Long-distance triathlon glossary·CTL

CTL : Chronic Training Load (fitness)

Load

Your current fitness, a 42-day moving average of TSS.

CTL rises slowly with consistent training and drops during long downtimes. The higher it is, the more load you can absorb. A solid season takes a beginner from a 30-40 CTL toward 80-100 before an Ironman.

In TriPaced:

TriPaced charts your CTL on the Fitness view. You see whether you're progressing, plateauing, or losing fitness. Plans target a steady rise, never abrupt (cap at +5-7 points per week).

Source Allen, Coggan & McGregor, Training and Racing with a Power Meter (3rd ed., 2019) - Banister PMC model

Related terms

  • TSS : Training Stress Score
  • ATL : Acute Training Load (fatigue)
  • TSB : Training Stress Balance (freshness)
  • Sweet spot : the efficiency zone
  • Threshold : the upper sustainable limit
  • Taper : the pre-race sharpening