EvoLab Metrics for Cyclists

With a connected power meter and heart rate data, your COROS device can give you detailed training insights for your cycling fitness journey.

If you are using COROS for the first time, you will receive Training Load and other generic fitness metrics automatically from your COROS watch.  If using COROS DURA, it must be paired with a device that measures heart rate data.

To calculate your FTP (Functional Threshold Power), you will need to meet the requirements listed below during a bike activity to provide the algorithm the data it needs to assess your FTP.  An accurate FTP extrapolates your individual power zones and provides accurate Training Load data for cycling activities.  These are the requirements:

1. Record an indoor or outdoor ride that includes a segment of at least 20+ minutes of steady, uninterrupted riding (no intervals).
2. During the 20-minute steady segment, your COROS device is receiving heart rate data and is paired with a power meter.
3. During this segment, your heart rate must average at least 60% of your heart rate reserve. 
   • For example, if your max heart rate is 180 and resting heart rate is 50, your heart rate reserve is 130. 60% of 130 is 78. Now to get the target range, we will add resting heart rate to the previous numbers. 78+50=128. To qualify for this example, the athlete needs to maintain a heart rate reading over 128bpm.

Training Load measures the impact brought to your body from the training. Each activity tracked by your COROS device receives a Training Load total based on volume (in minutes) and intensity (time spent in your power zones or heart rate zones).  Training Load will be calculated using power data when your COROS device is connected to a power meter, or heart rate data if no power meter is connected.

Training Load can be added to data pages on your COROS device to be viewed in real-time to gauge the intensity and duration of your training. Longer and more intense training yields a higher training load score. Compare your training load on your device or via the COROS app to see how today’s training compares to similar activities in the past.

7-Day Total Load & Recommendation 

7-Day Total Load measures the total training load in the last 7 days. COROS evaluates if your recent training load is reasonable and recommends a zone that is least likely to get you injured while maximizing the training outcome based on your training history. If your 7-Day Total Load is higher than the recommended zone, you may consider reducing your training intensity to allow your body to recover more.

Training Status is calculated based on a rolling average of 7 and 42 days of training data, and tells you how effective your most recent training was. It consists of your Base Fitness, Load Impact, and Intensity Trend.

Base Fitness measures the ability to take on exertion from long-term training. It is calculated based on your training load in the past 6 weeks which is essentially your fitness level with an exponentially weighted model. A higher value means your body is capable of training longer and more frequently at higher intensity. Base Fitness will gradually decline if you decrease volume and intensity of training compared to 6 weeks ago.

Load Impact measures the amount of impact brought to your body from short-term training. It is calculated based on the training load in the last 7 days with an exponentially weighted model. A higher value means a higher impact is introduced to your body and will limit your performance from tiredness. Load Impact goes down if you take more rests and up if you train more.

Load Impact divided by Base Fitness yields your Intensity Trend. This metric reflects the amount of fatigue your body is suffering from the recent training while considering your ability to sustain the impact. A low value means that your body is ready to take on more intensity while a high value indicates overtraining.

Many people may think load impact is your fatigue. Here's an example to explain the difference. While the load impact of a 100k training week may be similar for you and Eliud Kipchoge, the amount of fatigue left in your body can be entirely different because Eliud’s base fitness may be way above yours. To achieve the best race result or your best day in the mountains, you want the base fitness to be as high as possible, and fatigue to be low but not too low as this can lead to a decline in base fitness.

Intensity Trend is a powerful and objective tool to help provide accurate feedback to avoid injuries and adjust your training plan to reach the expected training outcome. To give the best recommendation, COROS has set 5 different fatigue zones for you. You will want to be in the Optimized zone (100-149%) for maximized training efficiency, and in the Performance zone (50-79%) for race days. The concept of tapering is to take your body from the optimized zone to the performance zone.

• Excessive (≥150%): Recent training may be overreaching or excessive.
• Optimized (100-149%): Productive training is increasing Base Fitness.
• Maintaining (80-99%): Moderate recent Training Load; maintaining Base Fitness.
• Resuming/Performance (50-79%): Resuming represents Increased Training Load is improving your fitness.  Performance represents you are ready to take on significant physical effort.
• Decreasing (0-49%): Low recent Training Load; Base Fitness is declining.

To get the best improvement to your fitness, you will have to train with fatigue, but training when you are too tired can easily lead to injury. After each training, the recovery timer provides feedback on the time needed to receive full recovery. The more you train with DURA, the more accurate feedback it will give you as EvoLab keeps learning your fitness data.

Currently, the countdown is designed to be used during a training block with a maximum recovery time set to 96 hours or 4 days. Don’t be surprised if it tells you that you are ready to train hard again in a few days after a 100-mile race as most people will take an extended recovery following a goal race or completed training block. Please listen to your body, take enough rest, and start using the recovery timer again when you are ready to kick off a new training session.

• 0% - 29%: Please rest
• 30% - 89%: Ready for easy training
• 90% - 100%: Ready for hard training

Training with power is one of the most valuable tools for cyclists to improve their fitness. In order to receive power zones, you will need to meet the requirements listed below during a bike activity to provide the algorithm the data it needs to assess your FTP. An accurate FTP extrapolates your individual power zones and provides accurate Training Load data for cycling activities. These are the requirements:

1. Record an indoor or outdoor ride that includes a segment of at least 20+ minutes of steady, uninterrupted riding (no intervals).
2. During the 20-minute steady segment, your COROS device is recording heart rate data and is paired with a power meter.
3. During this segment, your heart rate must average at least 60% of your heart rate reserve.
   • For example, if your max heart rate is 180 and resting heart rate is 50, your heart rate reserve is 130. 60% of 130 is 78. Now to get the target range, we will add resting heart rate to the previous numbers. 78+50=128. To qualify for this example, the athlete needs to maintain a heart rate reading over 128bpm.

The COROS cycling power zone model is based on a percentage of your FTP (Functional Threshold Power) to allow your workouts to be as individualized as possible. 

COROS power zones are broken down into 7 zones:

1. Recovery: Easy, recovery rides.
2. Aerobic Endurance: Long rides. Easy, but sustained effort.
3. Aerobic Power: Tempo, or sweet spot rides. Harder effort that require focus, but sustainable for longer periods.
4. Threshold (at or near FTP): FTP workouts. Strenuous effort and hardly sustainable.
5. Anaerobic Endurance (above FTP): VO2max workouts. Effort is very demanding and can be sustained for several minutes at a time.
6. Anaerobic Power: Strength workouts. Highly demanding effort that can only be sustained for a few minutes.
7. Sprint: Neuromuscular workouts. Maximal effort that can be sustained for up to a minute at most.

Efficiency measures how the effort on your last activity compares to your fitness level. Various external and internal factors can impact your Efficiency score, such as quality of sleep, temperature, and elevation.

The score that you can receive will range from 80% to 120% and has 5 different levels.

• Excellent: 105% - 120%
• Great: 102% - 104%
• Good: 99% - 101%
• Fair: 96% - 98%
• Low: 80% - 95%

Not every bike activity will receive an Efficiency score. All of the following requirements need to be met to evaluate an Efficiency score:

• Track your ride with both heart rate data and power meter data in Bike or Indoor Bike mode.
• Ride for at least 10 minutes to allow for sufficient data to be gathered.
• For interval training, each interval should be over 3 minutes.
• Your heart rate during the ride should be between 65%-95% of your max heart rate, and it should remain steady throughout the workout (no large and sudden increases or decreases).

Lactate Threshold is the breaking point when aerobic training starts to transform to anaerobic training. It can also be defined as the intensity of training at which lactate acid begins to accumulate in the blood faster than it can be removed. It is a popular indicator used in competitive sports. In addition to the traditional heart rate zones, we’ve now introduced 6 threshold pace zones representing different focuses in training. Threshold pace zones are a great tool to measure your effort and it eliminates any issues that could develop with your heart rate readings.

EvoLab recommends personalized threshold heart rate and pace zones as the default setting based on your general fitness level. To better suit your training, you can edit the default zones or choose other heart rate zones such as max heart rate zones or heart rate reserve zones. Training at each zone has a unique effect on your body and fitness. You can improve base endurance, lactate threshold, anaerobic endurance by training at associated zones.

Below are the details of the default threshold heart rate and pace zones and they may not match the zones that are edited manually.

• Zone 1 (Recovery)
  • This range corresponds to low exercise intensity. It is suitable for active recovery.
• Zone 2 (Aerobic Endurance)
  • This zone is comfortable enough to maintain conversations. It is suitable for basic cardiopulmonary function training, which mainly exercises basic aerobic capacity. It is an effort that can be sustained for multiple hours, and easy or long runs usually fall into this category.
• Zone 3 (Aerobic Power)
  • This range leads to a sudden increase in breathing rate and it becomes harder to maintain conversations. It is suitable for improving running form and techniques such as breathing or cadence. 
• Zone 4 (Threshold)
  • This effort is barely sustainable and rather uncomfortable. Training in this zone improves your ability to sustain harder efforts for longer. It is an effort that can typically be sustained for 45-60 minutes, and 10-15 minute intervals usually fall into this category.
• Zone 5 (Anaerobic Endurance)
  • This range has now exceeded your threshold ability and therefore becomes quite uncomfortable and unsustainable, making you uncomfortable and causing shortness of breath. It applies to high-intensity interval training, which mainly improves VO2 Max ability.  5 minute interval runs usually fall into this category.
• Zone 6 (Anaerobic Power)
  • This zone's intensity makes you struggle to breathe. It is suitable for anaerobic training which improves anaerobic capacity and muscular endurance.  1-min interval runs usually fall into this category.

Download verified training plans and workouts

Visit the COROS Training Plans & Workouts page to browse and download structured workout workouts designed by pro athletes and coaches for free.

To add these workouts to your COROS library, select "View Details" to open and save the workout via Training Hub.  Or, select "Scan to Add" and open your COROS app to the Profile page, then use the scan feature within the app to download the plan.

Create your own bike workouts

To create a bike workout, follow these steps:

1. Open the COROS app to the Profile page
2. Select Workout Library
3. Select "Create" in the top right corner and choose Bike mode
4. Select "Add Exercise" to add a warm up, cool down, rest, interval, or other training
5. Each session can be customized to a specific target and intensity.
   • Target types: Time, Distance, Training Load, Open, or HR Recovery (for rest only)
   • Intensity types: % Max HR, % HR Reserve, % Threshold HR, Heart Rate, Speed, Power, Cadence, or Not set
6. To rearrange the order of your workout, press and hold any session to drag and drop it somewhere else.
7. Press and hold a session, then drop it directly on top of another session to combine both in a single set.  You can then increase the number of repeats for that set.
8. Swipe left to delete or duplicate sessions.
9. When you are finished, tap "Save" in the top right corner.  Select the three dots to sync with your your device.