Fitbit's Cardio Load and Target Load now coming to more smartwatches

With the Pixel Watch 3, Fitbit introduced two new features: Cardio Load and Target Load. These metrics are now starting to roll out to the Pixel Watch and the Pixel Watch 2, as well as a plethora of Fitbit smartwatches and fitness trackers.

Cardio Load is a helpful feature that measures the strain on your cardiovascular system during exercise and daily activities. It is a numerical score that increases throughout the day. This feature helps you track your progress, but Google also uses this feature to help you avoid overtraining.

Basically, Cardio Load considers not only the duration but also the intensity of your workouts. It recognizes that higher-intensity exercise places greater demands on the heart. All in all, you receive more cardio load for longer and more strenuous activity, and that's based on your heart rate during the exercise.

The second feature that's currently rolling out is Target Load. This works to complement your Cardio Load and is basically a suggested range for your daily Cardio Load. It takes into account your fitness level, recent activity, and how recovered your body is. The first Target Load for you appears after wearing your wearable for 7 days and nights.

The expansion was announced together with the December 2024 Pixel Feature drop. The new features started rolling out on December 9, and in recent days, more Fitbit users have received their Cardio and Target Load features.

Here's the list of supported wearables:

• Pixel Watch 1
• Pixel Watch 2
• Pixel Watch 3
• Fitbit Inspire 2    
• Fitbit Inspire 3    
• Fitbit Luxe    
• Fitbit Sense    
• Fitbit Sense 2    
• Fitbit Versa 2    
• Fitbit Versa 3    
• Fitbit Versa 4    
• Fitbit Charge 5    
• Fitbit Charge 6

If you're sporting a Pixel Watch, you can directly view these metrics on your wrist: they are in Fitbit today or through complications or Tiles. Fitbit users will need to look for the new "Cardio Load" card in the Android and iOS app, under the "Activity" heading. Make sure your Fitbit app is updated to the latest version to view the two new metrics.

As a person who regularly trains and plans to train even more, I find such features very useful. Monitoring how my body reacts to training can give me insights even if I'm not particularly noticing training effects and the strain it might have on my body. So, kudos to Fitbit for releasing these cool features to more people!