What is athlete load monitoring?

Athlete load monitoring is the process of tracking the physical demands placed on an athlete across training and competition, using metrics like session RPE, training volume and the acute:chronic workload ratio to manage fatigue and reduce injury risk.

What is the acute:chronic workload ratio (ACWR)?

The ACWR compares an athlete’s recent training load (usually the past 7 days) against their chronic baseline (typically 28 days). A ratio between roughly 0.8 and 1.3 is generally considered the safest range for performance and injury prevention.

How do I collect RPE from athletes?

Collect session RPE by asking athletes to rate the difficulty of a session on a 1–10 scale around 30 minutes after it ends, then multiply that value by the session duration in minutes to calculate training load in arbitrary units.

Athlete Load Monitoring: A Practical Guide for S&C Coaches