Garmin Training Status and How to Use It

Garmin’s training status feature provides insight into fitness levels and training effectiveness, offering users an analysis of their performance trends. The feature, available on compatible Garmin smartwatches, assesses training volume, intensity and physiological responses to determine an individual’s status.

Training status is calculated using multiple factors, including VO2 max, acute training load and heart rate variability (HRV) status.

• VO2 max indicates aerobic capacity, representing the maximum volume of oxygen the body can utilise during intense activity. Garmin smartwatches estimate this metric using heart rate and performance data.
• HRV status assesses fluctuations in time between heartbeats, providing insight into stress levels and recovery.

HRV status is an assessment of how your heart rate variability compares to your personal baseline. Garmin devices monitor HRV during sleep and classify it as balanced, unbalanced, low, or poor. A balanced status indicates your 7-day average HRV is within your baseline range, suggesting good recovery and homeostasis.

An unbalanced status means your HRV is outside your baseline, potentially pointing to stress or overtraining. Low HRV suggests a significant drop below your baseline, which may indicate fatigue or insufficient recovery, while poor HRV indicates your measurements fall below age-based health standards, often signalling health concerns or extreme fatigue. Tracking HRV status helps monitor recovery and optimise training for better health.

• Acute training load measures the cumulative impact of exercise over 10 days.

Acute Training Load measures the strain on the body from recent activities using a weighted sum of excess post-exercise oxygen consumption (EPOC). It quantifies activity intensity and assigns a numeric score, categorising the load as low, optimal, high, or very high. The optimal range adjusts based on fitness level and training history. Unlike a simple sum of recent training loads, the acute load score is calculated using a specific formula.

Chronic Training Load tracks training history over the past 28 days and provides the Acute: Chronic Workload Ratio  to assess training progression and injury risk. Monitoring both acute and chronic training loads helps ensure safe and effective workload increases.

Source Garmin.com

Garmin smartwatches assign one of eight training levels, depending on the data collected:

• Peaking – Indicates an optimal fitness level, typically occurring during the tapering phase of a training programme.
• Productive – Suggests effective training with balanced recovery.
• Maintaining – Signifies a stable fitness level without further improvement.
• Strained – Suggests inadequate recovery, potentially affecting performance.
• Unproductive – Reflects declining fitness despite balanced training, potentially due to external factors such as nutrition and stress.
• Overreaching – Indicates excessive training load leading to potential performance decline.
• Recovery – Appears during lower-intensity periods, maintaining or slightly reducing fitness.
• Detraining – This signifies an extended break that results in decreased fitness levels.

Compatible Models

• Forerunner 265, 265S and  965
• Fenix 8, Fenix E – all models
• Enduro 3
• Instinct E, Instinct 3 – all models
• Tactix 7 – all models