Training Control
Training control is the recurring cycle of planning, executing, recording and analysing sessions, aligned to a clearly formulated goal and fed by data.
Definition
Training control is the repeating cycle of planning, executing, documenting and analysing training sessions. Every round of the cycle produces data that feeds into the next plan; training is thereby not merely completed but deliberately steered.
goal → plan → execute → record → analyse → adjusted plan → …The prerequisite is a clearly formulated goal. It need not be a race; it can be the wish to sleep better or to optimise body weight. What matters is that it is concrete enough to direct the analysis.
Why it matters
Without control, training remains a sequence of sessions whose effect nobody checks. Only the closed loop shows whether the planned stimulus was actually delivered, whether recovery is sufficient and whether performance benchmarks are moving in the desired direction.
For a session to be analysable within the loop, it needs three things: a clearly defined control metric (power, pace or heart rate), ideally a structure with targets, and a complete, clean recording. Recording differs markedly between disciplines: a power meter on the bike delivers second-by-second data, whereas swimming often relies on lap times and heart rate.
| Step | Tool | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Plan | periodisation, weekly plan, session structure | targets in watts, pace or HR |
| Execute | control metric on the device | session in the intended range |
| Record | sports watch, bike computer, power meter | complete file with metric and segments |
| Analyse | intensity distribution, TSS, plan-versus-actual | adjustments to plan and benchmarks |
How obseed measures it
obseed covers the full loop. Planned sessions are created with intensity targets from the stored performance benchmarks, imported recordings are automatically classified into LIT, MIT and HIT and compared against the plan. Each session yields a TSS, and the sum yields the load balance with CTL, ATL and TSB.
The quality of control depends directly on the quality of the reference values. obseed explicitly distinguishes whether benchmarks were estimated from a field test or measured in metabolic testing. Only measured thresholds allow a session to be aligned with the actual physiological response; an estimated FTP steers training by an assumption.
Example
A runner aims to complete a half marathon under 1:45 h in 12 weeks, which corresponds to 4:58 min/km. His rFTP is 4:40 min/km; the target pace is therefore roughly 106 percent of threshold pace, in the medium intensity tier (MIT).
The plan schedules a key session in week 5: 3 × 3 km at 4:55 min/km with 3 min jog recovery. The recording shows 4:52, 4:56 and 5:06 min/km, with heart rate climbing to 178 bpm in the third interval. The analysis concludes that the pace cannot yet be held steadily and the third interval fades. For the following week the session is adjusted to 4 × 2 km, and the control loop has closed its round.
Categories
- Trainingssteuerung