Advanced running and form metrics for Pixel Watch 3, 4 & 5

Important:

• If you don’t have a Google Health account, go to the Google Play Store on your phone and download the Google Health app. Follow the on-screen instructions to set up your account and connect your account to your watch. If prompted, follow the instructions to move Fitbit Account to your Google Account.
• Google Pixel Watch 3, 4 and 5 users must move Google Health to a Google Account to proceed. To learn how to set up and connect your watch to an existing Google Health account, refer to How do I set up my Fitbit device?

Step up your runs with these Google Pixel Watch 3, 4 and 5 advanced features.

Proper running form is the key to helping unlock your full running potential and helping reduce the chance of injury. Advanced motion sensing measures your cadence, stride length, vertical oscillation, and more. Check your running form insights and deep dive into advanced metrics to take action for improvement.

Tip: Your workout metrics are recorded in the background, even if you don't check them during your workout. Your workout data is available in the post-workout summary and the Google Health app on your phone.

What running metrics can I check?

Google Pixel Watch 3, 4 and 5 users with Premium receive insights on their running form¹. These are based on comparisons of similar portions of workouts and meant to identify trends and outliers in their personal performance.

Form metrics

Form Metrics	Description
Step Cadence	How many steps you take per minute. High cadence is associated with higher efficiency.
Ground contact time	How long your foot touches the ground during each stride. Lower contact time is associated with higher efficiency.
Vertical oscillation	This measures the vertical displacement of your center of mass with each step. Lower vertical oscillation suggests more efficient running form.
Vertical ratio	This compares your vertical oscillation or foot rise to your stride length. A lower ratio indicates better running form, where most of your forward motion comes from stride length, not bouncing. Segments can help you check if your form changes throughout your run.
Stride length	The distance between successive points of contact of the same foot. Shorter stride length is associated with higher efficiency.

Check your other metrics

Metrics	Description
Steps	Steps taken today and progress toward your daily goal.
Distance	The total distance covered, measured in miles or kilometers.
Elapsed Time	The total duration of your workout, from the moment you start to the moment you finish. It includes all pauses, breaks, and rest periods.
Calories burned	The number of calories burned during your workout.
Readiness	Your readiness score is a snapshot of your body's recovery status, which helps you understand how prepared you are for your next workout. It combines insights from your heart rate variability (HRV), sleep, and resting heart rate (RHR) to guide your training decisions. Refer to Understanding your readiness score in the Google Health app.
Cardio load	Cardio load uses a five-level scale to estimate your heart's workload throughout the day. Refer to What are cardio load and target load.
Target load	Target load represents the daily cardio load target you should aim for. This is based on your readiness score and recent load to avoid under or over training. Refer to What are cardio load and target load.
Elevation Gain	Total vertical distance you climbed during your workout. Your workout summary in the Google Health app includes a graph of the elevation change over time and includes the highest and lowest elevation during your run.
Heart Rate (HR)	This reflects how hard your heart is working. It's displayed in beats per minute (bpm). Segments can show you how your heart rate responds to different efforts within your workout. Different HR zones indicate varying intensity levels. Your workout summary in the Google Health app includes a graph of your heart rate change over time and includes your maximum heart rate.
Active Zone Minutes (AZM)	The number of Active Zone Minutes you earned during your run. For more information, refer to Learn about Active Zone Minutes or active minutes on your Fitbit device.
Pace	Split Pace: The pace you maintain over a specific segment of your workout. Split Average Pace: The average speed you maintained for a specific portion of your workout.
	Segment Pace: Refers to your speed over a specific distance, typically displayed in minutes per kilometer (min/km) for running or minutes per mile (min/mi). Lower pace indicates faster running. Segments can show you how your pace varies throughout your workout.
Cadence	Split Cadence: The average number of steps you took per minute during a specific segment of your workout. It helps you analyze your running technique and efficiency.
	Segment Cadence: This is your step count per minute while running. Having a consistent cadence can improve efficiency and reduce injury risk. Segments can show variations in your cadence during your run.
Split Time	Time it took you to complete a specific portion of your workout.

To learn more about these stats, refer to What activities do my Fitbit device and Google Pixel Watch track.

Find your post-workout metrics

After your workout, your watch displays a summary of your performance. These metrics include:

• Form analysis, such as cadence, stride length, ground contact time, vertical oscillation, and vertical ratio
• Cardio load
• General stats, such as elapsed time, distance run, pace, heart rate, calories burned, steps taken, and elevation change
• Heart rate details, such as active zone minutes and time spent in each heart rate zone
• Run details, such as distance run, elapsed time, pace, average heart rate, and splits

Analyze & compare your running metrics

Google Health App

1. Open the Google Health app and tap the Fitness tab .
2. Under “Key metrics,” tap Running distance.
3. Under the graph, tap Form metric.
4. Select the metric you want to check.
   • Use the filters above the graph to change the time scale of the graph or view historical data.

Google Pixel Watch

After your run your post workout summary will pop up. Scroll to the bottom of your summary to find a metric breakdown of your Form analysis. For a more in depth analysis of your form open the Google Health app.

Learn from your runs & analyze your data

There are 2 primary ways to gain insights from your advanced running metrics:

Average advanced running metrics and personal range comparisons

• Summary: This overview provides a snapshot of your average advanced running metrics, such as cadence, stride length, and ground contact time.
• Comparison: You can compare your averages in your personal range for these metrics, giving you a sense of how your running form varies over time.
  Important: Requires calibration of 10+ runs.

Visualize performance over time

Tap Visualize performance in your run summary to check how your running form progressed throughout the run. This can help you identify trends, areas for improvement, and potential inconsistencies in your running technique.

Check your advanced metrics during a run

You can check key metrics during and after your run. Tracking your metrics helps you review your progress and identify your strengths and weaknesses so you can improve over time.

For more information on how to track your workouts on the Google Health app and other Fitbit devices, refer to Track workouts with your Fitbit device and Google Pixel Watch and How can custom workouts help with my daily fitness.

Edit your key metrics

Google Pixel Watch

1. Open the Google Exercise .
2. Tap Run .
3. Tap Settings Workout views Key metrics.
4. Tap each slot and choose what metric you want to check.
5. Swipe right to return to the previous screen.

Swipe to view selected key metric

During a workout, your watch screen will show you metrics pertaining to your current interval. The default screen is the Interval screen, where you can check your metrics or goals. This screen is your default view when you start a run.

To access the Workout screen, swipe down from the Interval screen.

To access the Action menu during a workout, swipe left.

From the Action menu, you can choose to lock your screen, end or pause the workout, or add a new interval.

Related resources

• What are cardio load and target load?
• How do I track my running goals & records?
• Gemini on Google Pixel Watch

_{¹ Google Health Premium requires a Google Account, Google Health mobile app, compatible phone, and internet connection. Premium content and features are subject to change, are not available in all countries, and may be in English only.}