Cardio Load compares the cardiovascular work in your recent tracked workouts with what has been usual for you over the previous six weeks. It describes how quickly your training is changing - it does not diagnose recovery, overtraining or injury risk.
How it is worked out
Only tracked workouts count. For each workout, NOYU multiplies the minutes in heart-rate zones 1 to 5 by weights from 1 to 5, so harder minutes add more load than easier ones. The result is measured in load points.
NOYU adds the workout load for each calendar day. A day without a tracked workout contributes zero, even if you walked or moved around during the day.
The headline Cardio Load is a seven-day exponentially weighted average, which means recent workouts influence it more than workouts earlier in the week. NOYU compares it with a similarly weighted 42-day average of your workout history. This longer average is your usual load.
The technical names for these two averages are Acute Training Load (ATL) and Chronic Training Load (CTL). You do not need to calculate or manage them yourself - the chart shows the useful comparison directly.
Why it calibrates for six weeks
NOYU can begin showing recent load after seven days, but it needs 42 days to establish the longer comparison. Until then, the chart says Calibrating rather than guessing what is usual for you.
If an older workout arrives after a delayed sync, NOYU can recalculate the affected history using the data now available.
Cardio Load and Strain are different
Cardio Load includes tracked workouts only. It is the focused view of intentional training over time.
Strain uses your whole day. A long walk, housework or any other movement that raises your heart rate can increase Strain without changing Cardio Load.
This is why recording an easy walk as a workout can increase both numbers, while leaving it as ordinary daily movement increases Strain only.
When a workout has no heart-rate data
Cardio Load needs time in heart-rate zones. If a tracked workout contains no usable heart-rate zones or samples, it stays in your workout history but cannot add reliable Cardio Load points.
Different devices can use slightly different zone boundaries. When a provider supplies its own workout zones, NOYU uses them. Otherwise, NOYU derives zones from the workout's heart-rate samples using your estimated maximum and usual resting heart rate.
How to read the chart
The line is your recent seven-day load. The shaded area is the range around your usual six-week load.
- Lighter than usual means recent tracked training is below your usual level.
- Steady means it is broadly in line with your usual level.
- Building quickly means it is rising above your usual level.
- Much higher than usual means the difference is substantial.
These are comparisons, not verdicts. Read Cardio Load alongside Readiness, how you feel and what you intended to do. A deliberate training block and an accidental spike can produce the same chart but call for different decisions.
