Fitness Charts

Edited

This article provides an overview of all the charts available in the Fitness tab.

Fitness Calendar

The Fitness Calendar shows how many activities you completed each day.

Activity Summary

Activity Summary shows the total hours and minutes you’ve spent across all activities. You can also filter for specific activity types. Use the filter button, located on the far left, to view other metrics such as distance or elevation.

Strain Performance

Strain Performance shows your graph and percentage over time. It indicates how closely you are training to your Target Strain range. Reaching your Target Strain means you are training at the right intensity to support progress while reducing the risk of overtraining or injury. Consistently hitting your Target Strain can also support better recovery and long-term performance improvements.

You can toggle between 30D, 3M, 6M, and 1Y, or use the calendar icon in the bottom-right corner to set a custom date range.

The top-left number shows your Target Strain Deviation, which reflects how close you were to your ideal Target Strain on the highlighted day. The number on the right shows your Status: within, above, or below your Target Strain.

How does Target Strain work?

Target Strain is your personalized daily training recommendation.

It’s based on:

  • Your Recovery Score

  • Your recent activity and strain levels

  • Your overall trends

You can use it as a simple guide:

  • High Recovery + Low recent strain → Push harder

  • Low Recovery or High recent strain → Take it easier

Following your Target Strain helps you train effectively while avoiding overtraining and supporting long-term progress.

How does Strain Performance work?

The Strain Performance chart shows how closely your daily Strain matches your Target Strain over time.

How to read the chart

Target Strain Deviation

Each point shows how far your daily strain is from the midpoint of your target range:

  • 0% = exactly on target

  • Positive/negative values = above or below target

Dynamic Range

Your target range changes daily based on your Recovery and recent Strain. This helps guide smarter, more personalized training.

Status

Indicates whether your training has generally been:

  • Within target

  • Above target

  • Below target

Example

-13%, Below target

You are slightly below your target. A moderate activity (like a 30-minute walk) could help bring you closer.

Target Strain Breakdown

This shows how often you fall into each category:

  • Below target (blue): Training too lightly or not consistently

  • Within target (green): Ideal balance for progress and recovery

  • Above target (orange): Training hard, but may risk overtraining if sustained

How to use this:

  • Frequently below target → Increase consistency or intensity

  • Frequently above target → Prioritize recovery and reduce load

Cardio Load

Cardio Load shows your graph and current value. It helps you understand whether your training is balanced, or whether you may be overtraining or detraining. This metric is based on your short-term load (ATL) compared with your long-term load.

You can toggle between 30D, 3M, 6M, and 1Y, or use the calendar icon in the bottom-right corner to set a custom date range.

The top-left number shows your short-term load, based on the past 7 days from the selected point on the graph. The number on the right shows your Cardio Status, which reflects your current training state and adaptability over time.

Cardio Status

Cardio Status represents how your cardiovascular system is responding to recent training. It gives insight into your current training trajectory and recovery state.

There are seven possible statuses:

Calibrating

Bevel is still building your profile. Keep training for improved accuracy.

Detraining

You may be losing progress. Consider increasing your cardio training gradually.

Maintaining

Your training is steady and balanced.

Productive

Your training is supporting strong cardio gains.

Peaking

You are in peak condition and well recovered. This is an ideal state for racing or high performance.

Fatigued

You are training hard but may not be recovering well enough.

Overtraining

You may be at risk of injury or burnout. Consider reducing your cardio training load.

How Cardio Load works

Cardio Load is based on your short-term load from the past 7 days and your long-term load from the past 6 weeks. It is calculated using Training Impulse (TRIMP), a method that estimates training stress based on heart rate and exercise duration.

The line, markers, and top-left number on the chart represent your short-term load (ATL). A higher short-term load means your recent training load is increasing. A lower short-term load means it is decreasing.

Short-term load ranges can generally be interpreted as:

  • 0–25: Very light training

  • 25–75: Moderate to hard training

  • 75–125+: High fatigue, often during a training block or peak week

The shaded range on the chart represents your Optimal Load Range, showing where your ATL should ideally fall in relation to your long-term load (CTL). This reflects a balanced load ratio of approximately 0.8–1.3. The lighter shaded area on either side represents a margin of safety.

Cardio Status reflects where your short-term load currently sits and how your cardiovascular system is responding.

For the most accurate results, Bevel requires 6 weeks of activity data, including resting heart rate. Before then, your status will appear as Calibrating.

Cardio Focus

Cardio Focus shows the breakdown of your training across three zones: Low Aerobic, High Aerobic, and Anaerobic. It helps you understand where your cardio effort is concentrated during exercise.

Bevel uses your VO₂ max and training intensity to estimate your thresholds, giving you a more accurate picture of training impact than time in zone alone.

How Cardio Focus works

Cardio Focus is divided into three main zones:

Low Aerobic

Easy, steady-state effort done at a conversational pace and lower heart rate. These workouts help build aerobic capacity, support fat metabolism, and aid recovery. Examples include long walks, easy jogs, and steady-state cycling.

High Aerobic

Sustained, higher-intensity effort that significantly raises heart rate. These workouts improve VO₂ max, aerobic power, and muscular endurance. Examples include threshold runs, tempo rides, and strong hill efforts.

Anaerobic

Short bursts of maximum effort that place high stress on the anaerobic system. These workouts improve speed, power, and lactate tolerance, but also require more recovery. Examples include HIIT, sprints, and VO₂ max intervals.

The Cardio Focus chart shows your zone distribution over the selected time period. You will see:

Cardio Focus

The zone where most of your aerobic effort is concentrated: Low Aerobic, High Aerobic, or Anaerobic.

Focus Percentage

The percentage of your training concentrated in that focus area relative to the others.

Cardio Points

A unitless value that represents your cardio training thresholds. Think of this like Strength Progression, but for cardio intensity instead of lifted weight. You can compare these points over time and across exercise types.

Use this chart to understand whether your training is well balanced or whether you may be relying too heavily on one zone, especially higher-intensity work that can increase strain.

Tailoring Cardio Focus to your goals

If your goal is to build endurance, increase your low aerobic volume.

If you are preparing for a race, add high aerobic and anaerobic work strategically.

If you are feeling worn down, shift toward more low aerobic sessions.

Heart Rate Recovery (HRR)

Heart Rate Recovery measures how quickly your heart rate returns toward baseline after exercise. It is a useful indicator of cardiovascular fitness and recovery. A faster HRR generally reflects stronger cardiovascular health and better recovery capacity, while a slower HRR may suggest fatigue, stress, or a need for better aerobic conditioning.

You can improve HRR through consistent aerobic training, good hydration, quality sleep, and stress management.

Bevel only tracks HRR for workouts where your heart rate reaches zone 4 or higher, since lower-intensity workouts do not provide enough cardiovascular load for accurate recovery analysis. You can filter HRR data by activity type or date range.

How the Heart Rate Recovery chart works

Heart Rate Recovery is calculated as the difference between your peak heart rate during intense exercise and your heart rate up to two minutes after exercise ends.

For example, if your peak heart rate during a workout is 160, and two minutes later it drops to 130, your HRR is 30.

You can see HRR in your individual workout Activity Details when zone 4 is reached, and you can view HRR trends over time in the Fitness tab.

What affects HRR

Workout intensity

Only workouts where your heart rate reaches zone 4 or above are used to calculate HRR.

Post-workout stillness

For the most accurate reading, remain seated or standing still for 2 minutes after your workout. Walking or moving around can affect the result.

Overall recovery

Sleep, hydration, nutrition, illness, and mental stress all influence how quickly your heart rate returns to baseline.

Aerobic fitness

As your aerobic capacity improves through consistent cardio training, your HRR will often improve as well. A stronger cardiovascular system typically recovers more quickly after effort.


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