Is training status calculated only by recorded activities, or also things like intensity minutes, daily steps outside of activity, Move IQ, etc?

no training load without GPS (at least for outdoor activity), hence no impact on training status. for cycling - it records training load with GPS, advised external HRM for correct HR reading, so it adds to training status. the only thing we don't get from such is VO2 estimate, that only with power meter

Any logged activity showing Training Effect will have an impact on the Training Load. GPS does not matter. Daily activities not recorded or discarded won't count towards the TL. You need to record and save any daily workout as an Activity, if you wish to have it counted.

If you go to Reports » Training Status in Garmin Connect Web, and click the link Activity List under the graph Exercise Load, you can see which activities contributed to the total load, and how much.

Let me add that any activities including those which are discarded and not saved by the watch create a an Exercise Load in itself.

I know it, because I tested it, although with a F6X, and even a started activity with Track me app created a bar on my watch (Training Status/Exercise Load), even if I did not record it, but simply discard it after stopping the activity.

It is tricky, because you cannot see those bars of unsaved activities under Exercise Load on GCM/GC web.

Finally I am not sure, but tend to think that since the watch calculates Training Load and not GC, that these unsaved activities have an impact on the total TL, both Chronic and Acute.

After years finally Garmin agreed to my observation and put a new section in the support article of vo2max:

”Your VO2 metrics can be impacted from unsaved or deleted activities. For that reason, the practice of recording activities across mutliple devices concurrently is not advised…..”

Ref: support.garmin.com/.../

But since I bought a new device I have additional info. While a paralel recording by an Edge 530 and a Fenix 6X does confuse training load even if you discard the activity on 530, if you do the same with an Enduro and a Fenix 6X there is no fake doubling of your load, so your aggregate training load will be fine.

I guess the difference comes from the different generations of physio-true-up-thingamies.

Here's something I can never get a straight answer on: Suggested Daily Workouts. Recovery time. Are they impacted by activities that are not RUN or BIKE? I think they're not. I can do a 5x8min hard interval RUN workout on FRI. Then a 20 mi HIKE with 6,000 ft of climbing on Saturday, another 15mi HIKE on Sunday. And for Monday's Suggested Workout it tells me I should do a threshold workout. It just cant be taking those non- RUN/HIKE activities into consideration. So if that's true that only RUN and BIKE "count", which I tend to believe it is, can we fool the calculation by taking a RUN activity and making a Custom Activity based off the RUN, but calling it something entirely different? My assumption is the name of the activity is irrelevant, only the category of activity. Thoughts?

Yes, they are. When I have zero RT, and then I go to gym, I often end it with 1h or 2h. The same for walk and hike.

I did not test explicitly what if I still have 20h after a bike and go to gym, but as I remember the extra is added in this case, too.

EDIT: sry, I misinterpreted your postat first glance. I do not follow/use Suggested Daily Workouts, so I dunno.

9707472 said:

Here's something I can never get a straight answer on: Suggested Daily Workouts.

I'd tell the question is indirectly answered in the Top FAQs About Daily Suggested Workouts. I am telling "indirectly", because it is in the answer for the question "If I Am Doing a Cycling Training Plan, Does That Impact My Running Daily Suggested Workouts? (And Vice-Versa)". However, I think the formulation of the answer clearly tells that whatever you do, and whatever has an impact on the Training Status, Training load, load focus, and recovery time, has an impact on the DSW too:

If I Am Doing a Cycling Training Plan, Does That Impact My Running Daily Suggested Workouts? (And Vice-Versa)

The DSW workouts are still on the device, but you may not get a prompt when accessing the other activity profile (in which you are not enrolled in a training plan) each day. Because your Training Status, Training load, load focus, and recovery time can be impacted by both running and cycling activities, your DSWs may be impacted by updates to these metrics.

Curious whats the point of MoveIQ then. 

MoveIQ is a rather useless feature, and it plays no role in all of this.