Unlocking continuous improvement in your training journey is key, but what happens when progress seems to stall? Below, COROS Coaches break down the main metric that can help you reach new heights as well as practical tips on how to easily fit your workouts into your busy schedule, all while maintaining efficiency.

What Is Training Load?

Every workout is assigned a Training Load score, reflecting how difficult it was. The higher the TL score, the greater the stress on your body during that session. To see improvements in your favorite activities, your body must gradually adapt to increasing levels of stress from workouts. The best way to track this gradual progression is through your Weekly Training Load.

Training Load score in your activities from your COROS app.

Weekly Training Load: Cumulative of all Training Load scores from your activities during the past week.

Continually ramping up your training intensity without taking any time for recovery is going to have a negative impact on your improvement. Research shows that the body adapts to around 2-3 weeks of training before needing a little break. That is why your COROS metrics will suggest a "down" week every 2-3 weeks to let your body recharge and return even stronger.

Weekly Training Load as seen from COROS app.

How To Modify Training Load

When planning your workouts ahead of time, you can modify your total weekly Training Load in 3 different ways to help you reach your goals:

Frequency:

• Adding an additional workout to your week is an easy way to increase your weekly Training Load while keeping all your sessions relatively short if you are struggling to fit them into your schedule.

Volume:

• Increasing the time of your workouts is also an opportunity for you to increase your weekly Training Load. If you are unable to add another session to your week, increasing the time of one workout by ~15min is a great start.

Intensity:

• Increasing the intensity of your sessions is the 3rd and last way to increase your weekly Training Load. Since most of your activities look at your heart rate for intensity, increasing your average heart rate will increase the Training Load. Adding interval workouts can therefore be a creative way to safely increase your average heart rate. Take a look at our training library for workout ideas!

Parameters from your activities that influence the Training Load value.

How To Modify Your Schedule To Meet Your Training Load Goals

Now that we have established how to modify your weekly Training Load, COROS Coaches share their top tips to make your planning smoother. These practical suggestions will up your chances of hitting your Training Load goals as you progress over time.

Plan ahead of time:

It is hard to stay consistent if there is no plan attached to your training. Your COROS Training Hub software allows you to add workouts to your calendar and keep track of your weekly Training Load over time. All future workouts will have a predicted Training Load score attached to it, so you can easily predict what your weekly Training Load will be at the end of the week. Don't leave your training goals to chance!

Weekly Training Load monitoring from the COROS Training Hub.

Find your favorite time to workout:

The best strategy to progress over time relies on consistency. Based on your own daily schedule, identify the time of day that would be the easiest for you to complete a workout from a logistical and motivational perspective, and block that time in your calendar. The ultimate goal here is to remove as many roadblocks as possible leading up to your sessions!

Focus on intensity if you are short on time:

A common concern we may face as we are progressing in our training journey is the need to increase our workout duration, which we may not have the possibility to do so based on our busy schedule. If you fall into this category, modifying the intensity of some of your sessions can be a great alternative to keeping your workouts the same duration while increasing your weekly Training Load over time. Discover our wide variety of interval workouts in our training library!

How Can COROS Coaches Help?

COROS Coaches are a team of dedicated and certified coaches who can guide you in your training and understanding your metrics, for free. Email them at coach@coros.com today and get the discussion going on how to train toward your goals!