I have started using sporttracks along with the training load plug in which I have just stated to get to grips with and I have a question concerning CTL. Over the past few weeks mine has been in a slow decline despite having started the initial weeks of my build period.



Over Christmas I got in a good deal (avg 15hrs per wk for several wks) of L2 & SST which seemed to raise my CTL a lot but since then I have increased the intensity considerably. It seems that the TRIMP values for the L2 LSD rides were far greater than the threshold and 5x5/3x3 sessions despite throwing up in my mouth a few times an almost falling off the bike

Recently I have been avg. 7-8hrs a week of which 95% is on the trainer during the week with the aim of getting in some actual road miles at the weekend.

My last few weeks have included :
60-90min 5x5@100%LTHR session
60-90min 2x20@95%LTHR session
120min L2 session inc 3x3@102%LTHR & 3x10@95%LTHR
3-5hr L2 ride with some 20-30min blocks of L3 and some short 5-10min hill intervals
Mon, wed & fri I have off (may be able to get another session in on a wed) If I can't get out at the w/e due to the bad weather (snow & ice) I include another 120min L2 trainer session with 3x20@ sweet spot.

Some of these sessions I find hard and need the recovery in between. I am using a set of HR zones I have created for the plugin with a 5bpm spacing to give a nice curve to the TRIMP values.

This morning I plotted next weeks planned workouts using similar TRIMP scores to previous workouts and the chart shows my CTL still dropping. I have been reading up on using this plug in to quantify my training and to get to grips with all the chart info but it is a little disheartening to see the thing that is supposed to be a measure of your fitness going down instead of gradually up. Thanks for reading, any ideas on how I can get my CTL heading in the right direction?

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"I can accept failure. Everyone fails at something. But I can't accept not trying."
Michael Jordan

Simple. Ignore the CTL metric.

I have noticed the same thing, that often CTL values are skewed more toward volume over intensity, especially at the pointy end. Keep in mind this software is a guide only. At the end of the day the only thing you want to see go up is power - hence regular testing is highly important.

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"Physiology is all just propaganda and lies... all waiting to be disproven by the next study."
"I'm not a real doctor; But I am a real worm; I am an actual worm." - TMBG

I see the same effect with TRIMP on Golden Cheetah, so it would seem to be from the TRIMP metric itself and not the Sporttracks implementation.
My TRIMP and TSS for longer rides match fairly closely, but the more NP goes above AP, the lower TRIMP goes compared with TSS.

If you go from 15hours/week to 7-8 hours/week, you most likely will see a drop in CTL. If you use the training stress formular, you have to ride 7,5 hours at FTP level in other to counter 15 hours at 70% of FTP.

For endurance athletes CTL is important. But the shorter distance you train for, the more important strength and intensity becomes relative to endurance. If you are training for a 30 km TT, your 5 hours L2 rides, are not that important compared to your FTP and Vo2Max intervals.

In the end we come back to where it all start: Train what you want to improve.