Long-distance triathlon glossary·Semaine R

Recovery week : Deload week

Load

Week with reduced volume and intensity (50-70% of normal) inserted every 3-4 weeks to absorb training load and consolidate adaptations.

A recovery week is a planned deload week within the training cycle. It typically follows 3 progressive loading weeks. Volume drops 40-60%, high-intensity sessions are removed or reduced, and key sessions are replaced by easy endurance. It's not a lazy week : adaptations (supercompensation), mitochondrial growth, and tendon consolidation happen during recovery, not during loading.

In TriPaced:

In TriPaced, recovery weeks are automatically inserted into your plan every 3-4 weeks. They appear in light blue in the Plan view with an explicitly reduced weekly volume target. Don't skip them : they are the reason the following load weeks can progress.

Related terms

  • TSS : Training Stress Score
  • CTL : Chronic Training Load (fitness)
  • ATL : Acute Training Load (fatigue)
  • TSB : Training Stress Balance (freshness)
  • Sweet spot : the efficiency zone
  • Threshold : the upper sustainable limit