“How many off-days does an athlete actually need to be fresh? That can be answered by predictive planning in the calendar view.“

Some athletes train for fitness. Others aim for new personal records. Whether you’re training based on time, distance, or training load, you will always be generating fatigue. Essentially, as athletes train, they create stress. By recovering when stressed, you allow your body to adapt to the training demands and grow stronger. Monitor your fatigue so you know when its time to recover. Without recovery, you won’t see your best results. 

Fatigue Scores

Prior to wearable technology, athletes had to rely on their own feelings of exertion. Some days you may feel worn down while others you feel great! But what if you could quantify your training and know exactly how fatigued you were? With COROS EvoLab Software, you can see how much fatigue each workout provides. Now, athletes can be sure to train harder when fresh, and recover when they have accumulated fatigue. Below is a table of what these fatigue scores indicate. 

Monitoring Fatigue Within the COROS App

Within the COROS app, you can see your fatigue score within the EvoLab tab. Athletes can view this metric daily to see if they should continue pushing, or take a rest day. This is a great piece of information that can help athletes maximize their training. When it’s time to recover, athletes will see a fatigue score above 60. When athletes see scores in the 20-50’s, they can continue to push. Athletes can also utilize this metric to dial in their tapers and ensure they are ready on race day. 

Tracking and Planning Fatigue in the Training Hub

Within the COROS Training Hub, athletes and coaches can look closer into fatigue levels. By looking into the training load management chart, you can see how an athletes fatigue has changed throughout the year. Identify different training cycles and how those affected your fatigue levels. Utilizing the calendar view, you can predict your future fatigue. When you input workouts that have training load, you will see your future fatigue score. This is a fantastic tool for properly planning your training.

Coaching Perspective

We train to stress the body. When the body is stressed, it adapts to become stronger. This process happens when an athlete builds fatigue, and then recovers. The fact that we have a number to monitor when to train and when to recover is game-changing. When an athlete is within 20-50 fatigue, a coach/athlete should feel confident in pushing that athletes ability. As the athlete creeps above 60, it may be time to recover so they experience the full benefits of the training. Lastly, we can now dial in an athletes taper to ensure they are fresh, but not stale. How many off-days does an athlete actually need to be fresh? That can be answered by predictive planning in the calendar view.

Practical insights

Practically speaking, athletes should keep track of their daily fatigue scores, but focus more on the long-term trends. During the build portion of your season, you should carry more fatigue than normal (50-70’s). During an off-season, you should be fresh most of the time (20-40’s). While day-to-day fatigue can jump around, focus on your week-to-week approach. Note how much training you can handle before a recovery is needed. On the flip side, note if your current training is actually enough. Learn how to use fatigue to better plan your weeks and get more out of your training!

Conclusion

Fatigue is one of the best metrics to track for future planning of your workouts. By keeping an eye on this number, you know when to train hard, or when to recover. Ultimately, we push our bodies so we can adapt stronger. Without proper recovery, we are only wasting potential gains. Start to use the fatigue metric more in your planning and watch as you explore perfection!