Hi,
I’m writing to suggest a potential improvement to the current training load calculation for swimming activities.
Most swimmers train primarily in interval session, which the current method often underestimates. A steady state swim will have a far higher load even though the sRPE is lower. Interval workouts, with their high-intensity burst and recovery periods, are underestimated because the single mean HR fails to capture these variations.
A promising approach would be the modified TRIMP method known as TRIMPc. This method calculates the training load by considering each exercise and recovery interval separately, weighing them by their duration and heart-rate derived intensity. This approach seems to have a stronger correlation with sRPE and seems to be better for interval training.
I believe that implementing TRIMPc at least for swim workouts (or even HIIT workouts) could provide a bit more accurate way of estimating load.
This would probably help make intervals.icu more viable for swim coaches (like me).
Since intervals.icu already accurately identifies the intervals, integrating TRIMPc should be possible. Maybe TRIMPc could be added to the current HR Training Load methods.
Thank you, and please let me know if this or a similar approach has already been tried.
Patsch
link to the study:
Training load quantification in elite swimmers using a modified version of the training impulse method by Amador Garcia Ramos
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/262099043_Training_load_quantification_in_elite_swimmers_using_a_modified_version_of_the_training_impulse_method