Training Load
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It's a composite score combining workout duration and intensity, often multiplying session RPE by minutes, to quantify the overall stress of a single session. Higher numbers mean more cumulative physiological strain, not necessarily a better workout.

Tracking load reveals trends like sudden spikes that raise injury risk or periods of undertraining that stall progress. A single day's number matters less than the pattern of accumulation and recovery across weeks.

Acute load reflects recent stress, typically the last week, while chronic load averages a longer window, often four weeks, representing your baseline fitness. Comparing the two, as an acute-to-chronic ratio, flags when recent training has spiked well above what your body is adapted to.

Not inherently; high load is necessary to drive fitness adaptations, but it needs to be balanced with adequate recovery. Problems arise when load rises too sharply without a corresponding increase in recovery capacity.

Session RPE is subjective and can be skewed by sleep, stress, or motivation on a given day, which shifts the load number even if the physical work was similar. Consistency in how you rate perceived exertion over time matters more than any single session's accuracy.