The science
COOKED is built on one rule: the engine works out the numbers, then explains them in plain English. Every carb, fluid and sodium target — and every power metric — comes from published research. Nothing is guessed.
The core rule
"Nothing here is guessed. Every number is calculated — then explained."
The engine calculates your targets from validated models and your own data. Its only job after that is to make them make sense — every figure carries a tap-to-open "How we got this number."
What's under the hood
The published research every number in the app is built on — and what each model changes for you.
How many grams of carbohydrate per hour your body can actually use.
Glucose absorption caps near 60 g/h. A 1:0.8 glucose-fructose blend uses a second pathway, unlocking 90–120 g/h.
Your carb target never exceeds what your gut can absorb — and your mix is checked against it.
Fluid and sodium replacement based on what you actually lose.
Sweat sodium ranges from 200 to 1,500+ mg/L between athletes. An average fails at both ends.
The in-app sweat test converts your losses into fluid (ml/h) and sodium (mg/h) targets.
A fair measure of how hard a ride really was.
NP weights surges, IF is NP against threshold, TSS adds duration — 100 equals one all-out hour.
Every session gets a true stress score, so planning and recovery run on load — not feel.
Your sustainable ceiling — and the reserve you burn above it.
Both come from your best efforts. Skiba's W′ balance tracks the reserve draining above CP and recharging below it.
A live W′ trace shows exactly how deep each interval goes — and how much is left.
Training builds fitness and fatigue at the same time. This model separates them.
Fitness (CTL, ~42-day) builds slowly. Fatigue (ATL, ~7-day) fades fast. Form (TSB) is the difference.
Your taper is timed so fatigue clears while fitness holds — you peak on race day.
Your baseline calorie burn — the number everything else builds on.
Weight, height, age and sex set your resting burn; activity and training load build the daily total.
Sets your starting calorie target, then refines it from the data you log.
Heart-rate zones tuned to your physiology, not a generic table.
Zones are set from your reserve — max minus resting heart rate — so a low resting HR changes the math.
Sets your HR zones — and stands in as the load measure when power data is missing.
What's in the bottle decides how much fluid you actually keep.
Sodium and a little carbohydrate improve retention; an over-concentrated drink leaves the stomach slowly.
Bottles are capped near 8% carbs and paired with sodium, so what you drink gets absorbed.
Three engines
Per-hour targets from duration, intensity, conditions, readiness and your sweat test.
NP through W′ and the PMC — never a silent zero.
A baseline that becomes a learned daily burn as you log.
Transparency by design
Tap any target and COOKED opens its reasoning: the inputs it used, the model it applied, and the assumptions behind it. No black boxes — numbers you can defend to your coach.
Model: Jeukendrup, scaled to your session
Questions
No. Every carb, fluid and sodium target — and every power metric — is calculated from validated models and your own data. The app only explains those numbers; it can't change them.
They follow Jeukendrup's carbohydrate guidance, scaled to your session's duration and intensity, capped by your current gut-trained tolerance, and validated against real glucose-fructose absorption limits.
Your in-app sweat test measures your real sweat rate and sodium concentration. Fluid and sodium targets are built on Precision Hydration and Maughan protocols using those numbers — not a generic average.
The power engine computes canonical metrics — NP, IF, TSS, eFTP, CP, W′ — and a Banister performance-management chart, unit-tested against the published definitions of each.
No. It's a training and fueling tool for healthy athletes. It doesn't diagnose or treat any condition. If you have a medical concern, or a condition affected by nutrition or exercise, talk to a qualified professional before making changes.
Real science, made legible. Get early access and see the reasoning behind every number.