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If you’ve been hitting the trails a lot lately, you might be wondering what your Coros watch is saying about your performance and progress. Go to your Coros app and under training status you will see a graph showing your base fitness as a green line.

In general, you’d probably assume that if the green line is in an uptrend it’s a good thing, if it’s in a downtrend it’s time to take a retracement. trail running shoes Let’s go back – but is it really that simple? So what does basic fitness mean?

What is basic fitness? So how is it calculated?

Core fitness is what Coros calls the “brain” of the brand’s EvoLab, where you can find all your personal training data and is the key metric you should look at if you’re training for a specific event, like an event. marathon or towards a goal such as running 10 km without stopping.

Baseline fitness is the 42-day moving average of your training load. What is training load, you ask? Every time you finish a workout with your Coros watch, it assigns a value to it under the training load, which tells you how well your body is handling that activity by looking at the intensity of your heart rate.

When you do a recovery run or a gentler cross-training such as a walk, swim or yoga session, the training load will likely seem low; That doesn’t mean it isn’t valuable; it just means that it’s an activity that helps with healing. for example, to build or develop muscles VO2 max.

If an activity occurs with a moderate training load score, which usually occurs after some time. tempo or threshold running means it helps improve your fitness; but a high-intensity training session or a long endurance run occurs with a high training load and is considered to improve your fitness more efficiently.

The important thing to understand about training load is that it refers to how your body responds to a single activity; Core fitness refers to how your body responds to multiple activities over a six-week period. Even if you’re not training for an event, looking at base fitness can provide a nice snapshot of the effects of your efforts.

How to use basic fitness over time?

Because core fitness represents a rolling average, it’s not something you should look at every day, but it’s a useful metric to track throughout the year to understand your progress—where you’ve come from, where you stand now, and what you need. to proceed to the next step.

When you first open the Coros app, it shows your baseline fitness over the last 42 days; This gives you a good snapshot of your last workout, but you can also change the view to see your baseline fitness over 90 days, six months, or a year. year. You can also switch back and forth to compare any of these time periods with the same dates from the previous year. This can be useful as you may sometimes feel like you are less fit than last year only to discover that the numbers tell a different story.

Obviously, a higher value or a rising line indicates increased fitness and means your body is better able to cope with challenges such as a race or longer run; so if you’re working towards a performance goal, this is generally what you want to see. However, remember that it is normal for your fitness levels to vary throughout the year; so don’t be discouraged if the line isn’t always on an upward trajectory.

If the number is decreasing (and you’re wearing your watch throughout all of your workouts), it’s a sign that your fitness is decreasing, but that’s only a problem if that’s not what you’re trying to achieve. If you are sick or injured, the racing season is over for you or you are currently racing. tapering Before a big race, you should expect this number to come down from its peak while your body is in recovery mode.

If the line remains fairly steady, you’re doing a good job of maintaining your fitness level, and if you’re not currently working towards a specific goal and you’re happy with how you feel during and after exercise and the frequency of your sessions, a flat line is fine.

How to improve core fitness

Not satisfied with your basic fitness levels? Improving core fitness varies by athlete and sport, but in general you need to increase the frequency or intensity of your workouts. For runners, this might mean adding more sprint sessions, increasing the pace on tempo runs, and increasing the distance of your longer runs. You still need to leave time to get better High-intensity workouts include recovery runs and cross training To help you improve your fitness rather than resting completely on those days.

The real key is to remember the training principle of not going too fast. Your body needs time to adapt to the increased load, otherwise you will face changes and bad injuries. shin splint or achilles painTo avoid this, increase the load only slightly. overtraining.

If you’re increasing your time on the road, consider no more than 10-15 percent each week. Coros recommends building just 2 to 6 base fitness points each week, and keep in mind that it will take a few weeks before you start to see that line trending upward again, so be patient.

Don’t get too hung up on the numbers, but look for the word “optimized,” which says your fitness levels are improving under your training without causing harm. If it seems “high” or “extreme,” it may be time to step back.