I don’t know. If I do a ride and forget my HR strap, my 530 seems to treat the ride as if I did no ride (as far as the Garmin training metrics go).
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I could be wrong but I think the training status is mainly dominated by the VO2max calculation which seems to be nonsense too. My Wednesday night paceline was more productive but because one of the riders blew up we trundle home at a reasonably slow pace but my HR would have been elevated from the first half so my VO2max according to Garmin fell. But today I went out on the relaxed cafe ride, probably not productive but fun, and at no point got my HR up so the VO2max calculation went up and my training status changed from unproductive to productive. I think I will continue ignoring it 
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I did 2x5min yesterday at vo2max and the Garmin rewarded me with a bump in my VO2max number and “Peaking”.
Peaking->Unproductive->Peaking->Unproductive.
It cracks me up.
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I dont think they do. If I do not us a HR monitor, just power I don’t get a High / Low aerobic, anaerobic score.
Also it only works properly with a monitor that can record HRV in my experience.
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Just to add a quasi-related observation here. I agree with others that Garmins training status is not particularly accurate from what I’ve noticed.
However, for me at least, it does seem to do a much better job of warning about over reaching than metrics based solely on power (ex: TSB). I suspect this is because it incorporates HR, which serves as a way to monitor how your body is actually handling the training stress.
I have had weeks where due too poor sleep and shift work, I cut the volume but still end up doing too much for what I can handle. TSB tells me that I’m fresh, TR tells me to do some long threshold workouts of high intensity to get TSB down into the ideal training range. But Garmin will tell me I am over reaching, which I know from experience I am.
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That makes perfect sense… after you peaked you’ve peaked it is natural (correct) that unproductive follows.
4 days in a row? You’re peaking. You’re unproductive. You’re peaking! You’re unproductive! That’s what mine does, at least. My status is different almost every day. It’s laughable.
I’m not saying it is always correct, or even correct, but if you think about it this example it does actually make sense, to me at least.
Back in Feb I ran a 5km sessions best, it said peaking,
the following day I did a recovery run but the stress of the 5km SB meant a slight high HR for the effort than normal, it said unproductive,
then the next day (after the recovery run) I ran another SB Peaking…
guess what followed another recovery run, yes… unproductive…
My load increased (two SBs in a week) and I went back to ‘normal’ training, VO2max stayed the same and HR steady for various efforts so then I had a period of productive / maintaining.
To get it to say ‘Peaking’ you need two things…
- Reduced training load
- A new best output vs HR / HRV readings
Without the reduced load it will normally report productive, not Peaking.
No, it does not make sense to me that an athlete is peaking, unproductive, peaking, and unproductive 4 days in a row.
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I think the problem is the term “unproductive” as well as the fact that Garmin provides scant guidance on how to use their metrics. Searching on a Garmin Forum, I found someone from First Beat defining unproductive:
The dreaded “Unproductive” status simply means that your Training Load is high enough to challenge you, but your fitness level (VO2max) is decreasing. The amount of the decrease may not be a full point, or showing up in your VO2max display… yet. But, essentially, your performance was a bit more effortful than usual.
One’s head unit though just tells you “unproductive” rather than telling you what to do about it. Similarly, they tell you that your load focus is out of whack but they don’t suggest how to fix it.
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I also found these:
No status
The device needs one or two weeks of training history, including activities with VO2 max. results from running or cycling, to determine your training status.Detraining
Detraining occurs when you are training much less than usual for a week or more, and it is affecting your fitness level. You can try increasing your training load to see improvement.Recovery
Your lighter training load is allowing your body to recover, which is essential during extended periods of hard training. You can return to a higher training load when you feel ready.Maintaining
Your current training load is enough to maintain your fitness level. To see improvement, try adding more variety to your workouts or increasing your training volume.Productive
Your current training load is moving your fitness level and performance in the right direction. It is important to plan recovery periods into your training to maintain your fitness level.Peaking
Peaking means that you are in ideal race condition. Your recently reduced training load is allowing your body to recover and fully compensate for earlier training. You should plan ahead, since this peak state can only be maintained for a short time.Overreaching
Your training load is very high and counterproductive. Your body needs a rest. You should give yourself time to recover by adding lighter training to your schedule.Unproductive
Your training load is at a good level, but your fitness is decreasing. Your body may be struggling to recover, so you should pay attention to your overall health including stress, nutrition, and rest.
This link is mildly interesting:
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I have a 530, and have taken a ~3-4 week season break. Here is what is on my head unit (last night, and right now):
It clearly states what it thinks and states what to do about it.
And head unit shows the following load:
Not surprising given I’m coming back from a season break with shorter rides done by recovery HR and this week pushing up into endurance HR…
And iPhone app says:
A little different text vs head unit, but consistent.
Again I’m executing a training plan, not trying to make day-to-day decisions using Garmin status. However the status and load info does provide food for thought when I’m in the garage after a ride. In my case, I use the info to influence adding more low aerobic and thats it.
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That’s very helpful!
I just think the strokes are too broad. Are you supposed to go and do 30 second intervals until your eyes bleed and you get anaerobic in the right box? And then do threshold until it’s in the right box? Or do you start with low aerobic?
I know you and your coach have an idea about you’ll do next. I don’t think a lot of threshold training to align my high aerobic would not be good for me at this time of the year.
There was obviously some bit of technology put behind this. It doesn’t make sense that it’s so cryptic.
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Here’s my chronic high aerobic shortage. I guess I’m polarized.
Intervals.icu calls my year pyramidal:
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I do treat it “gimmick like”, but it does seem to accurately report how I feel.
That said, I don’t use any metrics for training. If I did, I would probably use the Garmin data (though I would do more base than it recommends) as it seems to follow along well for me.
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If The Dude were your coach, he’d say, “Well, you know, there are zones, man, and then there are zones.”
The top of my HR zone 1 is into my power zone 2, and my HR zone 2 is the lower end of my power zone 3. So it gets fuzzy. And I ain’t the only one…
HR vs power for my year (315 hours cycling, 150 hours rowing, 20 hours rucking).
I wouldn’t get too caught up in the Garmin metrics. Does the PM say you’re fitter? Do you look forward to training every day? Are you happy and having fun? If the answers to all three questions are yes, it’s working.
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