Key evidence behind
triathlon coaching decisions.
A searchable, DOI-grounded knowledge system derived from a completed doctoral literature review — translating 191 cited works* into coaching-ready evidence on training load, recovery, monitoring, and triathlon science.
This Knowledge Hub is adapted from the Literature Review of Leighton Wells' doctoral thesis: Triathlon Coaching Practices — Optimising Training Load Processes and Communication. Read the full thesis in the Deakin University Research Repository →
Research translated, not simplified
The Knowledge Hub takes the evidence reviewed across a completed PhD — covering training load foundations, coaching practice, load prescription, monitoring, recovery, athlete autonomy, and triathlon-specific challenges — and presents it in a structured, searchable, editorially coherent format.
Every page is grounded in the cited literature. Every claim carries a numbered reference with a DOI link to the original source. Where the evidence is contested or emerging, that is stated plainly. Where Leighton's own published findings apply, they are surfaced as contextual evidence — not as the final word.
This is not motivational paste. It is the literature base that informs Summit's coaching frameworks, translated for practitioners who want to understand the evidence behind their training.
Explore the evidence
Each page maps directly to specific sections of the doctoral literature review (Chapter 2, §2.1–§2.16), preserving every cited source and covering the full scope without gaps.
Life Load
Why training stress is only half the picture. The literature on non-sport load, psychosocial stressors, and the evidence base for managing what happens outside the training file.
Read Article →Understanding Training Load
The stress-response mechanism behind every coaching decision: dose-response theory, progressive overload, detraining, functional overreaching, and the four-step training load process.
Source: Chapter 2, Sections 2.1–2.2 Read Article → Coaching · §2.3The Coach's Role
How coaching knowledge, experience, and education shape training load decisions. The gap between what coaches know, what they do, and what the evidence recommends.
Source: Chapter 2, Section 2.3 Read Article → Prescription · §2.4Prescribing Training Load
From periodisation theory to real-world coaching: how training is structured, how intensity distribution models compare, and why prescription is harder than it looks.
Source: Chapter 2, Section 2.4 Read Article → Measurement · §2.5Measuring What Matters
External load, internal load, and the metrics in between: TSS, TRIMP, RPE, sRPE, heart rate, power — what each measures, where each falls short, and what combinations matter.
Source: Chapter 2, Sections 2.5–2.5.2 Read Article → Monitoring · §2.7–§2.8Monitoring & Communication
Closing the gap between data and decisions: training management systems, athlete communication, subjective feedback, and the evidence for how monitoring changes coaching behaviour.
Source: Chapter 2, Sections 2.7–2.8 Read Article → Health & Injury · §2.14–§2.15Athlete Health & Injury
Load–injury relationships, prevalence data, illness risk, and the evidence for injury prevention through load management in endurance sport.
Source: Chapter 2, Sections 2.14–2.15 Read Article → Triathlon · §2.13–§2.16Training Load in Triathlon
The multidisciplinary challenge: how triathlon magnifies every training load problem, what typical volumes look like, how load is managed across swim-bike-run, and where the research agenda goes next.
Source: Chapter 2, Sections 2.13–2.16 Read Article → Reference · GlossaryTerms & Concepts
60+ evidence-grounded definitions spanning training load, coaching science, physiology, monitoring, technology, and triathlon practice. Searchable, filterable, and deep-linkable.
Browse Glossary →"The coach's task of understanding the different load types and their relationship with one another is difficult. There are many approaches and methods, but there is no certainty about which is best."
— Wells, 2024. Triathlon Coaching Practices, Chapter 2.14
Connected to Summit's published research
The Knowledge Hub is not a standalone resource. It sits inside the same evidence ecosystem as Summit's peer-reviewed publications, interactive intelligence surfaces, and coaching frameworks.
Intelligence Surfaces
Interactive tools that translate findings from 5 peer-reviewed publications into benchmarks and decision-frameworks.
Endurance Science →The Summit Approach
Life Load, ACIP, and M+M=D — the operational frameworks that emerged from this research, governing every coaching decision.
The Summit Approach →Full Repository
The complete doctoral thesis including all four studies, methodology, findings, and appendices — hosted at Deakin University.
Deakin University Repository →How to use the Knowledge Hub
Every page is grounded in cited evidence. Superscript numbers link to the full reference with DOI. Click any citation to jump to the source; click the return arrow to come back.
Evidence framing is explicit. Where the literature represents broad consensus, contested territory, thesis-derived interpretation, or Leighton's own published findings — that distinction is always visible.
Coach's Read boxes connect the evidence to coaching practice — but they never outrun what the literature supports.
Cross-links connect everything. Related Knowledge Hub pages, published Summit research articles, and framework pages are linked throughout — forming one coherent evidence system.
Want to discuss the evidence?
If you're interested in the research, have questions about the evidence, or want to explore how this translates into your own coaching or training — get in touch.