Now on TrainingPeaks, via your Cycling Systems website, the workout analysis tools many of you have enjoyed for years in the desktop WKO+ software are available online: find out just how hard your workout really was with new online Training Stress Scores (TSS) and track your fitness over time with the Performance Management Chart (PMC).
Based on the gold-standard analysis system that has been available on the advanced WKO+ desktop software for half a decade, online workout scores can be calculated based on power, heart rate, and more, allowing athletes to earn a score for a variety of different workouts and compare many different types of training.
I can now assess your workouts and fitness trends, unheard of until know using a heart rate monitor!
These workout scores can be tracked over time in a new online graph called the Performance Management Chart (PMC), now also available on TrainingPeaks, to give you a good idea of how your training is progressing over time. The same system used to track the fitness programs of many of the Tour de France cyclists and other elite athletes for more than 5 years is now available to you.
You don’t need an expensive power meter like the pro cyclists use either. In fact, TrainingPeaks can now calculate a TSS value for any workout that contains heart rate or pace data. In fact, no device is needed at all: once you understand the simple scoring system you’ll be able to reward yourself with a daily score through perceived exertion.
By tracking your daily TSS, no matter what your preferred workout type may be, you will be doing the same thing many professional cyclists have done for years. Understanding these simple concepts can help you estimate your daily workout score even if you don’t have a training device file to upload.
- Cyclists and runners can earn 100 TSS for an all-out 60-minute workout. Now of course most workouts are not completed at an all-out intensity level so you will probably accumulate less than 100 TSS per hour on most days.
- Think of intensity on a scale of 1-10, “10″ being the hardest. If you exercised at a level 5 for an hour then you would accumulate 50 TSS, no matter if you were training for the Tour de France or to simply lose weight.
- You can earn more than 100 TSS within a single workout, but never more than 100 TSS per hour.
- No matter what your sport may be, you know what a maximum one-hour effort feels like. This equals 100 TSS. Now you can relate every workout to that gold standard. So for example if you walked the dog for an hour at an easy to moderate pace you might reward yourself with a score of 30 TSS.
Performance Management Chart: Training Score Over Time Shows Fitness Trends
The really powerful benefit of tracking your daily TSS is you can now leverage the TrainingPeaks Performance Management Chart to easily track your fitness progression over time. TrainingPeaks’ advanced formulas will accurately calculate your fitness (known as Chronic Training Load or CTL), fatigue (known as Acute Training Load or ATL) and finally your freshness or form (known as Training Stress Balance or TSB).
There is no need to remember CTL, ATL and TSB, just remember the blue line represents your fitness, the pink line shows your fatigue, and the yellow line shows how fresh you are. Now that you understand these basic principles you can spot the trends over time an set realistic goals for yourself. We all know that health and fitness aren’t created through occasional exercise. Consistency and progression over time are the real secrets to long-lasting fitness and health.
Please call me to talk via phone or to set up a 1:1 and discuss your training!
After the 2nd week of the TRX Boot Camps, I am getting requests for more of them! Stay tuned for an updated calendar in the near future. 