# More Fitness Watches Are Providing Basic Training Load Metrics: Garmin Advances with Training Load Concentration, Yet Still Lags Behind
In recent times, fitness watches have transitioned from basic step monitors to advanced devices that assess a broad array of health metrics. A notable feature that many fitness watches now offer is **training load** tracking. This capability aids athletes in overseeing their workout intensity and recovery for enhanced performance while preventing overtraining. Though brands like Apple, Google/Fitbit, and Coros have embraced the training load trend, **Garmin** has elevated the game with its **training load concentration** feature. Nevertheless, despite Garmin’s innovative approach, there remains potential for enhancement.
## What is Training Load?
For those who may not be familiar with the concept, **training load** serves as a metric to measure the intensity of your workouts. It is commonly determined by multiplying the duration of your exercise by your heart rate effort. For instance, a 30-minute jog in a moderate heart rate zone could yield a training load score of 60, while a two-hour stroll at a lower heart rate might garner only 40 points.
Tracking training load aims to balance your **acute load** (the total of your workouts over the previous week) against your **chronic load** (the cumulative workouts of the past month). Ideally, your acute load should either match or slightly surpass your chronic load to facilitate progress without succumbing to overtraining. If your acute load is insufficient, you’re not exerting yourself adequately; conversely, if it’s excessive, you risk incurring injuries.
## Garmin’s Training Load Concentration: A Step Forward
Garmin distinguishes itself from other brands by offering **training load concentration**, a feature that categorizes your training into three segments:
1. **Anaerobic** – Intense efforts where your body utilizes stored energy instead of oxygen.
2. **High Aerobic** – Moderate to intense workouts that enhance cardiovascular health.
3. **Low Aerobic** – Gentle, steady-state sessions that foster endurance and foundational fitness.
This categorization is crucial because established wisdom indicates that fitness cannot be improved by pushing hard all the time. A diverse mix of low-intensity steady exercises and high-intensity challenges is necessary for significant advancement. Garmin’s training load concentration helps ensure that you maintain the correct equilibrium by highlighting which areas require more attention.
For example, if you’re overemphasizing high aerobic activity while neglecting low aerobic or anaerobic training, Garmin will alert you to this misallocation. This feature has proven beneficial for numerous athletes in boosting their **VO2 Max** (an indication of aerobic fitness) and overall capabilities.
## The Shortcomings in Garmin’s Strategy
While Garmin’s training load concentration marks progress, it is not without its shortcomings. A significant concern is that Garmin places excessive focus on **heart rate averages**. For example, if you commence a run at a low heart rate and finish with a vigorous sprint, Garmin may classify the entire run according to the average heart rate, frequently designating it as high aerobic. Thus, even if a considerable part of your run was within the low aerobic zone, it might not accurately represent your training load distribution.
Garmin does differentiate the load between anaerobic and aerobic categories, yet it fails to further segment aerobic load into high and low categories within a singular workout. This can be disheartening for athletes desiring a more detailed analysis of their efforts. Ideally, Garmin would differentiate the load based on mile splits or other parameters, allowing various sections of a workout to contribute to different classifications.
Moreover, Garmin’s method for identifying anaerobic efforts can be inconsistent. For instance, during a half marathon where a significant amount of time is spent in elevated heart rate ranges, Garmin might still classify the entire effort as high aerobic, despite you straying into anaerobic zones towards the finish.
## How Other Brands Stack Up: Apple, Fitbit, and Coros
Although Garmin’s training load concentration is one of the most sophisticated systems available, other brands are rapidly closing the gap and presenting their interpretations of training load tracking.
### Coros
Coros devices, like the **Coros Pace 3** and **Vertix 2X**, also categorize training load into three sections: **easy**, **medium**, and **hard**. Unlike Garmin, Coros does not depend on heart rate averages. Instead, it provides a more precise breakdown of your efforts across varying heart rate zones. Coros additionally features detailed graphs illustrating your **Pace Zone Distribution**, which distributes your training load among each heart rate zone.
However, Coros lacks the direction offered by Garmin. While Garmin recommends daily workouts informed by your training load concentration, Coros puts the onus on the user to determine how to balance their training. This can be a disadvantage for athletes who appreciate more structured guidance.
