# Fitbit Cardio Load Arrives for the Pixel Watch 3 and Other Fitbit Devices: Here’s How It Functions
As the market for fitness wearables progresses, Google is poised to unveil an exciting new feature on its Pixel Watch 3 and other Fitbit devices: **Fitbit Cardio Load**. This groundbreaking tool aims to enhance users’ understanding of their cardiovascular health and streamline their workout plans. Here’s everything you should know about Fitbit Cardio Load, its functionality, and its significance for your fitness journey.
## What Exactly is Fitbit Cardio Load and Target Load?
**Fitbit Cardio Load** is an innovative feature that monitors the intensity of your heart’s work during workouts as well as throughout the day. It offers a **Cardio Load score** that rises with longer and more intense activities, whether they are recorded workouts or informal, unmonitored exercises. This score indicates the cardiovascular strain on your body, aiding in determining whether you are overexerting or not training enough based on your recent activity log.
Conversely, **Target Load** is an automatically generated metric that becomes available after wearing your Pixel Watch 3 for two weeks. This metric indicates whether your current Cardio Load falls within the ideal range for your fitness aspirations. The Target Load helps to enhance performance, minimize injury risk, and promote effective recovery. Factors such as overexertion or inadequate sleep can decrease your Target Load, while periods of extended rest or lack of workouts may elevate it.
## Operation of Fitbit Cardio Load
To compute your Cardio Load, Google employs the **training impulse (TRIMP) method**. This approach evaluates the length of time your heart rate remains elevated, alongside the specific heart rate zones you achieve during activities, relative to your maximum heart rate and heart rate reserve. Essentially, the more prolonged and vigorous your workout, the greater your Cardio Load score will be.
While various fitness brands utilize different techniques for calculating training load, the fundamental concept remains consistent: multiply the workout duration by the intensity (heart rate zone) for the final score. For instance, 60 minutes spent in Heart Rate Zone 3 could yield a Cardio Load score of 180. The precise score is less crucial than the overall trend—whether your score is climbing, dropping, or remaining stable over time.
### Daily and Weekly Cardio Load
Your Cardio Load score accumulates from both formal workouts and informal activities that elevate your heart rate. Fitbit monitors your daily, weekly, and four-week Cardio Load to keep you aligned with your fitness objectives. The **Training Status** feature within the Fitbit app illustrates how your current Cardio Load stands in comparison to prior weeks, aiding in assessing whether you are undertraining or overtraining.
## Functionality of Fitbit Target Load
**Fitbit Target Load** serves as a customized daily goal generated based on your recent Cardio Load and **Daily Readiness**. For accurate Target Load computation, Google necessitates that you wear your watch consistently for 14 days, including during nighttime sleep. This data collection enables the algorithm to measure your sleep quality, resting heart rate (RHR), and heart rate variability (HRV), which are vital markers of your recovery from workouts.
After sufficient data collection, your Target Load will appear on the **Readiness & Load** tile of your watch or within the Fitbit Today tab when you select “Build Cardio Fitness” as your objective. Furthermore, the Target Load will be featured in your daily **Morning Brief**, assisting you in organizing your activities for the day.
### AI-Driven Recommendations
Google will also provide **AI-enhanced daily running suggestions** tailored to your Target Load and recent workouts. These suggestions aim to help you reach your Load target while avoiding overtraining. However, these AI-driven insights will necessitate a Fitbit Premium subscription. Without this subscription, you can still utilize the Target Load score to inform your workouts, but you’ll need to organize them independently.
## Importance of Fitbit Cardio Load
Fitbit Cardio Load represents a vital enhancement to the Pixel Watch 3 and other Fitbit devices, especially for those dedicated to their fitness goals. By concentrating on long-term training metrics rather than just daily activity levels, Cardio Load aids users in grasping the balance between exertion and recovery. This feature is particularly advantageous for athletes and fitness devotees keen on steering clear of the dangers of overtraining or undertraining.
Moreover, the rollout of Cardio Load to a Wear OS device like the Pixel Watch 3 marks a significant advancement. Historically, metrics for training load have belonged to niche fitness brands such as Garmin, Coros, and Polar. Integrating this feature into a more widely available smartwatch could position the Pixel Watch 3 among the top fitness watches currently available.
## When Will Fitbit Cardio Load Launch?
Fitbit Cardio Load will be available from the outset on the Pixel Watch 3. Google has also confirmed that it
