Training Stress Score: Calculating your Swim Stress

What is a training stress score? 

A training stress score is an external training load measure, aimed to quantify the physical strain your swim workout placed on your body [1]. The stress score takes into account the duration and intensity (using your pre-determined FTP) of the workout to calculate the stress induced by your swim. 

The harder you work, and for longer, the higher your training stress score is!

Remember, to get the most accurate feedback in regards to your training stress score, ensure you have set up your FTP in Simma.

Why is my training stress score important? 

You might be asking why would I want to be adding stress to my body? Well, that's what you're training for. All training adaptations, whether you're trying to improve aerobic capacity, anaerobic capacity, sprint speed to become faster and more efficient in the water, will not occur unless you stress and overload the body with training [2].

Training stimulus, with the right intensity and workload (frequency, distance, duration), will stress the body a change as the human body will try to improve itself to be able to withstand that stress for next time. If you provide the right amount of training stress, and combine it with adequate recovery, then you achieve a new performance level [3].

Performance = fitness developed - training fatigue 

Your current performance (base fitness level) will only improve, if you develop fitness (via training stress/stimulus). Once you remove the training fatigue (alleviated through forms of recovery), then you achieve your new improved performance/fitness level. This is the training principle, that is called supercompensation, and coaches of all sports and levels will utilise and align training to improve fitness and optimise performance for competition [4][5][6].

However, if training is too easy (i.e., not enough stress on the body), you will not stimulate the adaptation processes to improve your performance [3]. Even worse, your performance may even decrease!  

How is my stress score calculated in Simma? 

Your stress score is calculated by Simma by using your threshold swim pace (FTP) and amalgamates it with your total distance covered and total duration of the swim. 

Training stress score = Duration x Normalised swim speed x Intensity

                                                  --------------------------------------------------------------- x 100

                                 FTP x 3600

• Duration: swim duration of your entire workout in seconds, excluding rest periods. 
• Normalised swim speed: a measure of your normal pace of your swim (calculated from the distance vs. time in m/min).
• Intensity: a measure of how hard your swim was (normalised swim speed divided by your FTP).

How to read my training stress score in Simma? 

You may want a quick overview of how each swim workout went, in terms of your training stress. Then in Simma Web, you can click on "Activities" to get a snapshot of each recent swim you have completed, with the distance, duration and overall training stress score displayed on the very right of each swim. 

Alternatively, you might want to put it against your fitness and fatigue. Then in Simma Web, click on "Progress" and scroll down to the bottom. You will be able to see the training stress score of each swim in the past 12 weeks to retrospectively view your recent training stress scores of the past ~3 months.