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TSS

Jan SchorpionJan Schorpion
in General Training Discussions

I read a lot about TSS for rides and runs on the forum. Can anyone point me in the right direction where I could find more info on this and how to calculate it and use it? Much appreciated.

Comments

  • Al TruscottAl Truscott

    TSS is one of a number of invented metrics which have come into use over the past 10-15 years, as a result of the relative ease of accessing data on watts in cycling and pace in running (power meters and GPS watches). Many cycling "head units" which analyze data from a power meter will calculate these numbers for you, as will the computer programs associated with devices such as Garmins. Another source of data analysis are programs such as Training Peaks (online or on computer) or Golden Cheetah.

    Two recommended resources for learning more about all this are (1) the Training Peaks website, which has a large archive of background (at times overly technical) articles and (2) the EN wiki. Within the wiki are lots of entries about this stuff. Most highly recommended EN resource is the "Power Webinar", which is an extra cost (discounted to members) but is a SUPERB 4 hour seminar by the coaches which teaches the basics and how to use these metrics in training and racing the EN way. Links follow:

    This Training Peaks page contains links to a series of 14 articles which walk you thru the various concepts, metrics, and analysis associated with using a power meter on a bike: http://home.trainingpeaks.com/power411.aspx

    Here's the link to getting the Power Webinar - it is easily worth ten times every penny and minute you will spend buying and watching/listening to it: http://www.endurancenation.us/shop/training-racing-with-power/

    Also, as I said, the wiki has lots of other resources about this topic, just browse the titles and jump at what strikes your fancy. And, there is a running "TSS", which relies on data from a GPS pace watch, and is useful primarily as a record keeping tool in something like the Training Peaks program, as a way to monitor fatigue and tapering over time. An advanced topic using something called the "Performance Management Chart".

    It took me at least six months to get familiar with the vocabulary and concepts, and several years to get really comfortable with using all the data in the manner described in the resources I reference above. But I'm in this game for the long haul, and have a much more focused and useful approach to training as a result of using all these power and pace based metrics. YMMV.

  • jalesliejaleslie

    Adding to Al's reply (which is awesome as usual), for a relative newbie like me, I'm still learning this stuff as I go.  Thankfully, Training Peaks will do the calculations for you.  If you have a GPS enabled watch and/or bike computer, you just download your run or ride into your training peaks account.  I'm not sure if the free account will do it, but I think so.  I have the full account ($120/year) and think it is well worth it.  Every time you download a workout, it'll tell you the TSS for that workout.  It also will track and graph your "fitness, fatigue, and freshness" on a performance management chart, utilizing/tracking your TSS over time.  This gives you something to look at to see where are you (and explain why you feel like you've been hit by a truck sometimes, or why your 5K run test was a fail (recent experience of mine!), etc.  

    The training peaks info that Al mentioned will explain how TSS is calculated, etc., but if you download it into TP, it'll do the math for you!  Still good to understand where the numbers come from though.  

  • William JenksWilliam Jenks
    ...And finally, take TSS with a grain of salt. Over time, you will learn that TSS is like Democracy....the worst system ever invented, except for all the others. The point is that it is an approximation that holds within reasonable limits, but isn't perfect, and can be both manipulated and misused.

    The ultra short version is that a TSS score of 100 is supposed to be equivalent to running/biking/swimming an hour at threshold pace/power, and because the effort is non-linear, you get a lot of TSS points per minute for very high intensity work and correspondingly fewer for low intensity work. Think of it as a sum of however many Points you earn each minute..so that the total score goes up either with intensity or time or both. Chronic Training Load (CTL) reflects the weighted average TSS/day for the last several weeks, whereas Acute Training Load (ATL) reflects a weighted average of what you've been doing for the last several days. Training Stress Balance (TSB) subtracts one of those from the other...so you're supposed to be "rested and fresh" if your TSB is positive, i.e., you've scored fewer TSS points this last week or so than over the last month and a half, on average....and on the other hand, as you are in the midst of a buildup, your TSB will be negative for a long time because you are doing more than you were 4-6 weeks ago.

    You may also want to look at this thread: http://members.endurancenation.us/Forums/tabid/57/aft/10477/Default.aspx#130037
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