Training load management with sRPE and ACWR

Workout mode in the app showing reps, load and rest for the current set

Session RPE

Training load as duration times intensity: the sRPE method

When athletes finish a session, they rate its intensity as RPE under “Give feedback,” on a scale up to 10. Tletify multiplies it by the duration in minutes to get the load in AU (arbitrary units), which forms the daily load. How the method works and what it tells you is covered in our guide to session RPE.

If the RPE is missing, Tletify uses the average of the athlete's own RPE values from the last 90 days, provided there are at least three, and otherwise a value of 5. Alongside it, Tletify tracks mechanical load as tonnage in kilograms and ground contacts. The two axes stay separate and are never combined.

Daily load in AU from all completed programs
Warm-up, failed and unattempted sets don't count
Assisted sets count toward tonnage, not toward personal bests
From recordings: time in heart rate zones and TRIMP
With a power meter and FTP, also power-based load metrics

Coach overview in the app with average readiness, ACWR value, sessions and next competition

Acute:chronic workload ratio

ACWR: acute versus chronic load

The acute:chronic workload ratio (ACWR) compares the load of the last few days with the load of the last few weeks. The default is the uncoupled EWMA model with 7 acute and 28 chronic days, and rest days count as 0. The background and limits of the metric are covered in our guide to the acute:chronic workload ratio.

By default, Tletify places the value against the thresholds 0.8, 1.3 and 1.5: below, within or above the usual range, or well above it. You can set the windows, the model (EWMA or rolling average) and the thresholds for each athlete. That way you see when a week falls out of line and decide for yourself whether to adjust the plan.

When data is thin, Tletify deliberately makes no statement: with fewer than 8 completed sessions in 28 days, or if fewer than half of them have a real RPE, it shows “Not enough data.” After a break, the ratio stays hidden until the baseline is solid again.

Coach and athlete looking at a tablet together, with wooded mountains in the background

Monotony, strain, form curve

Monotony, strain and the form curve across the season

Monotony, following Foster, divides the weekly mean of daily load by its standard deviation, and from a value of 2.0 Tletify points out a very uniform week. Strain is the weekly load sum multiplied by monotony and shows whether a week was both high and uniform.

The form curve follows Banister's fitness-fatigue model: fitness is the exponentially weighted average of load over 42 days, fatigue the same average over 7 days, and form the difference between the two. Tletify calculates it live with 168 days of history and shows it in the web app's Analysis.

Even while planning, the planned ACWR in the macrocycle helps: it comes from planned weekly volume times planned intensity and shows how planned load develops compared with the previous weeks. It is deliberately not actual load but a look at the plan.

Analysis in the app with active athletes, average readiness and team readiness over 30 days

For coaches only

Training load management for coaches: who sees which values

ACWR, monotony, strain and the form curve appear only in Pro and Team accounts: on the Analysis page, in the ACWR card on the dashboard, with the warning thresholds in the body profile and in the macrocycle. Athletes never see these values in their interface. You only see an athlete's data if they have explicitly granted you the analysis or daily check permission.

In Analysis, you choose time ranges from 7 days up to the whole season and compare several athletes or a group, each in their own color. The formulas are checked against reference cases from the literature, including Foster, Gabbett, Williams and Banister. The metrics support your decisions as a coach and do not replace a medical assessment.

In the app: ACWR with its zones, monotony and strain
Suggestion to reduce load, such as by 10 percent, never automatic
Export the analysis as PDF and CSV

Questions and answers

Do athletes see their ACWR?

No. ACWR, monotony, strain and the form curve appear only in Pro and Team accounts. Athletes see their readiness and their week on the dashboard and their personal bests in the body profile, but none of these metrics. If Tletify suggests a lower load, the athlete only sees reasons based on their readiness.

Is the ACWR a medical assessment?

No. The acute:chronic workload ratio shows how the load of the last 7 days relates to the load of the last 28 days. It is a metric used in sport science and a decision aid for you as a coach, not a diagnosis or a forecast. Read more in our guide to the ACWR.

Can I include data from watches or bike computers?

Yes, in two ways. You upload recorded sessions on your computer as FIT or GPX files, and Tletify calculates time in heart rate zones and TRIMP, plus power-based load metrics with a power meter and FTP. Resting heart rate, HRV and sleep come through the app from Apple Health or Health Connect and feed into readiness. There is no direct connection to watch brands.

Which plan do I need for training load management?

The load metrics are part of Pro and Team, because they are tools for coaches. Tletify launches publicly on 1 January 2027, with a 30-day trial from then on. Prices and a comparison of the plans are on the features and prices page.