RPE Training Stress Balance Assessment Builder

The RPE Training Stress Balance Assessment Builder calculates the relationship between an athlete's acute training load and chronic training load using Session RPE data.

This assessment is designed to help practitioners monitor workload progression and identify athletes who may be experiencing unusually high increases or decreases in training stress.

The calculation is based on:

Session Load = RPE × Duration

The resulting training loads are then accumulated over two time periods:

• Acute Load (short-term workload)
• Chronic Load (long-term workload)

The relationship between these values is displayed as a Training Stress Balance score.

What is Training Stress Balance?

Training Stress Balance compares recent workload against longer-term workload.

The concept is similar to the Acute:Chronic Workload Ratio (ACWR), where recent training load is evaluated relative to the athlete's established training history.

A balanced workload generally indicates that recent training is aligned with the athlete's current level of preparedness, while large increases or decreases may warrant further investigation.

Assessment Name

Enter a unique name for the assessment.

This name is used internally when editing, assigning, and managing layouts.

Examples:

• Training Stress Balance
• Acute vs Chronic Load
• ACWR
• Workload Balance

Display Name

The column header displayed within dashboards and reports.

This can be a shortened version of the assessment name.

Examples:

• TSB
• Balance
• ACWR
• Load Ratio

Exertion Field

Select the field that contains the athlete's Rating of Perceived Exertion (RPE).

Examples include:

• Session RPE
• Borg Scale
• Modified RPE
• Custom Exertion Scale

This value represents how difficult the athlete perceived the training session to be.

Duration Field

Select the field containing session duration.

Examples include:

• Session Duration
• Practice Duration
• Workout Length
• Training Time

Duration is typically recorded in minutes.

Acute Period

Defines the short-term workload window.

The most common setting is:

7 Days

This period represents the athlete's recent training load.

Example

If Acute Period = 7:

The assessment sums all Session RPE loads from the previous seven days.

Chronic Period

Defines the long-term workload window.

The most common setting is:

28 Days

This period represents the athlete's longer-term training history.

Example

If Chronic Period = 28:

The assessment sums all Session RPE loads from the previous 28 days.

Include Current Day in Acute & Chronic

Determines whether today's training data is included in the calculations.

Enabled

Today's workload is included in both acute and chronic calculations.

This is typically used when monitoring training in real time.

Disabled

Only completed historical days are included.

This may be useful when reviewing previous periods or creating end-of-day reports.

Value to Display

Determines which workload metric is displayed within dashboards and reports.

Today's Load

Displays the Session RPE load accumulated today.

Example:

RPE = 7

Duration = 60 minutes

Load = 420 AU

Acute Load

Displays the total workload accumulated during the acute period.

Example:

7-Day Load = 4,250 AU

Chronic Load

Displays the total workload accumulated during the chronic period.

Example:

28-Day Load = 16,500 AU

Stress Balance Value

Displays the calculated balance between acute and chronic workloads.

This is the most commonly selected option.

Icon

Allows an icon to be displayed alongside the selected workload value.

Icons can be used to indicate:

• Balanced workload
• Elevated workload
• Reduced workload
• Compliance status
• Alert conditions

Thresholds and Color Coding

Thresholds can be applied to any selected workload metric.

Examples include:

Stress Balance Monitoring

Acute Load Monitoring

Chronic Load Monitoring

Value to Apply Thresholds To

Determines which workload metric is evaluated against your thresholds.

Available options typically include:

• Stress Balance Value
• Today's Load
• Acute Load
• Chronic Load

This allows organizations to display one metric while evaluating another.

Example

Display:

Stress Balance Value

Thresholds Evaluate:

Acute Load

This configuration allows practitioners to view workload balance while still receiving alerts when acute load exceeds predefined limits.

Common Use Cases

Acute:Chronic Workload Monitoring

Track how recent training compares to an athlete's long-term workload history.

Daily Load Tracking

Display today's Session RPE load while still utilizing workload balance thresholds.

Return-to-Play Progression

Monitor workload progression during rehabilitation and ensure training increases remain controlled.

Team Workload Oversight

Identify athletes whose recent workload has substantially increased relative to their chronic workload profile.

Example Setup

Goal: Monitor Training Stress Balance using a standard 7-day acute load and 28-day chronic load model.

Sample Workloads

Because chronic load represents four weeks of accumulated training, the assessment evaluates how the athlete's recent workload compares to their longer-term workload profile and displays the resulting Training Stress Balance value for monitoring and decision-making.