The Conditioning Compass
Enter an athlete's conditioning KPIs and the Compass reads the engine across the power–capacity continuum, names the limiting energy system, and prescribes the matching PTS methods. A weak speed read routes you to the Power Quotient; Breathing Gears sits underneath it all as the execution layer.
Every energy system lives on a power–capacity continuum (Patrick Ward). Power is the rate of ATP production; capacity is the quantity. The Compass reads which system is limiting and which end of its continuum to train — a high peak that drops off fast is a capacity problem, not a power problem.
| System | Fuel · Duration | Power (rate) | Capacity (quantity) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alactic · ATP-PCr | Phosphocreatine · 0–10 s · max intensity | Max output per effort — fast-twitch power | Repeat max efforts before output falls — power-endurance |
| Lactic · Glycolytic | Glycogen · 20–90 s · high intensity | Max rate of lactic ATP production | Buffer & tolerate accumulating H⁺ — fatigue resistance |
| Aerobic · Oxidative | Fat/carb · long · sustainable | Cardiac power — max O₂ delivery rate | Cardiac output — the recovery engine, the foundation |
Build the aerobic base first — a faster-activating aerobic system spares the anaerobic systems and accelerates recovery between every hard effort, which makes every other quality more trainable. Alactic capacity is highly correlated with aerobic capacity.
Seasonal sequence: Aerobic (post-season / early off-season) → Anaerobic Lactic (mid-late off-season / pre-season) → Anaerobic Alactic (mid-late off-season / pre-season). Exact sequencing depends on the sport.
KPI standards are targets to work toward, not leashes. Their function is decisive: once an athlete meets the standard for a quality, you stop chasing it to threshold and redirect the energy toward that athlete's specific needs. The Compass grades each read against these.
| KPI | System Read | Male | Female |
|---|---|---|---|
| Beep Test (level.shuttle) | Aerobic capacity | > 13.1 | > 11.1 |
| 5-min Run (MAS) avg speed m/s · team-sport standard | Aerobic power | ≥4.5 / 4.0–4.5 / <4.0 | ≥3.9 / 3.4–3.9 / <3.4 |
| 5-min Bike (W/kg) avg watts ÷ bw · no-track option | Aerobic power | ≥4.8 / 4.0–4.8 / <4.0 | ≥4.2 / 3.4–4.2 / <3.4 |
| % Drop-Off (RSA) | Lactic capacity · repeatability | < 5% | < 5% |
| 10-yd Sprint (s) | Alactic power · speed | < 1.45 | < 1.55 |
| Pro Agility (s) | Alactic power · change of direction | < 4.2 | < 4.5 |
Beep scores are read as level.shuttle (13.1 = level 13, shuttle 1) and graded on total accumulated shuttles — so 12.10 correctly ranks above 12.9. Aerobic power is read from a 5-minute max effort — enter either test. The 5-min run is scored as MAS (avg speed m/s = distance ÷ 300s), the team-sport standard (Baker & Heaney 2015; Berthon et al. 1997). The 5-min bike is the no-track option, scored on W/kg (avg watts ÷ bodyweight) (Coggan; Sitko et al. 2022); its bands are aspirational and cyclist-referenced. RSA is entered as individual sprint times: the Compass finds the fastest (best) rep and reports Decrement (Min/Max) and Drop-Off (Min/Avg), graded against the <5% KPI. Enter only what you tested — the Compass grades on available data.
The Compass follows the same reasoning a coach uses reading a testing profile — it doesn't run every test, it characterizes the engine and closes the loop to a prescription.
| Step | What the Compass does |
|---|---|
| 1 · Grade | Each KPI is scored against the sex-specific standard — green (met), yellow (near), red (limiting). |
| 2 · Locate the limiter | The weakest system read becomes the diagnosis. Aerobic sits under everything, so a red aerobic read is prioritized as the foundation. |
| 3 · Read the continuum | A strong single effort with a steep drop-off is a capacity limit; a low peak output is a power limit. This picks the prescription side. |
| 4 · Prescribe | Returns the matching PTS methods with work:rest, volume and frequency straight from the system's method tables. |
| 5 · Route speed | If the limit is expression of speed rather than the engine, it hands off to the Power Quotient (peak power ÷ squat max) to separate a strength problem from a speed problem. |
| 6 · Execution layer | Breathing Gears (Oxygen Advantage / BOLT) underpins whichever system you train — nasal, CO₂-tolerant breathing improves O₂ delivery and recovery beneath every method. |
Data that doesn't change the plan isn't worth collecting. Every read the Compass returns points to a decision.