Acute Chronic Workload Ratio – What is it?

In last week’s post, the acute chronic workload ratio (ACWR) was mentioned as a method of monitoring training load.

What is the ACWR?

In simple terms, the ACWR describes the relationship between your current training load and the training load you are prepared for. Your current training load is described as your acute workload, otherwise known as fatigue, and the training load you are prepared for is described as your chronic workload, otherwise known as fitness. Simply, it’s a ratio that can provide insight into an athletes preparedness for training or competition. The ACWR can be used to calculate our training ‘sweet-spot’ to ensure we are as prepared as possible for competition.

What is our training ‘sweet-spot’?

Our training ‘sweet-spot’ refers to the optimal workload we can work at whilst maintaining the lowest relative injury risk. The theory behind the ‘sweet-spot’ is very simple. If the ratio between the acute and chronic workload is too high, the athlete is over-training, therefore increasing the risk of injury. On the flip side, if the ratio is too low, the athlete is under-training and will be unprepared to meet the demands of their sport, similarly increasing the risk of injury. The ‘sweet-spot’ lies between 0.8 to 1.3.

(Adapted from Gabbett, 2016)

To ensure we are training within this ‘sweet-spot’, it is essential to monitoring our training workload. By monitoring our workload, we can easily identify if we are under-training or over-training. This will allow for adaptations to be made to training programmes if necessary. However, it is important to remember that each and every athlete is individual. The ‘sweet-spot’ numbers will not apply to every athlete, however they do provide a guide to follow.