CTL, ATL, TSB...nice to know, but what else??

[Deleted User]

Okay, I'm still a WKO+ newbie and am trying to learn its features.  I find myself re-visiting the "Training and Racing with a Powermeter" book a fair amount these days.  I found the chapter explaining the performance manager concept and CTL, ATL, and TSB very intriguing.  However, what I want to know is, how many folks actually go into depth and make adjustments to their training schedules, etc. based on this information?

Sure, the principles are good to know regardless (e.g., form = freshness + fitness).  But it seems like if am a following a plan for a single A race (one peak), then generally that plan should be structured to build CTL and then produce an nice TSB for that A race.  So, as long as things are going well and as planned, there shouldn't be much to worry about.  Moreover, the difficulty (or uncertainty) associated with tracking training stress for swimming seems like it's more effort than what it's worth.

Would love to hear how and to what extent others use this info.  Thanks!

gilliatt

I tried it a little last year during the actual season. While it is cool to watch the CTL go up as you build during a season it was sort of gee whiz stuff that I already knew in the first place..... My work schedule and how many times I am awake during a shift and how much I'm able to catch up on sleep the following days off are what seem to make the biggest difference.

Spokane_Al

I get the biggest value from that data when I look back at previous seasons of training and compare those numbers to my current efforts.

Looking back I can see where I became toasted a bit and needed to back off. I can also see what my numbers were during periods when I obtained my best race results. I find that the ability to look back at the data of previous seasons allows me to race and train smarter during the current season.

mgraffeo

There are things that you learn about yourself and your ability to handle certain training loads over time, after you've collected this sort of data and looked at if for a season or two. If you're new to it, my best suggestions to watch the numbers, but don't react to them, or think about what they mean. After a while, you'll start to understand them better.

mancona

I personally do not track swimming in WKO, however I enter every bike or run.

As the other guys point out the PMC will become more valuable over time after you have more data and experience. The first full year you use it just watch it and watch our for very steep increases of decrease.

After you have the first year worth of data you can begin to use it as a much better tool and as Mike and Al pointed out you can look back at the past season and compare it to see how much your body can handle.

William Jenks

I usually use a very round figure of 1 TSS point per minute for swimming to help keep track of load. It's obviously not especially accurate, but it's more accurate than nothing. I'm not one of those fellows for whom swimming is "free". :-)

I haven't used it so much to really modify plans all that much, but I have used it to predict how I may feel/perform at B/C events and/or special workouts. I have been around the block enough to know that my best A-race performances are best when I have a very high TSB (in the neighborhood of +(peak ATL)/3. I guess this basically means that I've learned that rest before a race helps. :-)