State the formula for the acute:chronic workload ratio.

• A. Chronic load over last week divided by acute load averaged over the previous 4 weeks
• B. Acute load over the last week divided by the chronic load averaged over the previous 4 weeks
• C. Sum of acute and chronic loads
• D. Acute load divided by current weekly load

Answer: (B)

The key idea is to compare what has just happened with what has been typical over a longer period. Acute load represents the most recent week’s workload, while chronic load is the longer-term baseline, usually the average of the previous four weeks. So the measure is obtained by dividing the most recent week’s load by the four-week average load from before that week. This yields a unitless ratio that shows whether the current week is heavier than usual. If the ratio is around 1, the week is in line with recent history; a value above about 1.3–1.5 (varies by sport) suggests a spike that could raise injury risk, while a value well below 1 indicates a lighter current week. The other options don’t fit because they either swap the numerator and denominator, mix the wrong time windows, or add quantities rather than form a true ratio.