Do you know how much training load you're putting on your body?
Is it too much for you to handle or too little for you to get fitter?
We have so much data available to us as runners.
Sometimes it can be a bit overwhelming.
I'm Rick, and along with Anna and our running channel partners, Garmin,
we're going to be going through exactly what training load is,
how it's calculated and what those numbers on your watch mean. Please
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In the most simple of terms,
training load is the cumulative amount of exercise that you do usually over
the course of a week.
It's also a metric that is used to determine your training status,
which is a bit different, and we'll come onto later in this video.
It can be measured by taking a couple of things into account: duration and
intensity. Now duration, that's really easy to measure, but intensity,
that can mean a few things, from how fast you're running to
how fast your heart's going.
Training load is a measure of all of the exercise that you've done across all
disciplines over the last seven days.
If you use a Garmin device then it will also take into account your longer term
training load and determine whether it's in the optimal range for you.
The volume of your workout is the excess post-exercise
oxygen consumption, or EPOC, that it creates
and it's measured by your heart rate.
Your training load then is the total EPOC measurements from the last
seven days.
Excess post-exercise
oxygen consumption is the amount of oxygen your body needs in order to return
itself to its usual balanced condition.
The usual way of working out EPOC is through fancy lab tests,
but through your Garmin device, which uses their own algorithm,
it can work out the same data using your heart rate.
To give you an idea of what EPOC numbers look like,
A 45 minute run at 75% of your max heart rate would result in an EPOC
score of 50.
For very light exercise efforts at anything lower than around 65%
of your max heart rate, your EPOC will build very gradually,
so it is actually possible to get a higher EPOC score from doing
15 minutes at a moderate intensity than it is doing a full hour
at an easy effort.
For the purposes of
this video we're going to be looking at the numbers and data from Garmin
devices. There are of course different platforms,
but the basic principles of training load remain the same. Do you have a watch,
which has these different features or is there something specific around
training load that you'd like to know? Well,
let us know in the comments below and we'll do our best to help. Your watch
shows a gauge in the form of a dial,
which then tells you that your optimal range is in the middle.
If you're too far over to the right,
then your load is too high and too far to the left and your load is too low.
The optimal range is determined primarily on your fitness level,
which suggests the higher your VO2 max,
the higher your optimal range will be on your training load.
This is based on scientific studies,
which suggest the fitter you are the harder you can train,
but also the harder you need to work to keep on improving.
It does change over time and adapt as your own fitness levels change.
But if you are pushing towards the upper end of your optimal range,
then that might be a sign that you need to pull it back in a little bit.
Otherwise you do risk over-training and possibly picking up an injury.
On the other hand, if you slide down towards the lower end of the optimal zone,
you can tell it's time for a new challenge. So
this isn't something to compare yourself. After all,
as we say on The Running Channel comparison is the thief of joy,
but we thought it'd be really interesting to tell you the sorts of training load
numbers that professional athletes can get.
So in a single training week elites would be looking at a training load of
around a thousand
roughly, which equates to five workouts in that week all with a training load
score of 200.
If you're looking at extreme training loads from a single workout,
you might see some top insurance athletes occasionally hitting the three to
400 range.
We don't want you to get too bogged down in the numbers though,
because as a runner,
there's so many metrics available to us that it is very easy to do.
The most important thing is to try and maintain a consistent training
load and keep into the optimal range for you.
That way you're not going to be losing any fitness,
and you're also then not going to run the risk of over-training.
So don't worry too much about the numbers. Consistency is the key.
Now it's true that pushing yourself is a way to get results,
but overreaching and training too hard can be counterproductive and it can
also lead to injury.
So take a look at your training load and see- are you doing too much, too little,
or just the right amount?
Training load is used by your watch, along with your VO2 max score,
to determine whether you are maintaining your fitness, perhaps it is productive,
which means you're getting fitter, or overreaching,
therefore you're doing too much.
You may have also seen it telling you that you are unproductive or peaking.
You won't peak at training status
unless you strike the right balance between exercise and recovery.
Your body needs recovery in order to adapt, improve, and bounce back.
And by using that 10% rule,
adding 10% onto your training every week,
you'll see an improvement in both your training load and your fitness.
At the start of a new training program,
maybe you've come back from a break or you're coming back from an injury,
then you can use your training status to work up to heavier
workloads in a really smart way
by keeping an eye on your overall training.
In order for your training load to help maximize performance using the data
alongside your load focus is really important.
Your training should be split into three categories: low aerobic,
high aerobic and anaerobic.
Training load focus shows you how much of your training is in each of the
categories. So for some watches,
you may get this information at the end of a run on your watch screen,
but for others,
you may need to access it in the activity data within the Garmin connect
app. Whichever way you see it, though,
you will be able to tell your anaerobic highlighted in purple,
your high aerobic in orange and low aerobic in light blue.
The key to increasing your anaerobic training load is doing activities that get
your heart rate up quickly.
These can include high intensity bursts of effort -
anything from a couple of seconds to a couple
of minutes - mixed with low intensity recovery
intervals in order to get your heart rate down.
High aerobic training load accumulates
when you are doing a workout at a high intensity and you sustain that
high heart rate for anything from a few minutes to even
up to 30 minutes in some cases. So, something like a tempo run.
Low intensity training load is low intensity efforts.
This is the portion of your training where you're at conversational pace.
So you're able to maintain a chat with a friend or a colleague while you're out
running, so often on a long slow run. So
in summary, there are four key things that you should know about training load.
First up, training load is an EPOC-based metric that combines the strain of all
recorded activities over the last seven days,
regardless of whether you were running,
cycling or doing any other kind of activity.
EPOC measures the physiological impact of your activity in terms of the
restorative and adaptive work that your body performs
in response to challenging efforts. The feedback
that you get from training load is a great tool to determine whether you're
pushing yourself hard enough and challenging yourself to reach your overall
fitness and performance goals.
The optimal training load for you is always personalised,
and it's determined by combination of your current fitness level and training history.
Hopefully, that has given you a better understanding of training load,
what it is and how you can use it in order to be a better runner.
If you have found this useful,
please do give us a thumbs up and leave us a comment below if you've learned
something new or if you've got any questions about what we've covered,
ask us in the comments below.
And don't forget to check out some of our other training tip videos here on The Running Channel.