{"id":28956,"date":"2018-05-14T10:28:14","date_gmt":"2018-05-14T17:28:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.trainerroad.com\/?p=28956"},"modified":"2020-07-24T11:22:23","modified_gmt":"2020-07-24T18:22:23","slug":"training-stress-chart","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.trainerroad.com\/blog\/training-stress-chart\/","title":{"rendered":"New Training Stress Chart: Track Progress and Get Faster"},"content":{"rendered":"

TrainerRoad is launching a major new feature area we call Performance Analytics. This is the first post of three where I’ll be diving into a feature in depth.<\/p>\n

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This post will be dedicated to our new Training Stress chart.<\/em><\/p>\n

Process vs. Results<\/h2>\n

Performance analytics is built around the concept of improving your behavior to influence your results. Or in other words, what can I change in my day to day training to get as fast as possible?<\/p>\n

Consistent Quality (Training Stress Chart)<\/h2>\n

The number one way to get faster and the number one thing that we see people struggle with is consistent quality in their training.<\/p>\n

We’ve developed an easy to use Training Stress Chart<\/a> to help combat that.<\/p>\n

The Training Stress Chart graphs both your indoor and outdoor Training Stress, six-week average Training Stress, your FTP changes and has a super cool drill in feature that makes it easy to see what rides contributed to your Training Stress that week.<\/p>\n

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Navigating the Chart<\/h2>\n

As you move your mouse over the chart, the bottom drill in detail automatically updates to reflect that period. You can then click on a week to drill in.<\/p>\n

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Identifying Problems<\/h2>\n

The Training Stress chart can display a maximum of 4 years of history. This view shows you where your strength and weaknesses are.<\/p>\n

My graph shows an “up and down” consistency model which is my biggest problem (and I suspect a lot of people reading this). You can see this by following the grey six-week Training Stress line.<\/p>\n

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My excuses are varied (sickness, travel, surgery and broken bones) but the result is the same: when I’m consistent in my quality my FTP goes up.<\/p>\n

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Another interesting thing is that I can only ramp my training up so much before I become inconsistent. I suspect my body can only handle so much and a slower ramp would probably make me more fit in the long term.<\/p>\n

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Coming up with Process Goals<\/h2>\n

I have a personal goal to keep my six-week Training Stress line above 400 per week. Maintaining a high Training Stress goal like this is easy to do by following a mid-volume TrainerRoad plan (and it will also make sure that I peak for my A Race).<\/p>\n

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I plan on keeping my six-week average Training Stress this high until after the Leadville 100 (August) which is my second A race of the year.<\/p>\n

The Training Stress Graph keeps me honest against my goal. It also lets me combine inside and outside rides in a single graph to better track my Training Stress.<\/p>\n

Historical FTP and TSS<\/h2>\n

Some of you might not have four years of TrainerRoad data. Fear not! We’ve got two options for you:<\/p>\n

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  1. We’ve automatically put in FTPs based on your peak power outputs in the ride files we analyzed. If you’re happy with your FTP history, you don’t have to do anything.<\/li>\n
  2. You can manually edit your FTP history. When you save your new FTP, we’ll kick off a job to reprocess your Training Stress for each outside ride.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    TSS Chart Drill In<\/h2>\n

    The bottom TSS table makes it easy to see how you earned your Training Stress for that week. Outside rides are marked with a green dot, and you can click on a week to view the actual rides.<\/p>\n

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    Do you end up taking a week off after you do six days in a row?<\/em> Maybe you should consider taking a planned rest day after every third workout to become more consistent.<\/p>\n

    Do Tuesdays always seem to get skipped?<\/em> Schedule your easier, less important workouts there or have them be complete rest.<\/p>\n

    When you had your best training sets, what did your daily breakdown look like? Can you repeat this in the future?<\/em><\/p>\n

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    Training Stress Estimator<\/h2>\n

    We know that most people don’t have the luxury of having a power meter on every bike. We’ve come up with a great way to estimate Training Stress for those rides.<\/p>\n

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    Based on beta feedback we made it easier to find those rides too. Those rides will have a notification to estimate their Training Stress in your Past Rides feed.<\/p>\n

    That’s it for now! Let us know if you have any questions.<\/p>\n

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    FAQ<\/h2>\n

    Can I set an indoor and outdoor FTP?<\/em>
    \nWe don’t believe in having a different FTP for indoor and outdoor workouts, but we won’t prevent you from doing this either.<\/p>\n

    You can manually edit the FTP for each outside ride that comes on that ride’s page. There’s a 3-dot menu at the top of the ride page that lets you set the FTP for that specific ride.<\/p>\n

    Does the Training Stress Chart replace a calendar?<\/em>
    \nNope! A badass calendar is next on the roadmap.<\/p>\n

    Learn More About Performance Analytics<\/h2>\n

    For more information on each feature of Performance Analytics, learn more on our YouTube Playlist and Help Center:<\/p>\n