Four numbers appear on your dashboard: CTL (chronic training load, your 42-day fitness trend), ATL (acute training load, your 7-day freshness), TSB (training stress balance, the difference between the two), and ACWR (acute-to-chronic workload ratio, the load multiplier your body is currently absorbing). The coach uses all four to decide whether today is a hard day, an easy day, or a rest day. CTL rising on a steady ATL is fitness accumulating; ATL spiking on a flat CTL is fatigue building; ACWR drifting above roughly 1.5 is the warning band the coach treats as 'do not add a hard session today.' None of these numbers is a verdict by itself — they are signals the coach weighs against your goal, your recent sessions, and the chat context you provide. This article translates the dashboard into plain language so you can read what the coach is responding to.
Key points
- CTL is your 42-day fitness trend; ATL is your 7-day freshness; TSB is the difference between the two.
- ACWR is the load multiplier your body is absorbing — the coach treats ~1.5 as the upper warning band.
- CTL rising on a steady ATL is fitness accumulating; ATL spiking on a flat CTL is fatigue building.
- These numbers are signals the coach weighs against your goal and chat context, not a verdict by themselves.
- When any one of them drifts outside its band, the coach substitutes easy work or rest before adding intensity.
Sources and further reading
- ACSM — Position Stand on Progression Models— Position stand on safe progression and acute-to-chronic workload as an injury-risk signal.
- NHS — Physical Activity Guidelines for Adults— Plain-language weekly activity guidance used to anchor rest-day and easy-day recommendations.
- British Journal of Sports Medicine — Acute:Chronic Workload Ratio— Reference for the ACWR band thresholds used by the coach's load governors.