𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐥𝐨𝐚𝐝?
When you train, you don’t go out for a run then wait until you’ve fully recovered before going out for another – it’s not a “one run at a time” thing.
Instead, you run three or more times each week (at the highest levels, perhaps running up to ten times a week). And while there will be recovery days included, mostly you’ll be running while still tired from the previous runs.
Training Load? It’s the cumulative load from your training workouts.
It’s easy to overdo it, leading to injury and time spent recovering (rather than training).
But if you’re training for an event, regular (and repeated) workouts are a necessity.
It’s a balance. Load your body too little, and it will not adapt; load it too much or too quickly, and it will break down instead of adapting; load your body correctly, and sustained long-term improvements are possible.
𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐋𝐨𝐚𝐝 𝐒𝐜𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐬
Want to know the impact of your workout? Calculate its Training Load Score.
Training Load Scores combine ‘how hard?’ and ‘how long?’
They represent the workout’s metabolic stress – its impact on your body from the workout intensities and durations.
Training Load Scores are also known as Training Stress Scores (TSS) or Running Stress Scores (RSS) but the word ‘Stress’ may be confusing, implying mental stress rather than physical or metabolic stress. Load (rather than Stress) helps remove potential confusion, and is the term used by Steve Palladino in his article library.
𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐋𝐨𝐚𝐝 𝐒𝐜𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐓𝐡𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐏𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫
A one-hour run at Threshold Power produces a score of 100.
Why?
Scoring relative to your Threshold Power means Training Load Scores:
✅ match improvements in your fitness. As you become fitter, you can run the same workouts with less additional load; or you can handle harder workouts for the same additional load.
✅ match individual capabilities. If our thresholds are different and we run a workout together, your training load score for the workout will differ from my training load score for the same workout, reflecting our individual capabilities.
Counter-intuitively, if your fitness improves, and you run the same workout as earlier in your training, you’ll run it at a higher intensity, but end up with the same Training Load Score.
In numbers, if your Threshold power has improved from 250 Watts to 270 Watts, and you run a workout with 16-minute intervals at 94-96% of Threshold power, you’ll run the intervals at 235-240 Watts initially, repeating the workout at 258-264 Watts later in your training (higher intensity) but end up with a Training Load Score of 80 for both runs – your fitness has improved, you can handle the harder workout, but the impact of your workout is the same (in relative terms).
Training Load Scores are the foundation for metrics you can use to monitor your training load.
𝑺𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅𝒏’𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒃𝒆 𝑹𝒖𝒏𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝑷𝒐𝒘𝒆𝒓?
For more information on Training Load Scores, see:
🔹 What is TSS? on the TrainingPeaks website
🔹 Running Stress Score (RSS) on the Stryd website
🔹 Running Training Load Metrics in the Palladino article library
𝐓𝐨𝐩𝐢𝐜: 𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐋𝐨𝐚𝐝
⏩ What is Training Load?
⏩ Training Load – a two-sided coin!
⏩ Achieving a Training Load Balance
⏩ The danger of ramping up too quickly
⏩ Race-specific training
