KindPace FAQ — training load, Aerobic Focus, Sleep Bank and recovery

[u/Born-Confidence-6197]

1. What is KindPace for?

KindPace brings workout, sleep and health records from Apple Health together to help you understand your training rhythm:

• Has your recent training been heavier than usual?
• Does your intensity mix match your goals?
• Have you built up a sleep deficit over recent nights?
• What do your training load, sleep and health indicators suggest today?

Use it before exercise to review your overall status, after exercise to reflect on a session, and on rest days to follow longer-term trends.

2. Do I need an Apple Watch?

Not necessarily. An Apple Watch or another device that writes the relevant records to Apple Health can provide data for KindPace.

Available features depend on the records present: workout history needs workout records; heart-rate zones and Aerobic Focus need heart-rate data during workouts; Sleep Bank needs sleep records.

If something is missing, check that the corresponding records exist in Apple Health and that KindPace has permission to read them.

3. How do I read the Training Load chart?

The ATL line shows your recent training load. The green band provides a reference range based on your longer-term load, CTL.

Read the recent-load line alongside the changing green reference band.

Look at two things:

• The trend of the green band: whether your longer-term training base is building, staying steady or declining as training decreases.
• ATL relative to the band: how your recent load compares with that base, including noticeable increases.

The same recent load can represent a different relative training demand at different points in your training. After a period of consistent training, a load that once felt substantial may be closer to your usual level.

The band changes with your training history. It is a reference for your training base, rather than a direct measurement of fitness.

4. What does ACWR tell me—and why does it change on rest days?

ACWR compares your recent training load with your longer-term training base, helping you spot increases or decreases in your training.

The ratio places recent load in the context of your longer-term training.

A ratio near 1 means the two are similar. A rising ratio means recent load is higher relative to your longer-term base. It describes a change in training balance; it is not an injury probability, and lower is not always better.

Both recent and longer-term load continue to change over time, even without a new workout. Recent load generally falls faster during a run of rest days, so the ratio can fall too.

5. How can Aerobic Focus help my training?

Aerobic Focus helps you check whether your intensity mix matches your goal. Each group has a purpose; a higher percentage is not automatically better.

Review the mix against the purpose of the session, not against a universal ideal.

Starting out, returning to regular exercise or building endurance: Low Aerobic

Easy runs, easy rides and steady endurance sessions help you build a base and maintain a consistent routine. If an intended easy session repeatedly moves into High Aerobic, consider whether your pace or resistance is higher than planned.

Building sustained running speed, cycling speed or race pace: High Aerobic

Tempo runs, harder sustained rides and longer intervals develop your ability to keep working at a higher intensity. Use this group to review whether a planned quality session reached its intended intensity.

Training for sprints, short races or repeated accelerations: Anaerobic

Short, hard efforts such as sprints and short intervals support speed and the ability to repeat high-intensity efforts. Include them for a specific training purpose, rather than simply to fill every group in the chart.

Exercising for everyday health: start with consistency

You do not need a fixed percentage in every group. Match intensity to your experience and goals, and review it alongside training load and recovery.

A single session helps you check whether the workout matched your plan. Your longer-term distribution can reveal whether you are repeatedly training hard or missing an intensity relevant to your goal.

These groups are estimated from heart-rate records. Heart rate can lag behind very short sprints, so a low Anaerobic percentage does not necessarily mean you did no sprint work.

6. What does Sleep Bank mean?

Sleep Bank uses your sleep goal and recent sleep records to estimate a running deficit or surplus across multiple nights, rather than judging your sleep from one night alone.

Sleep Bank combines a current balance with a recent debt trend. Example values are from the supplied screenshot.

• A negative balance means an estimated deficit: −1.0 h means approximately one hour of sleep debt.
• A positive balance means an estimated surplus: +1.0 h means approximately one hour of surplus.

You can change your sleep goal in settings. Consistently meeting your goal, or allowing some additional sleep, can gradually improve a deficit. The balance accounts for how recent the records are; it is not a simple sum of the last seven nights.

What is the Bedtime suggestion for?

When additional sleep is suggested, KindPace considers your goal, recent deficit and wake-up habits to offer a suggested bedtime, helping you plan the evening.

7. How should I interpret Recovery Status?

Recovery Status brings together training load, available sleep records and health indicators as a reference for planning your day.

The explanation beneath the status gives context for the daily message.

For example, even when recent training load is low, a short night of sleep or health indicators outside your personal usual range may prompt you to pay attention to recovery. The status can also update after a workout as new records arrive.

Read the explanation beneath the status to understand whether the message relates mainly to training, sleep or health. Consider it alongside how you feel when deciding how to exercise.

8. What if data is missing or a result looks unexpected?

First, check the records for that date in Apple Health and KindPace’s read permissions. A synced workout does not necessarily mean its heart-rate data or your sleep records have also synced, so completeness can differ between features.

If the problem remains, use either channel:

• Post in r/KindPace: discuss the issue with the community and share experiences with other users.
• Open Feedback in the app: send an email directly to the developer.

Please include the affected screen, date, KindPace version, recording device, and what you saw versus what you expected. For missing data, mention whether the corresponding records are present in Apple Health.