Garmin Load Perplexing

[NotShatterProof]

Hi All,

I commute to work at the same time each day. The distance and conditions from one day to the next are pretty much the same. Comparing one day to the next the load that Garmin calculates for the ride does not make sense. Today I rode with a higher average HR, higher max HR, higher average power, higher max power and higher nominal power. So, in summary, all my numbers were much higher today compared to yesterday (by about 20%) and yet today Garmin calculated my load as 88 whereas yesterday it was 144. I am completely perplexed. I have not changed any settings from one day to the next. What am I doing wrong?

Any comments or suggestions welcome. I have done a bit of reading on the web around this but have not found any meaningful information that may allow me to make sense of this.

Thank you.

Edited July 26, 2022 by NotShatterProof

[mecheng89]

Maybe this'll help?

[Frosty]

8 hours ago, NotShatterProof said:

Hi All,

I commute to work at the same time each day. The distance and conditions from one day to the next are pretty much the same. Comparing one day to the next the load that Garmin calculates for the ride does not make sense. Today I rode with a higher average HR, higher max HR, higher average power, higher max power and higher nominal power. So, in summary, all my numbers were much higher today compared to yesterday (by about 20%) and yet today Garmin calculated my load as 88 whereas yesterday it was 144. I am completely perplexed. I have not changed any settings from one day to the next. What am I doing wrong?

Any comments or suggestions welcome. I have done a bit of reading on the web around this but have not found any meaningful information that may allow me to make sense of this.

Thank you.

Do you only look at Garmin data, or do you upload your data to 3rd party apps, eg. TrainingPeaks, Intervals.icu, etc.? 

If you don't it might be worthwhile getting a free Intervals account to compare the load there.

[NotShatterProof]

Thanks for the replies, and apologies for the delay in response, lunch time is my only real gap.

I watched the video and frankly it just doesn't answer the question. In the video they say at a moderate HR EPOC accumulates slowly and at a higher HR it accumulates faster. In my case the exact opposite was true, I rode at a higher HR and yet ended with a lower score. Bizarre.

With respect to TrainingPeaks et al I have often though about it and not done it but now might be the time, from the reading I've done it seems TrainingPeaks is the best but also more costly. Maybe a trial period is in order?

In the interest of science, this morning I decided to turn off my power and just ride at the same pace and try to get the same HR and see what comes of it. Well the answer was pretty astonishing. I averaged about 1% HR less than usual and my speed was about the same but the load calculated this morning was only 36! So, to a certain extent I think this implies that power data is weighed more heavily (at least on the Edge 830 which I am using). 

If I remember tomorrow I will do it the other way around and remove the HRM and use only power.

Will update here what the outcome is.

As before, I welcome any and all, even criticisms, of my largely ad-hoc approach.

 

Edited July 27, 2022 by NotShatterProof

[lechatnoir]

intervals.icu is the way to go. on a basic level, it's basic and straightforward. but if you plumb the depths, there's a boatload of stuff there. I'd suggest trying out TrainingPeaks and reading up on training to get a sense of what does what in terms of workouts and activities (intervals vs endurance etc).

[Jewbacca]

Honestly I wouldn't read too much into it.

Do you use the load to monitor your fatigue? To peak for races etc? Or is it just a metric you follow as it's offered to you by Garmin?

I sometimes finish a 90 minute trail run where I didn't really put much effort in and Garmin tells me I need to recover for 4 days. The next day I ride, get dropped, ded, max my HR out and limp home and it tells me I need to recover for 28 hours.

SO.... in closing. While Garmin has it's many awesome features, sometimes the metrics it spits out aren't that accurate when it comes to it's data analysis. 

It does get better as you go, so maybe it is adjusting your zones and reacting accordingly?

I don't think it matters

[Frosty]

33 minutes ago, NotShatterProof said:

Thanks for the replies, and apologies for the delay in response, lunch time is my only real gap.

I watched the video and frankly it just doesn't answer the question. In the video they say at a moderate HR EPOC accumulates slowly and at a higher HR it accumulates faster. In my case the exact opposite was true, I rode at a higher HR and yet ended with a lower score. Bizarre.

With respect to TrainingPeaks et al I have often though about it and not done it but now might be the time, from the reading I've done it seems TrainingPeaks is the best but also more costly. Maybe a trial period is in order?

In the interest of science, this morning I decided to turn off my power and just ride at the same pace and try to get the same HR and see what comes of it. Well the answer was pretty astonishing. I averaged about 1% HR less than usual and my speed was about the same but the load calculated this morning was only 36! So, to a certain extent I think this implies that power data is weighed more heavily (at least on the Edge 830 which I am using). 

If I remember tomorrow I will do it the other way around and remove the HRM and use only power.

Will update here what the outcome is.

As before, I welcome any and all, even criticisms, of my largely ad-hoc approach.

 

Rather use Intervals.icu - it offer a free option with full functionality. A few of us are helping David (Intervals owner/developer) write a guide to using his software, so the answers a lot of queries can be answered by more than one person.

[Jehosefat]

Just to add that it's not just the averages and maxes that go into the load and/or recovery time estimates. It's also the distributions, heavily weighted to time spent above threshold.

For example, an hour workout at a flat 80% of threshold the whole time will not have the same load as another workout that also has an average of 80% but is 1/4 at 120% and 3/4 at 67%.

In addition, the Garmin metrics are based around EPOC (as mentioned) which is a heart-rate based measure and heart rate can be very variable even for identical activities depending on sleep, temperature, caffeine or alcohol consumption, dehydration etc.

For example I've done similar rides for each of the last two Sundays on the 17th, my average power was 176W and my average HR was 148bpm but on the 24th, my power was 191W with a HR of 142bpm.

Edited July 27, 2022 by Jehosefat