with one exercise sort, after which instantly begin one other run at excessive cardio or anaerobic. Possibly at some point, Garmin will let me calm down on monitoring my HR common so carefully.