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Term |
Definition |
Pw:Hr/Pa:Hr (Aerobic Decoupling) |
A measure of how much your power or pace change relative to your heart rate from the beginning of a ride to the end. A lower value (<5-8%) for long, steady rides may indicate improved aerobic endurance. |
Anatomical Adaptation (AA) Strength Phase |
This is the initial phase of strength training that usually occurs in the late fall or early winter during the Preparation period. It's purpose is to prepare the muscles and tendons for the greater loads of the maximum strength (MS) phase. |
ATL (Acute Training Load) |
A weighted average of daily Training Stress Score for the last 7 days. Used to represent acute training load and it's short term contribution to Fatigue. Also called Fatigue. |
ATP (Annual Training Plan) |
Allows a coach or athlete to plan and periodize their season based on their goal events. Available in TrainingPeaks. |
Base |
The period during which the basic abilities of endurance, speed and force are emphasized, usually early in the season or after a mid-season peak to prepare for a peak event later in the season. |
Build |
The specific preparation mesocycle during which high-intensity training in the form of muscular-endurance, anaerobic-endurance and power are emphasized, force and speed are maintained. |
Cadence |
The number of pedal revolutions per minute (RPM) in cycling or strides per minute (SPM) in running. |
CTL (Chronic Training Load) |
A weighted average of daily Training Stress Score for the last 42 days. Used to represent training load and it's long term affects on fitness. Also called Fitness. |
Dynamic Plan |
In TrainingPeaks a Dynamic plan is a TrainingPlan that will update for all athletes currently using that plan when the author of the plan makes a change. Can be useful for coaching groups of athletes or teams that will perform the same workouts on the same days. In dynamic plans each workout is placed on a specific date on the plan and for all athletes. |
EF (Efficiency Factor) |
The ratio of Normalized Power or Normalized Graded Pace to average heart rate for a given workout. A drop in this number over time for similar workouts indicates a higher power or pace for a given level of effort and in increase in fitness. |
Fitness |
See CTL (Chronic Training Load) |
Fatigue |
See ATL (Acute Training Load) |
Form |
See TSB (Training Stress Balance) |
FRC (Functional Reserve Capacity) |
An estimate of the amount of workout that can be performed above FTP before fatigue. An FRC of 10 kJ would indicate that a rider could ride 1000 watts for 10 seconds, or 500 watts for 20 seconds. (Available in WKO) |
Freshness |
See TSB |
FTP (Functional Threshold Power) |
The power output below which and athlete can sustain for a longer duration (>1 hour) and above which fatigue will occur quickly. Estimated by 60 minute max power or 95% of 20 minute max power. |
HRV (Heart Rate Variability) |
A measure of the variability in timing between heart beats. More variability (less steady) at reast is an indicator of central nervous system activations and freshness/readiness to train. Lower variability (more steady) indicates central nervous system depression and may indicate the need for rest. Several 3rd party apps can measure HRV and sync the result to TrainingPeaks as a metric where it can be tracked along with training and other metrics. |
IF (Intensity Factor) |
The relative intensity of a given workout without regard for duration. 1 hour at maximum effort is 1.0 |
kJ (Kilojoules) |
A unit of Work. Riding 200 watts for 1 hour would accomplish 720 kJ of work. |
Maximal Strength Phase (MS) |
The purpose of this phase of strength training is to improve force generation and the ability to teach the central nervous system to easily recruit high numbers of muscle fibers. |
mFTP (modeled Functional Threshold Power) |
The FTP predicted based on an athlete's PD curve (Available in WKO). |
MMP (Mean Maximal Power curve) |
The single highest average power attained for a given duration. Can be compile for a single workout or across many separate workouts. Also called Peak Power Curve or Critical Power curve. |
NGP (Normalized Graded Pace) |
A correction for pace to account for running uphill and downhill to show what the pace would be if the terrain were flat. |
NP (Normalized Power) |
An algorithm to estimate the physiological cost of a workout or effort greater than 20 minutes in duration. Efforts above FTP are weighted more than efforts below FTP since workouts with such efforts are more difficult than steady state workouts of the same average power. |
PA:HR (Pace-Heart rate decoupling) |
See Aerobic Decoupling |
PD Curve (modeled Power Duration Curve) |
An estimate of attainable and repeatable peak power values based on actual meanmax power data. Use to calculate mFTP, FRC, and Pmax. Available in WKO. |
Peak |
The training cycle during which volume of training is reduced and intensity is proportionally increased allowing the athlete to reach high levels of fitness and freshness leading up to a race or goal event. |
Pediodization |
The process of structuring a training season into periods with specific goals and similar training. (Preparation, Base, Build, Race and Transition, etc). |
Pmax (Modeled Max Power) |
An estimate of the maximum repeatable power a rider is capable of based on the PD curve. More reliable than using single peak power values record which may be due to erroneous readings. (Available in WKO) |
PMC (Performance Management Chart) |
A chart of Fitness (CTL), Fatigue (ATL) and Form (TSB) over time. Used to plan and track periodization, training load, and event readiness. |
PW:HR (Power-Heart Rate Decoupling) |
See Aerobic Decoupling |
Ramp Rate |
The change in CTL over time, usually the last 7 days. A ramp rate that is too high may lead to overtraining or injury, too low may not gain fitness quickly or effectively. |
Rating of Perceived Exertion (RPE) |
A subjective rating of how hard one is exercising at a given moment, usually on a scale of 1-10 or sometimes from 6-20. |
Speed Skill |
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Stamina |
A measure of resistance to fatigue during prolonged duration, moderate intensity (i.e., sub-FTP) exercise. |
Static Plan |
In TrainingPeaks a Static plan can be applied to any date range in an athlete's calendar and will not change when the author updates the original plan. |
Strength Maintenance phase (SM) |
This weight lifting phase maintains the basic strength established in the previous phases of strength training. |
Threshold |
A level of effort above which an athlete will fatigue very quickly and below which can be sustained for longer duration (>1 hour). Can be defined by heart rate (LTHR) for all sport types, power (FTP) for running and cycling, and pace (T-Pace) for swimming and running. |
Transition |
The training cycle during which the work load and structure of training are greatly reduced allowing physical and psychological recovery from training and racing. |
TSB (Training Stress Balance) |
Fatigue - Fitness from the previous day. Used to represent readiness to perform at peak potential. High positive values may indicate undertraining, high negative values may indicate overtraining. Also called Form. |
TSS (Training Stress Score) |
The training load of a given workout based on duration and intensity. Can be calculated from power, heart rate (hrTSS) or pace (rTSS). 1 hour at maximum sustainable effort is 100 TSS |
TTE (Time to Exhaustion) |
The predicted duration a given athlete is capable of sustaining their mFTP. (Available in WKO). |
VAM (Velocità Ascensionale Media/Average Ascent Speed) |
The rate of vertical ascent when climbing. Measured in meters per hour (m/hr). Allows for climbing speed comparison regardless of grade of the climb. |
VI (Variability Index) |
The ratio of Normalized Power to Average Power for a workout. Indicates how steady the power output was. Time trials and long course triathlon bike legs may have low VI's (<1.05) workouts or races with a mix of sprinting and coasting (criterium, track, cyclocross) will have higher VIs. |
W/Kg (Watts per Kilogram) |
The ratio of a cyclist's weight to their power output. Allows for performance comparison between riders of different weights. |
Work (kJ or kilojoules) |
A measure of power output over time. Riding 200 watts for 1 hour would accomplish 720 kJ of work. |