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One of the best ways runners and cyclists can constantly improve is by having a solid understanding of their training data. It’s trying to tell you something, but you can only understand if you speak its language. Whether you are a triathlete, cyclist or a marathoner, TSS and hrTSS are two training languages well worth getting your head around. TSS is probably the most used training load algorithm amongst endurance athletes. It tells you how hard your training session was and the physical stress of your training over time. TSS is dependent on training with power, and ideal for cyclists, while hrTSS is an alternative for those training without power, and can be helpful for runners and other endurance athletes, such as cross-country skiers. The partnership between Suunto and TrainingPeaks was formed to give you full command of your training data. You track your workouts with your Suunto watch and TrainingPeaks gives you in-depth analysis and planning tools to achieve your full potential. After each activity, you can analyze your heart rate, power, pace and other data to determine where you are at. (Read more about benefits you get with Suunto & TrainingPeaks.)   On Suunto 9 and Suunto 5 watches you are able to follow TSS and hrTSS in real-time. This lets you adjust the effort and duration of the exercise on the go, helping you reach your goal. TSS, hrTSS and other TrainingPeaks features can be accessed in the SuuntoPlus section of Suunto 9 and Suunto 5 watches. You can have all the technology in the world, but to get the most of your training, your Suunto watch and TrainingPeaks, it’s worth the time getting a clear understanding of these two training metrics: TSS and hrTSS. So get yourself a coffee, sit back and read on. Why bother with metric-based training? The primary goal of a metrics-based approach to training is to understand what the body is undergoing from a physiological perspective, and how that ultimately influences training decisions. Understanding the stress that training puts on the body’s systems, and whether or not the desired response is being produced is integral to the modern training process. Understanding what both TSS and hrTSS are allows for a deeper discussion of the two and their merits. What is TSS? First things first, you need to understand TSS. Specially designed for cycling, the Training Stress Score metric tells you how much stress your body underwent on a ride. It’s a composite number that takes into account the duration and intensity of a workout to score the overall training load and physiological stress created by a training session. By taking both intensity and duration into account, TSS allows for a better understanding of the “cost” of every individual effort and workout. TSS is calculated using the following formula: TSS = (sec x NP x IF) / (FTP x 3600) x 100 Where “sec” is the duration of the workout in seconds, “NP” is Normalized Power, “IF” is Intensity Factor, “FTP” is Functional Threshold Power, and “3,600” is the number of seconds in an hour. It’s worth defining and understanding this equation so you have an idea of why TSS is so accurate, and how the final score is derived. The components that comprise TSS are what make it so useful to athletes. Normalized Power is calculated using an algorithm that is a little complex, but in a nutshell takes into account the variance between a steady workout and a fluctuating workout. It measures the true physiological demands of a training session. It considers both rapid changes in intensity, as well as critical responses in the body associated with those changes. Unlike average power, Normalized Power is the power your body “thinks” it employed based on the variability of the workout. Intensity Factor (IF) is the ratio of Normalized Power to Functional Threshold Power (FTP). IF takes into account differences in fitness within or between individuals. It’s a great way to track fitness over time for a given effort, for example the same ride with a lower IF indicates increased fitness. Using TSS provides a well-rounded look into both the physiological expenditure of an effort, as well as what that effort means for the fitness and progression of an athlete. What is hrTSS? More appropriate for those not training with power, the Heart Rate Training Stress Score (hrTSS) is based on time in heart rate training zones derived from an athlete’s lactate threshold heart rate. The calculation is made using an estimate of the amount of accumulated TSS in an hour given the level of exertion. Suunto watches use intensity zones where HeartRate Zone 4 | Zone 5 limit equals the lactate threshold / an-aerobic threshold level. The hrTSS in Suunto watch uses this level to calculate the proper TSS value. You can find the heart rate zone setup on your watch settings: Training » Intensity zones. It’s important to remember that Functional Threshold Power (FTP) is by definition 100 TSS per hour. This makes intense, or hypervariable efforts hard to account for given the limitations of the body’s cardiovascular system to respond rapidly enough to changes in intensity. hrTSS is used as the default in TrainingPeaks when there is not enough data to calculate TSS, rTSS (Run Training Stress Score) or sTSS (Swim Training Stress Score). It can be accurate, depending on the effort, but doesn’t do as good of a job at incorporating intensity and duration into the equation. Comparing the relative merits of TSS and hrTSS If you’ve not yet taken the jump into training with power, there is some value in hrTSS. The best way to use hrTSS is with steady state efforts, such as long tempo and sub-threshold work. These types of efforts suit the hrTSS formula because there are no abrupt changes in intensity. It’s easier to estimate hrTSS when the heart rate stays steady for longer periods of time. This metric begins to fall away when shorter and more intense efforts occur. The heart doesn’t respond rapidly enough to weight efforts above threshold. This makes the “cost” of the workout seem much lower than it really is. While hrTSS may be recording a more moderate range, you’ll feel much more tired given that you’ve stressed systems in the body that hrTSS couldn’t pick up on. TSS is the best way to ensure you have a good understanding of how taxing a particular effort or workout was. By incorporating Normalized Power into the equation, we get a much more accurate sense of the effort the body actually produced. Picking up on these fluctuations in effort also allows for a much more accurate TSS reading. This not only is helpful in understanding a single workout, but influences core metrics such as Fitness, Form, Fatigue and ramp rate. A more accurate Training Stress Score not only means you’ll have a better understanding of your workout, but you will likely also have a more productive approach to your planning, recovery, and execution. The metrics that we have at our disposal help to inform our workouts, as well as help to execute them with a greater level of precision. Knowing how the metrics we rely on are calculated, and why it is we should trust one more than the other is important for any athlete. TSS provides the most accurate picture of how both individual sessions and specific efforts impact the body. While hrTSS can help to quantify steady state efforts, it does not do a good job of highlighting the often stochastic nature of exercise. Using TSS will lead to more accurate planning and a better understanding of each workout.   READ MORE View TSS and other power-based cycling metrics in real-time 3 TrainingPeaks training metrics to adjust your running on the go   Lead image: Kevin Scott Batchelor

The definition of insanity, they say, is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result. This holds true for our training. It’s easy to get stuck in a groove, running on autopilot, and wondering why we’re not getting the results we hoped for. But if you turn off autopilot and start paying attention to the details with a metric-based approach then you’ll see how to tweak things so your performance starts tracking upwards. This is what the partnership between Suunto and TrainingPeaks is all about; to give you the tools and data to take command of your training. You track your workouts with your Suunto watch and TrainingPeaks gives you in-depth analysis and planning tools to achieve your full potential. After each activity, you can analyze your heart rate, power, pace and other data to determine where you are at. (Read more about the benefits you get with Suunto & TrainingPeaks.)   On Suunto 9 and Suunto 5 watches you are able to follow selected TrainingPeaks metrics in real-time. This lets you adjust the effort and duration of the exercise on the go, helping you reach your goal. hrTSS, rTSS, NGP and other TrainingPeaks metrics can be accessed in the SuuntoPlus section of Suunto 9 and Suunto 5 watches. Two phases of metrics-based training You can learn from metrics in two phases, in real-time with your Suunto 9 or Suunto 5 while you’re training, or post workout back at home by analyzing the results on TrainingPeaks. Both are valuable and both can help you to refine and improve your training. Running Training Stress Score (rTSS) The most useful tools to quantify how hard you’re training are those metrics that account for both the volume and the intensity of your running. TSS in cycling uses power as the criterion measure of intensity, and this overcomes many of the limitations associated with the use of heart rate when quantifying intensity. Since running speed is a function of power, and for most runners, speed or pace is the measure of greatest interest, we can use the same principles applied in the TSS system to quantify training stress in running. In particular, the elements of the normalized graded pace (NGP; see below), relative to the functional threshold pace in conjunction with the duration of the workout we can determine an appropriate rTSS score for each workout. The stressfulness of any given pace is determined in relation to your current functional threshold pace (that is, the fastest running pace you could sustain for one hour). The calculation makes adjustments for hills (for example, a hilly 40-minute run at a steady pace of 8:00/mile would generate a higher TSS than a flat version of the same run) and even for the fact that running at any given pace becomes more physiologically stressful the longer that pace is sustained. This can give us an apples to apples comparison for training stress incurred by a track workout versus a long steady run versus a fartlek run, or any other workout. It provides the framework by which we can see the big picture, or the forest despite the trees. Learn more about Running Training Stress Score (rTSS) at TariningPeaks.com Normalized Graded Pace (NGP) Normalized Graded Pace (NGP) is the adjusted pace reported from a global positioning system (GPS), or other speed/distance device, that reflects the changes in grade and intensity that contribute to the physiological cost of running on varied terrain. We can derive NGP from flatland running, such as on a running track, but NGP really shines when applied to pace data obtained on undulating or even hilly terrain. Some readers, who come from cycling backgrounds and have used power meters, may recognize the similarity in name of NGP with Normalized Power (NP) from cycling. The inspiration for NGP came from the work of Andrew Coggan, Ph.D. and his development of NP. For coaches and/or athletes who participate in multi-sports, and have used NP and Training Stress Scores (TSS) for cycling, there has been a great desire to extend the principles and utility of the NP/TSS system to other disciplines. The obvious first extension that comes to mind is running. The recent availability of downloadable GPS recording devices makes the adaptation of the NP/TSS system to running an attractive proposition. An in depth discussion of the concepts of NP and TSS can be found here. The long and the short of it, however, is power is the cycling analog of pace in running. In fact, if we plotted power vs. pace at a constant speed, for a given runner, there would be a very close relationship; they change proportionally. So, if you are a runner, and you track training based on pace, you are indirectly tracking power. So, the underlying principles of NP in cycling hold for what can be termed Normalized Graded Pace (NGP) in running. Learn more about Normalized Graded Pace (NGP) at TrainingPeaks.com Intensity Factor® (IF®) ​ Intensity Factor gives you relative intensity in running by comparing Normalized Graded Pace to an-aerobic threshold pace. Therefore Intensity Factor is a valid and convenient way of compare the relative intensity of a training session or race either within or between runs, taking into account changes or differences in threshold pace. In Suunto watches we use the threshold as limit between Zone 4 and Zone 5. This means that the effort you have been running is a share from an-aerobic threshold level. Intensity factor gives you a simple info on how hard you are working out. Suunto watches use a intensity zones where Pace Zone 4 | Zone 5 limit equals the lactate threshold / an-aerobic threshold level. The rTSS in Suunto watch uses this level to calculate the proper rTSS value. You can find the pace zone setup on your watch settings: Training » Intensity zones » Advanced zones. The Intensity Factor for recovery workouts should be under 0.75, for endurance runs 0.75-0.85, for tempo workouts 0.85-0.95 and for an-aerobic threshold intervals 0.95-1.05. Learn more about Intensity Factor at TrainingPeaks.com READ MORE View TSS and other power-based cycling metrics in real-time Training with TSS and hrTSS   Lead image: Kevin Scott Batchelor  

Well done to everyone who got out there and chased vertical meters over World Vertical Week 2020. We saw some inspiring efforts from people around the world. Two firefighters, for example, donned their heavy protective clothing and gear, and powered up and down the best training hill in their hometown of Helsinki, Finland. That’s going above and beyond the call of duty! Read their and two other cool stories from the week here. At Suunto HQ we are always excited to analyze the data and see how much our users have climbed over the week, and which nations and sports have sweated it out and gathered the most vertical meters. This year week has some exciting results. Over time, World Vertical Week has gradually been becoming a tradition; more and more people are participating and sharing their love of moving uphill. Return to the top Last year, one of the surprise results was that Austria lost it’s top place as the nation that gains the most vertical meters by average after holding it for two years. This year, the alpine nation has retaken the throne. The average climb among Suunto users in Austria was 457 m. Sehr gut Österreich! Notable mention to second place Switzerland (418 m) after dropping to eighth place last year. In the previous two years before that it was near the top. Italy (395 m) came third. These results prove once again that alpine nations know the best way to move is upwards! The overall kick ass nations Respect to our users in Italy, Spain, Austria, and France, all nations that came in the top five of five or more categories. Italy landed in the top five of 10 different categories, and Spain landed in the top five of seven. Skimo the go No surprises here; once again ski mountaineering accumulated the most vertical meters (838 m) on average out of all our activity types. Mountaineering (545 m) and trail running (466 m) came in second and third, as they did last year. Race to the top In the race for most total ascents per country, France beat out Spain to win the country that climbed the most. Last year, Spain came out on top. And, once again, Italy came in third. Impressive individual efforts There were 1772 participants who climbed more than a thousand meters during the week, and 1095 individual sessions that included more than 1000 meters of climbing. That’s some solid training, folks. Well done! Top nations by sport Ski touring No nation cracked the 1000 m mark this year in the skimo stakes, but it’s clear many users are gunning for this. Keep pushing and nail it next time! 1. Spain 972m 2. Austria 948m 3. Italy 946m 4. Switzerland 921m 5. Slovakia 903m Mountaineering Kudos to Sweden, a small nation of 10 million, for coming out on top in the mountaineering category, and for breaking the 1000 m mark. Surprising given last year it didn’t even make the top five. 1. Sweden 1316m 2. Italy 1060m 3. Austria 666m 4. Spain 581m 5. Slovenia 494m Trail running People in Asia are crazy about trail running, and once again Asian nations won the podium this year and four were in the top five. Nice! 1. Japan 932m 2. Hong Kong 896m 3. Thailand 676m 4. Greece 649m 5. Malaysia 636m Mountain biking Austria won this one, followed by Spain and Italy; all nations in the top five last year, too. 1. Austria 582m 2. Spain 513m 3. Italy 469m4. Switzerland 375m 5. France 356m Trekking Notice anything? This time Italy wins and Spain and Austria follow. 1. Italy 559m 2. Spain 397m 3. Austria 375m 4. France 352m 5. Malaysia 316m Hiking Malaysia came out on top here, and, as a side note, also came in fifth place for both trekking and trail running. We can imagine exploring the incredible mountainous rainforests in Malaysia must be pretty motivating! 1. Malaysia 606m2. Italy 475m 3. New Zealand 453m4. Slovenia 352m5. Japan 343m Nordic skiing Go Canada! Last year Canada came second, behind France. This year they reversed positions. 1. Canada 438m2. France 268m3. Norway 233m4. Austria 218,0m5. Italy 217,6 Cycling Portugal won after not even making the top five last year. Spain, Italy, Israel and South Africa once again filled the rest of the positions. 1. Portugal 460m 2. Spain 390m 3. Italy 345m 4. New Zealand 316m 5. South Africa 310m Running This category had very narrow margins between nations, and a slight reduction in average meters from last year. Last year New Zealand won it. Congrats Norway! 1. Norway 156m 2. Switzerland 151m 3. Czech Republic 142m 4. Italy 140m 5. France 139m   Lead images: Photo by Klemen Tušar on Unsplash Photo by Jamie Davies on Unsplash   Read more articles On the rise: top stories from World Vertical Week 2020 How to find your way in the mountains 7 tips to accelerating your vertical speed

© Philipp Reiter World Vertical Week has become an annual tradition, and many Suunto users are finding creative ways to get the most out of it. The week is really an invitation to get outside, to push oneself, and find new resolve and strength. It’s also a chance to show that nearby hill or mountain who’s boss. This year, we again ran a World Vertical Week photo competition with three lucky people winning a Suunto 7 or a Suunto 9. We asked our Instagram followers to share an image with a Suunto app data overlay from one of their ascents over the week and tag #verticalweek. We received so many inspiring entries. Thanks to everyone who participated. Check out the winners and their shots below. Congrats!  Firemen to the rescue! Two firemen in Finland went above and beyond the call of duty for World Vertical Week. Henri-Aleksi Pietilainen, 29, and his room mate at the Rescue Academy showed their dedication by donning their protective fire gear and ascended the most popular training hill in Helsinki multiple times – and just after finishing a 24 hour shift. Respect guys! “We thought it was going to be easier (considering my level of training in the mountains and my friend’s latest expedition through Greenland), but the extra 25 kg of weight and unforgettable clothing and gear gave a nice extra ‘touch’ and was really good training,” Henri says. “We did this in a pair because in real firefighting rescue missions it’s good to have a partner to help each other out.”   Cooking up a storm It was Lukasz Bodaszewski’s first time participating in World Vertical Week. The 39-year old chef from Poland runs a catering company with his wife in the French Alps. He aimed to ascend 3000 m over the week, and managed 2300 “But I finished 1000 m in one day and I’m proud of that,” he says. “Vertical Week was good timing because I’m training for the 160 km Val d’Aran UTMB in the Pyrenees and for 145 km TDS at UTMB this year, so it was good to have a specific climbing week.”   Getting out there Casey Sackett didn’t hold back for World Vertical Week. From Hurricane, Utah, Casey aimed to achieve a mile of vertical gain (1610 m) over the week. He notched up a total of 1631 over a series of awesome trips, including mountain biking the Gooseberry Mesa and the rest what he refers to as “desert alpinism” (alpine style lines in a desert ecosystem). “Conditions were perfect all week out here and gave me the opportunity to get out every chance I had!” Casey says. “My favorite push was my last one, trekking/trail running up a mesa to the La Verkin Overlook. My eight-year-old daughter set the pace on the 4 km ascent with almost 243 m of gain. We did it in just 61 minutes! Her endurance blew me away, so proud!”     Thanks again to everyone who got out there and pushed their comfortzone for World Vertical Week. Keep it up!    Lead images: © Philipp Reiter Read more articles The nation that climbed the most in World Vertical Week is ... 7 tips to accelerating your vertical speed How to find your way in the mountains

© Philipp Reiter For us mere mortals, the Hoch Tirol ski route in the Austrian Alps usually takes six days of gut busting effort and every ounce of our endurance. German ski mountaineer and trail runner Philipp Reiter and fellow runner and ski mountaineer Frenchman Francois D'haene aim to cover the 100 km and 10,000 m vertical gain in 24 hours starting this coming Monday. Both men enjoy a challenge. “There’s a saying that it’s well known that something isn’t possible, and then someone comes along and just does it,” Philipp says. “You set a new limit and show that something once considered impossible is possible.” To Philipp, this is what Suunto World Vertical Week is all about; taking on personal challenges. “For myself, when I have overcome a challenge like this, and I have other challenges not connected to sports, I understand if I just keep taking steps towards the goal I’ll eventually reach it.” You can follow their adventure live and enjoy the beauty of the Austrian Alps; Philipp and Francois will be posting shots live from their adventure to our Instagram feed. Click to find out about the Suunto World Vertical Week 2020 photo contest! © Philipp Reiter When Philipp isn’t out training in the hills, he works as a photographer for Salomon, capturing the action at big races in Europe. Over the last few years Francois noticed that he won all of the races when Philipp was at them working. “Eventually we decided to do something together, which is quite nice,” Philipp says. Considered the queen of all ski routes, the Hoch Tirol route begins in Kasern in South Tyrol, and traverses Austria’s fourth highest mountain, Großvenediger (3657 m), and ultimately ends on the summit of the nation’s highest mountain, Großglockner (3798 m). Philipp and Francois will start their journey around 9am on February 24, pushing hard to cover as much ground as possible before night falls and the going gets tougher. “The second stage will be the toughest,” Philipp says. “Navigation will be a challenge. It will be cold and we will be tired.” Follow Philipp and Francois's adventure live here. Lead images: © Philipp Reiter Read more articles This challenge will take you higher! Must run routes around the globe! Which nation runs the fastest? 10 fun facts from 2019.

© Phillipp Reiter   Believe it or not, there’s a hill or mountain somewhere that’s looking down at you laughing. It believes you’re a weakling. Do you have what it takes to shut it up? That’s what Suunto’s annual World Vertical Week is about for the thousands of fans who participate each year. They find a nearby range, hill, or mountain that’s looking at them disrespectfully, and show that large mass of rock and earth who’s boss. As Sir Edmund Hillary famously suggested, there’s something satisfying about knocking the bastard off. Seriously though, World Vertical Week is about the joy of a challenge, of sweating like a beast, and overcoming one’s resistance to fighting gravity to reach a summit. It’s an inexplicable human urge. All we know is we feel incredible after. To make it even more fun, we give you three incentives below to participate! To participate in Suunto World Vertical Week 2020, open Suunto app and click the Vertical Week link in your inbox (the bell symbol on the top of your screen takes you to your inbox).     © Phillipp Reiter New decade, new challenge Starting on Sunday, February 23 and ending Sunday, March 1, this fifth edition of Suunto World Vertical Week also marks the first of a new decade. That’s why we want it to be the best ever. For this reason we are sending out two special, optional challenges: climb 1000 m of vertical in one day during the week. Or, if that’s not possible, climb 1000 m over the whole week. That’s only a puny 150 m a day! Just imagine that arrogant hill sniggering if you fail! Be in to win a Suunto watch To give you extra incentive, we are running a photo contest on Instagram over the week, and will give away a Suunto 7 smartwatch or a Suunto 9 to three of the most inspiring photos that enter. All you need to do is share an image with a Suunto app data overlay and tag #verticalweek. We will decide the winners at the end of the week! Click here to learn how to share your activities with Suunto app. (Terms and conditions apply. Check them here.)  Rep your nation and sport You can join the challenge on Suunto app, log all your efforts, and also compete for your nation and activity type. Last year, Italy came out on top for average ascents during the week. Spain also kicked ass; it came first in three divisions, and was also in the top five for four different activities. Will they continue to dominate? To kickstart your competitive spirit, click here to see the results of last year’s Suunto World Vertical Week! Lead images: © Phillipp Reiter Read more articles! Raising the stakes for Suunto World Vertical Week 7 tips to plan a route in the mountains Which nation runs the fastest? 10 fun facts from 2019 10 ways to make your adventures more sustainble How to find your way in the mountains.