Training load is an excess post-exercise oxygen consumption (EPOC) based metric designed to help you understand the physiological impact and resulting recovery demands of your activities. Compatible Garmin devices provide views of your training load on a per-activity basis and as the combined impact of recent activities. This later perspective is the key to effective training strategies.
The Basics of Training Load Measurement
Training load on Garmin watches is broken down into two primary components:
- Exercise load describes the strenuousness of a single activity.
- Acute load tracks the combined physiological impact of your recently recorded activities.
This is achieved by using a weighted moving average designed to reflect the strain placed on your body on a weekly basis. Record a new activity, and the resulting load is added in full to your current acute load. The influence of that activity then gradually expires during the next 10 days, and the combined total load is normalized to reflect a 7-day window.
Older devices utilized a 7-day load perspective, which simply combined impact of all activities recorded in the past 7 days.
EPOC-Based Training Load: The Science Behind the Numbers
EPOC allows us to measure the impact of physical activity on your body in terms of the amount of restorative and adaptive work your body needs to perform after an activity. This is the work your body does to restore the dynamic equilibrium known as homeostasis.
Oxygen consumed is an indirect indicator of the amount of energy your body uses to put itself back together and better prepare you for the next challenge. Measuring the amount of extra oxygen your body uses after a workout compared to normal is how physiologists and sports scientists get a clear picture of an activity’s impact.
The Firstbeat Analytics™ engine embedded in your Garmin watch capably predicts the accumulation of EPOC in real time by analyzing heartbeat data and applying advanced mathematical modeling and machine learning.
Understanding Training Load Focus
During your activity with compatible devices, your performance is analyzed in real time to reveal the physiological impact of your activity and to understand the underlying efforts that produce it. This is achieved through understanding how various intensities and changes in intensity support and trigger adaptations in your body.
The Three Types of Training Load
1. Anaerobic Training Load (Purple)
The number on the top row and accompanying colored bar shows how much of your training load during the past 4 weeks was the result of anaerobic efforts. The key to increasing your anaerobic training load is doing activities that get your heart rate up quickly. These are typically high-intensity bursts of effort that are sustained for anywhere from several seconds to a couple of minutes at a time, mixed with low- to moderate-intensity recovery intervals during which your heart rate declines.
Incorporating HIIT sessions into your program is a good way to make sure you get enough of your training load from anaerobic efforts.
Key example: Sprint interval runs
2. High Aerobic Training Load (Orange)
The number on the middle row and accompanying colored bar reveals how much of your training load during the past 4 weeks was the result of sustained moderately high- to high-intensity activity. This is the strain that accumulates during efforts where your heart rate was significantly elevated, and you maintained that high level of intensity for a few minutes up to — in some cases — more than 30 minutes.
Key example: Tempo runs
3. Low Aerobic Training Load (Light Blue)
The bottom number and accompanying colored bar shows how much of your training load during the past 4 weeks was produced during sustained low-intensity efforts. This is the portion of your training load that accumulates during “conversational pace” efforts, meaning you are working but still able to talk and maintain a conversation.
Key example: Long, slow runs
Making the Most of Training Load Focus
The training load focus data screen provides you not only with a graphical depiction of how your training load is distributed among the three major intensity categories but with qualitative feedback as well:
- Shortage: You are lacking exercise in a training intensity category.
- Balanced: Your training is well distributed across different levels of intensity.
- Focus: Your training variety is reasonably well structured but is particularly focused in one area.
In addition to the above three categories of load focus feedback, it is also possible to get feedback that your overall training load is too low (“Below Targets”) or too high (“Over Targets”).
Balance Is Needed for a Strong Foundation
When your training load is both optimal and balanced, it means you are active enough to support and gradually improve your fitness level, and the composition of your activities is diverse enough to provide a solid foundation for future improvement. It means your activities include enough time spent at high- and low-intensity aerobic efforts along with dynamic efforts to help enhance your explosive performance capabilities.
Focus for Winning
Every athlete knows that preparation is the key to success, and to be successful you must recognize and prepare for the unique demands of the challenge you face. With a balanced foundation in place, you can start to focus and guide the composition of your training load toward a performance profile that matches your ambition or phase of your periodization schedule.
Confirming that your training is properly targeted through training load focus gives you confidence that you are on the right track. When understood and utilized properly, this data can be transformed into your personal road map for achieving your goals and performing at a high level in a wide variety of pursuits.
You can easily see when your training activities are lacking in one or more areas, and, once you have a strong foundation in place, you are able to shoot for the stars by ensuring the composition of your training activities match up with the specific real-world demands of the challenge you want to tackle.
Training Load: Training Effect Label of Primary Benefit
In newer compatible products, you can get an idea of how your run or ride affects your training load focus as soon as you save your activity. A new color-coded label added to the training effect summary screen describes the primary benefit of what you have just done and where you can mostly expect it to contribute.
Note that the background of these labels are color-coded (purple, orange and light blue) to match the anaerobic, high aerobic and low aerobic bars used for your training load focus. When a recorded activity has no meaningful impact in one of the intensity categories or it cannot be identified, the label background is simply gray, and no descriptive text is displayed.
At the bottom of this screen, you can also see the training load for the activity.
Compatible Garmin Watches
Training Load metrics are available on most mid-range and premium Garmin watches, including:
- Forerunner Series (245, 255, 265, 945, 955, 965, 570, 970)
- Fenix Series (5, 6, 7, 8)
- Epix Series (Gen 2, Pro)
- MARQ Collection
- Enduro Series
- Instinct 2 (select models)
The most advanced implementation with Training Load Focus is available on newer models released since 2020.
Using Training Load to Improve Your Performance
To get the most from your Garmin’s training load feature:
- Monitor Consistently - Track your activities regularly to establish meaningful baseline data
- Balance Intensity Types - Ensure you’re getting a mix of anaerobic, high aerobic, and low aerobic workouts
- Periodize Your Training - Use the data to plan phases that focus on different aspects of fitness
- Connect with Recovery - Look at training load alongside recovery time for a complete picture
- Adjust Based on Feedback - Use the shortage/balance/focus guidance to modify your workout plans
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