Garmin ENDURANCE SCORE & ACTIVITY IMPACT

Source: @JW many thanks

Garmin is set to imminently add two new endurance-related metrics for endurance athletes. These will come to all endurance athletes including cyclists, runners and swimmers. Initially, it will definitely be available on Garmin Connect but perhaps also with components on Forerunner and Fenix watches.

Q: What is endurance Score

A: Endurance score is an indication of your general ability to sustain physical activity for an extended period

Q: What is activity impact

A: I’m guessing that this is the effect of your endurance ability (endurance score) on specific workouts but perhaps also on your overall level of current fitness.

how Endurance Score (ability) Works

Simply track your activities as normal for two weeks using a compatible Garmin watch. All activities contribute to the score, but longer aerobic activities in any sport will have the biggest impact. The more completed activities you add to the score, the more accurate it becomes.

While any activities from any sport will score, the top three impacting sports will be more influential…perfect for triathletes! Garmin sensibly adds some caveats that imply that if you cycle a lot, you should not necessarily expect the endurance you gain there to fully transfer to your running endurance abilities.

We don’t know the details of the algorithm; however, it is known to be multi-factorial, taking into account the following to varying degrees and where available: activity duration, activity intensity, speed, power, VO2 max, age, gender, BMI, and activity level.

Developing and reinforcing your endurance base takes time and regular, consistent effort. The peak benefits of endurance training, however, can be lost during a relatively short period of inactivity or by doing fewer endurance-building activities. As a result, both long- and short-term training perspectives are factored into your endurance score calculation to reliably reflect your current estimate.

How Endurance Score is Displayed

Most (if not all) feedback will initially be in Garmin Connect. Your endurance score will be set in the context of a 4-week baseline, as well as being contextualized to your age and sex. There will also be more dynamics and textual feedback explaining how to maintain or improve your endurance ability in the future.

Takeout

This new feature set looks like a potentially good one for endurance athletes. It was probably developed beyond a simple metric into what seems to be a richer, deeper feature because of the relative success of the stamina metric. While the stamina metric is pretty good at pacing you in an individual workout, the new Endurance Score covers wider issues relating to your general endurance and training progress.

No doubt the first question, below, will be “Why is this different to Aerobic Training Effect”