CPSS Managing Training Load 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which metric best captures the cumulative physiological stress imposed by a training session when both intensity and duration are considered?
- Heart rate variability
- Training impulse (TRIMP) (Correct answer)
- Rating of perceived exertion alone
- VO2max percentage
Correct answer: Training impulse (TRIMP)
TRIMP combines exercise duration and heart rate intensity (weighted for zone) to quantify internal training load as a single value.
Question 2: An athlete's acute-to-chronic workload ratio (ACWR) rises to 1.8 over two weeks. This value indicates:
- Optimal supercompensation
- Undertraining requiring increased volume
- A spike zone associated with elevated injury risk (Correct answer)
- Normal periodization progression
Correct answer: A spike zone associated with elevated injury risk
An ACWR above 1.5 is generally considered a 'danger zone' where injury risk increases substantially.
Question 3: The 'fitness-fatigue' (two-factor) model proposes that performance at any given time is:
- Equal to accumulated fitness alone
- Fitness minus current fatigue (Correct answer)
- Fatigue divided by chronic workload
- Fitness plus chronic training volume
Correct answer: Fitness minus current fatigue
In Banister's two-factor model, preparedness (performance) equals the fitness component minus the fatigue component.
Question 4: When designing a microcycle, placing the highest-load session immediately after a rest day is primarily intended to:
- Reduce lactate accumulation
- Exploit recovery-induced supercompensation readiness (Correct answer)
- Maximize glycogen depletion
- Lower sympathetic nervous system tone
Correct answer: Exploit recovery-induced supercompensation readiness
Scheduling high-load work after rest capitalizes on restored glycogen stores and reduced accumulated fatigue for a quality stimulus.
Question 5: Which of the following is considered an EXTERNAL load metric in team sport monitoring?
- Session RPE
- Blood lactate concentration
- Total distance covered via GPS (Correct answer)
- Heart rate reserve
Correct answer: Total distance covered via GPS
External load refers to objective work performed by the athlete, such as GPS-derived distance, independent of physiological response.
Question 6: The concept of 'non-functional overreaching' differs from 'functional overreaching' primarily in that it:
- Produces a short-term performance decrement that resolves within days
- Requires weeks to months for performance recovery (Correct answer)
- Occurs only in endurance athletes
- Is associated with a decrease in training volume rather than intensity
Correct answer: Requires weeks to months for performance recovery
Non-functional overreaching involves prolonged performance decrements lasting weeks to months and may signal progression toward overtraining syndrome.
Question 7: A sport scientist wants to monitor neuromuscular fatigue daily without impeding training. The most practical field test would be:
- Maximal oxygen uptake test
- Countermovement jump (CMJ) height (Correct answer)
- Blood creatine kinase assay
- Lactate threshold protocol
Correct answer: Countermovement jump (CMJ) height
CMJ height is sensitive to neuromuscular fatigue, quick to administer, non-fatiguing, and requires minimal equipment.
CPSS Managing Training Load 2
Which metric best captures the cumulative physiological stress imposed by a training session when both intensity and duration are considered?