I have been using Intervals.icu for a few months now to track my cycling performance, but I am still not 100% confident in how to fully utilize the platform to assess my training load and recovery. I understand the basics of metrics like TSS and Fitness/Fatigue, but I am struggling to make sense of how to balance these numbers to ensure I am not overtraining or undertraining.
Specifically… I would love some advice on:
Training Load: How can I best use the load chart to understand if my training is progressing at an appropriate rate? What do you consider the optimal weekly progression in load to avoid burnout but still improve performance?
Recovery: What’s the best way to gauge recovery needs using the data provided? I sometimes feel sluggish despite my numbers indicating I should be well-rested. Are there additional indicators I should be paying attention to?
Long-term Trends: Are there any tips for interpreting long-term trends on the platform? I want to get a clearer picture of how my fitness is evolving over several months and how to adjust my training based on that data.
The Training Peaks blog has some useful information about their Performance Management Chart (PMC) which is what the Fitness/Freshness on intervals is based on. This is a sample
I’m not an expert and based on what I read (still learning though), my basic understanding, here’s my interpretation:
Fitness (CTL): You want to raise your Fitness Level (CTL) as much as possible, blue line while monitoring your Fatigue Level (ATL) the purple line.
To determine if you are in good shape FORM green/red line, you look at the difference between CTL and ATL, which gives you your TSB (Training Stress Balance). Ideally, you want to keep your TSB in the green zone to avoid injuries/overtraining.
There’s a guideline for how much you should aim to raise your ATL in perspective to the CTL:
A rise of 1:1 thru 4:1 indicates easy, non-challenging workouts. Resting or easy training.
A rise of 5:1-7:1 suggests challenging training sessions. Those are more hard training either by period or effort.
A rise above 8:1 indicates very challenging workouts, which should be approached with caution.
In theory, the ideal FORM is between -1 and -20/-30 (depending on your feeling). But should be negative while trying to develop by stressing your body (that is what the negative means, your body is being stressed).
Below -30, gets red because it is just too much stress and should be avoided.
Again, no expert by any means, but trying to learn to be able to control better myself.
