Cardio Load, Zone minutes & Readiness

[Suite-Love165]

Hi Fitbit,

May I suggest that Zone mins are adjusted in accordance with Cardio Load recommendations.

Yesterday's CL said I was 'At Risk of Overtraining' and showed a Zero CL yet ZM target stays at 22 regardless. It's impossible (for me anyway) to achieve 22 ZM's without significantly going over CL target which seems to result in an 'At Risk..' message the next day.

Some metrics aren't working together, leading confusing messaging.

EG: My app says today my readiness is high yet my CL target is 1-7 but ZM target remains 22.

I hope I've explained how this confusion happens.

Please advise.

[LZeeW · Accepted solution]

@Suite-Love165   I moved your post to the Get moving forum, a better fit for your questions and issues.  All three features are free to all users and don't require Premium.

I agree with you that the Cardio Load messaging is very confusing.  AZMs are simple arithmetic and are a way to help you meet CDC and WHO recommendations for physical activity.  Your Fitbit app AZM daily goal is preset at 22 min/day to help you meet these activity goals.  Cardio load measures overall stress on your cardiovascular system.  You get a number, but this has no units.  The app can't change your AZM goal based on your Cardio load target.  It just doesn't work that way.

Cardio load is primarily used by individuals in athletic training, especially endurance sports.  In some respects, I think Fitbit's cardio load arc (the bar graph) is a work in progress.  I see too many complaints about this feature from users.  When I saw something like this, I ignored it.  I based my activity on how I felt.  It seemed to correct itself in a few days.

[Suite-Love165]

Thank you @LZeeW 

[YachatsMike]

I reconciled Active Zone Minutes and Cardio Load.

Zone Minutes are a report card.  They tell you how much exercise you actually completed.  They are unambiguously calculated from heart rate and time.  You set your own goals but Fitbit uses HHS guidelines for defining moderate and vigorous intensity standards and weekly AZM minimums.

Cardio Load is a daily goal setting program.  It looks at your previous performance, current physical body metrics, and your goal (maintain or improve fitness) to give you a target to shoot for today.  The mechanism for calculating how they calculate the score and set your daily target are still kind of a mystery to me so it's hard for me to figure out exactly what the score means or what I have to do to hit my daily target.