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Training theory

Training indicators and load ​

Staminity calculates a set of indicators as for the whole activity, as for a lap, segment or any part of the activity selected on the chart, based on the initial data registered by sports watch or by an application on the smartphone.

The information is displayed on the “Details” tab in activity and includes the following indicators:

Distance ​

Length of an activity, lap, segment or any interval:

  • in kilometers or miles for running, cycling, skiing;
  • in meters or yards - for swimming.

Duration ​

Staminity calculates three indicators of activity duration:

  • Elapsed duration - time spent on activity from the beginning till the end. For example, if you started your activity at 9 a.m., then paused recording, by clicking on “Pause” for 10 minutes from 10 a.m. till 10:10 and finished activity at 10:30 then the “Elapsed time” will be 90 minutes.
  • Duration - time spent on activity minus pauses. For the above-mentioned example, it will be 80 minutes.
  • Moving duration - the number of seconds when the athlete moved during the activity. For the above-mentioned example, if during these 80 minutes an athlete twice stopped at the traffic light for 1 minute, without pausing his watch, then the moving duration will be 78 minutes.

Cadence ​

Cadence - step frequency in running, pedaling speed in cycling, stroke frequency in swimming, etc. Is measured by the number of steps/turns/strokes per minute.

Elevation gain and loss ​

An altitude above sea level is registered for each activity that was recorded by a device. It is done with the help of a built-in barometer (more accurately) or data received from GPS/Glonass satellites (less accurately). Based on this information, the following indicators are calculated in Staminity:

  • Elevation - sum of the elevation gain and loss;
  • Elevation gain - sum of positive elevation differences of adjacent points;
  • Elevation loss - sum of negative elevation differences of adjacent points

We are constantly upgrading the calculation algorithm in order to avoid incorrect registration of altitude by the device at separate points.

Grade ​

Slope grade of the selected part of an activity. It is calculated in the following way:

Grade = elevation / distance.

Calories ​

When calculating the amount of energy spent during activity, the duration and intensity of the activity, as well as gender, age, weight of an athlete stated in the application settings, are taken into account.

For men: kcal= [Duration] x [(-55.0969 + 0.6309 x HR + 0.1988 x weight + 0.2017 x age) / 4.184]
For women: kcal= [Duration] x [(-20.4022 + 0.4472 x HR - 0.1263 x weight + 0.074 x age) / 4.184], where:

  • Duration - activity duration in minutes,
  • HR - average heart rate,
  • Weight - weight in kilograms,
  • Age - athlete’s age.

If an athlete hasn’t set gender, height, and weight in settings, then the calculation is performed for a 30 years old man who weighs 70 kg.

Sources:

Intensity level ​

The intensity level of an activity is measured in % of the athlete’s LT level by power, pace or heart rate.

If the activity has been completed with the use of a power meter, then

Intensity level = Adjusted power / LT by power.

If power hasn't been registered during the activity, then the calculation is made based on the pace value:

Intensity level = Adjusted pace / LT by pace

If there are no power and pace values registered (for example, during strength training in a gym), then the calculation is made based on the heart rate value:

Intensity level = Average HR / LT by heart rate.

TL - Training load ​

Training load is calculated based on the intensity level of the activity and its duration. The load of 100 points corresponds to an activity that lasted 1 hour and was completed at the LT level by power (for cycling), by pace (for swimming and running) or by heart rate (for all sports).

Training load = Intensity level * Duration in hours * 100

VAM ​

VAM - is an abbreviation for the Italian velocità ascensionale media, which translates into English as "average ascent speed". This term has been proposed by the Italian physiologist and cycling coach Michele Ferrari. The indicator is calculated for any selected part of the distance and shows the speed in meters per hour.

VAM is widely used in cycling when it is needed to compare the athletes' fitness and to calculate the relative power.

VAM = Elevation gain / Duration in hours.

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VAM_(bicycling)

Relative power ​

Relative power - a calculated indicator showing power in watts per kilogram. This is one of the most important indicators for cyclists.

Relative power is calculated based on the VAM according to the following formula:

Relative power (W/kg) = VAM (m/hour) / (Gradient factor x 100),
where Gradient factor = 2 + (Grade in percents / 10).

For example, for grade of 6%, gradient factor will be 2,6 and for grade of 11% - 3,1.

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VAM_(bicycling)

Average power and adjusted power ​

For an activity completed with the use of a power meter an average power and adjusted power can be calculated.

Average power - an arithmetic mean of the power values registered at each point of the activity or of its interval.

Adjusted power indicates an equivalent of the average power for an activity/interval of the same duration, provided that the athlete applied efforts evenly.

The use of the adjusted power.
Two activities of the same duration and of the same average power values can require different efforts from the athlete: an activity intended to develop aerobic endurance completed on the same intensity level will require fewer efforts than an activity intended to develop speed, consisting of several accelerations with recovery intervals.

When calculating the adjusted power, smoothing of the power values registered by the power meter at each point of the activity is being applied.

When developing an algorithm of the adjusted power calculation in Staminity, the following sources have been used: Training and Racing with a Power Meter by Hunter Allen, Andrew Coggan; F.Skiba's works on quantitative assessment of the intensity of the cyclists', runners' and triathletes' trainings.

Average pace and adjusted pace ​

Average pace is calculated for an activity or any selected interval of the activity as the distance of the interval divided by its duration.

However, the pace of the activity depends greatly on the type of the route: an activity completed on a track cannot be compared with an activity completed on a hilly terrain.
The adjusted pace indicator has been introduced in order to enable comparison of the activities completed on the routes with different terrain.

Adjusted pace - a calculated pace with which an athlete would run an activity of a similar duration on a track, with the same efforts as in the initial activity/interval.

When developing an algorythm of the adjucted pace calculation in Staminity, the following sources have been used: works of C.T.M Davies (1973 year), works of Alberto Minetti (2003 years), article by R.Lovett for Runnersworld (2007 year).

We are constantly working on the upgrade of the adjusted pace calculation algorithm.

Variability index ​

Variability index is calculated for the activities with power indicators and shows how evenly an athlete applied efforts during the entire activity.

Variability index = Adjucted power / Average power

Decoupling and efficiency factor ​

Decoupling is an ability of the heart rate to increase during the activity even if the power and pace remain at the same level. An aerobically trained athlete will have the minimum increase of the heart rate.

The decoupling value is reflected by the change in the value of the indicator "Pace:HR" or "Power:HR" for 1 and 2 half of the activity in percents. The indicator "Pace:HR" and "Power:HR" is called efficiency factor.

Joe Friel in the The Triathlete's Training Bible gives the following assessment criterion of the decoupling value:
"If change of the value of the indicator "pace by HR" (or "power by HR") is less than 5%, then the exercise is considered as "correlated". In this case physical training with a view to the aerobic threshold for a race of a given duration ... can be considered to be fully completed".

In Staminity calculation of the efficiency factor, as well as of the decoupling, can be performed both for a whole activity, and for the selected interval.

Efficiency factor ​

Efficiency factor (EF) = Average pace / Average HR,

and for the activities with the power meter:

Efficiency factor (EF) = Average power / Average HR.

Pace:HR - decoupling (pace) ​

Decoupling (pace) shows the change in the efficiency factor's value, calculated based on pace for the first and the second half of the activity:

EF1 = Average pace / average HR for the 1 half of the activity
EF2 = Average pace / average HR for the 2 half of the activity
Pace:HR = (EF1 - EF2) / EF1

Power:HR - decoupling (power) ​

Decoupling (power) shows the change in the efficiency factor's value, calculated based on power for the first and the second half of the activity:

EF1 = Average power/ average HR for the 1 half of the activity
EF2 = Average power/ average HR for the 2 half of the activity
Power:HR = (EF1 - EF2) / EF1