For decades, endurance athletes have followed a simple rhythm: three weeks of building, one week of recovery. On paper, it feels neat. In practice? It often misses the mark.
The reality is that the human body doesn’t follow a calendar. Some weeks you’re absorbing stress with ease. Other weeks, the wheels wobble after just a few hard sessions. Yet the 3:1 model doesn’t care. It tells athletes to push when they may need to pull back—and to rest when they may be primed for more.
The result?
-
Resting when recovery isn’t needed.
-
Grinding when the tank is already empty.
-
Consistency that always feels just out of reach.
Training Should Bend, Not Break
At QT2 Systems, we believe athletes deserve something better—something adaptive. That’s why we built the StressLogic Framework.
Instead of a rigid formula, StressLogic works like a weekly decision tree: Should training stress increase by a lot? Increase by a little? Hold steady? Or decrease?
It’s not random, and it’s not guesswork. StressLogic is rooted in one guiding principle: appropriateness.
Too much training stress leads to breakdown. Too little stalls progress. The key lies in finding the sweet spot every week, and adjusting before the athlete tips too far in either direction.
The Stew of Consideration
What makes StressLogic different is how it blends both numbers and context. Data matters—recent training load, ATL/CTL balance, short-term TSB trends—but so does the bigger picture:
-
Were key workouts executed as planned?
-
Is motivation steady, or starting to fade?
-
Are orthopedic warning signs appearing?
-
Is the upcoming week calm, disrupted, or highly conducive to training?
All of this feeds into what we call a stew of consideration. Out of that stew comes a clear recommendation—up, down, or steady. StressLogic advises. The coach decides.
Why It Matters
The result is a training process that is both science-driven and human-aware. It maximizes adaptation, reduces wasted weeks, and helps athletes stay healthier over the long haul.
At the Princeton Performance Institute, we’ll be sharing more about how the StressLogic Framework works—and how it represents the next step forward for endurance coaching.
If you’ve ever wondered why the old training cycle feels outdated, or how to train smarter without burning out, this is where you’ll learn what comes next.
Register Here https://qt2systems.com/products/qt2-ppi
QT2 Systems: The science of performance. The art of coaching.
