AC

Anaerobic Capacity. Specific short-duration maximal exercise intense enough to trigger lactic acid formation metabolism. Level/Zone 6.

AL

Actual Load

AR

Active Recovery. VERY easy riding. Level/Zone 1.

A/T Load %

Actual/Target Load %. How much training you actually performed compared to how much training you were supposed to do expressed as a percentage.

Base

The endurance foundation upon which your Fitness House is built. Just as in an actual house, without a solid foundation, your high-level fitness is unstable without a good base. PowerBrain allows you to choose the length of your base period. This way, if you’ve been riding for a while and have a solid base, you can go straight into building the floors of your Fitness House.

Champion of Mediocrity

A rider who reaches a plateau but continues to do the same type of training. That rider never gets worse, but also does not improve. That rider is awesome at being average.

Cool Down

The process of clearing the by-products of hard exercise from your muscles. This is very important for 1)getting the most out of your workout and 2) recovering properly for the next workout.

Functional Threshold Power (FTP) Test

Functional Threshold Power is the maximum sustainable power output one can maintain for 60 minutes. We will schedule 'FTP Checks' on a regular basis so that you can assess your progress over time, and so that we can calculate your training loads and predict your future Funtional Threshold Power (FTP).

CX

Cyclocross.

Default FTP

The Functional Threshold Power (FTP) PowerBrain will use to calculate your daily predicted FTP and set your training loads and zones until you have done an FTP Check. Once you have performed an FTP Check, PowerBrain will use the adjusted FTP value from that ride (caluclated as your best 20 minute power minus 5%) and subsequent FTP Checks to dynamically calculate your default FTP. You can set your default FTP manually on the Profile>Your Info page.

Endurance(zone)

The training level at which you most effectively train your endurance engine. Level/Zone 2.

Event

Your training goal, often in the form of a particular ride or event in which you would like to compete or complete. PowerBrain designs your training to get you, not to a particular level as such, but rather to the best level you can be by the date of your target event.

Fitness House

Solid aerobic fitness is analogous to a good house - it has a foundation, several floors (increasing intensity), and, finally, a peak. PowerBrain helps you build your Fitness House.

FTP

Functional Threshold Power (FTP). Functional Threshold Power (FTP) is the maximum sustainable power output one can maintain for 60 minutes. The service uses your FTP to calculate your training loads.

Goal

What you’d like to accomplish. Often, this comes in the form of a specific target event. “A” goals are your first priority, while “B” goals are events on the way to your “A” goal. Choose a goal/event date and the number of days the goal/event will last. It's tough to peak more than 3 times in a season, so PowerBrain limits you to 3 future "A" goals. "B" goals are incorporated into your training for your "A" goals. Also, see Event.

HC

Hill Climb.

LT

Lactate Threshold. The exercise intensity at which lactate (more specifically, lactic acid) starts to accumulate in the blood stream. In terms of Power on a bicycle, it is as hard as you can ride for a full hour, i.e. at your Functional Threshold Power (FTP). Level/Zone 4.

Moving Time

The amount of time on your ride during which you were actually moving. Coffee stops don’t count as training!

MTB

Mountain Bike.

NP

Normalized Power. A power averaging calculation used to compensate for changes in ride conditions for a more accurate depiction of power expenditure. Normalized power shows you a good picture of what your power over a given duration would be were you able to deliver it completely smoothly.

Periodization

Simply stated, periodization is a systematic build of fitness, divided into areas of specific training, with the goal of reaching a fitness peak at a specific time. Under the hood, the service creates base, build, and peak periods for your event preparation.

RPE: Rate of Perceived Exertion

RPE measures feelings of effort, strain, discomfort, and/or fatigue experienced during both aerobic and resistance training, on a scale of 1-10, with 1 being very easy and 10 being extremely hard.

Ride Load

The actual load value of one particular ride. This value is calculated using a formula based on your normalized watts from the ride.

Riding Experience

The number of years you have been riding/competing. PowerBrain initially uses this to help predict your FTP. As your training progresses and you complete more FTP Checks, PowerBrain derives your actual riding experience, adjusts your training plans accordingly, and the impact of changing this Riding Experience value will diminish. You can set your starting Riding Experience level on the Profile>Your Info page.

SST

Sweet Spot Training - 87%-93% of LT/FTP. SST garners you most of the benefits of LT training without as much of the recovery cost.

Tempo

Steady-state training a notch above Endurance/L2 training. Level/Zone 3.

TL

Training Load. The amount of training you have done relative to your current FTP. This helps the service asses the recovery cost of your ride and predict your progression.

Training Levels/Zones

The numerical representation of the full range of physiological responses to given training loads. These designations allow PowerBrain to optimize your training plan. They are expressed in the individual workouts in terms of Power (Target Range), Heart Rate (HR Zone), and Rate of Perceived Exertion (RPE).

Training Zones

See Training Levels.

TT

Time Trial. An individual, or sometimes team, race against the clock.

VO2

The maximum rate of oxygen consumption as measured during incremental exercise. In training terms, it is the level at which muscles struggle to clear the byproducts of intensive effort. Level/Zone 5.

Warm Up

The process of preparing your muscles for exercise. This is very important for getting in a good workout.

Workout Number

Different workouts in PowerBrain are designated by two criteria - the type of workout (LT, SST, etc.), and the workout number. The number is our way of tracking different workouts of the same type. So, while SST1 and SST2 are both SST workouts, they are slightly different SST workouts.

Zones

See Training Levels.