How to Track Training Load Without a Coach

If you train without a coach, nobody's watching your volume and intensity across weeks. That's fine until you're burnt out, hurt, or plateaued and can't figure out why. Tracking training load gives you a way to see the big picture of your training, and it's simpler than you'd think.

What training load actually means

Training load is basically a measure of how much stress you're putting on your body over time. There are fancy ways to measure it with heart rate monitors and power meters, but the simplest version that sports scientists have used for decades works like this:

After every session, record two things: how long you trained (in minutes) and how hard it felt on a scale of 1-10. Multiply them together. That's your session load.

A 60-minute easy run at a 4 out of 10? That's 240. A 45-minute hard interval session at an 8? That's 360. Add those up across a week and you've got your weekly training load.

What to do with the numbers

The raw numbers matter less than the trend. You're looking for a few things:

Big jumps week to week. If your weekly load spikes by 30% or more compared to what you've been averaging, that's a flag. Doesn't mean you'll get hurt, but it means you're asking your body to handle a lot more than it's used to.

Steady climbs vs flat lines. If you're trying to improve but your load has been identical for two months, you might not be progressing the stimulus. If it's been climbing every week without a down week, you might be due for one.

How you feel vs what the numbers say. A week that felt brutal but shows a moderate load number tells you something (maybe sleep or stress is a factor). A week that felt fine but shows your highest load ever also tells you something.

Putting it into practice

Start tracking after every session. Just two numbers: duration and effort. You don't need a spreadsheet. A note on your phone works, or any app that lets you log those values consistently.

The patterns show up after about three weeks. That's when you start making smarter decisions about when to push, when to back off, and whether your training is actually progressing or just busy.

A simpler way to track it

You can run this system with pen and paper. If you want something that logs it for you, calculates the trends, and flags when your load is spiking, Sherpa is a free app that does this alongside your training reflections. Two taps after each session and the math takes care of itself.