So what is it, and what exactly does it mean to hit your target?
What is cardio load?
Exercising for a longer time, and exercising at a higher intensity, both bump up your cardio load.
The load here is in the sense of workload.
Makes sense, right?
What is your target cardio load?
The fitbit app automatically calculates a target cardio load based on what youre used to doing.
Youll find this setting when you look at your cardio load.
Just tap on fitness target near the bottom.
The actual numbers of your target will change from week to week.
Which devices have cardio load?
The Pixel watches can show you your cardio load on-screen.
Other apps and platforms have their own versions of cardio load.
This article is just discussing the Fitbit/Pixel version.
What is the difference between cardio load and active zone minutes?
But they have different purposes, and are calculated a bit differently.
The purpose of active zone minutes is to figure out whether youre meeting some basic exercise targets for health.
Active zone minutes match the U.S.
In other words, its a count of minutes, with vigorous exercise (like running) counting double.
Theoriginal guidelines used METs, not heart rate, so its not a perfect match.
But its close enough to be useful.)
With cardio load, you arent just looking to beat a minimum to give yourself a passing grade.
Thats how you get fitter.
Depending on where you are in your training, these arent necessarily a bad thing.
But with a cardio target to compare your load to, at least you know where you stand.
