TRIPS glossary: common terms and acronyms

TRIPS uses a small set of shorthand labels for route demand, energy, and physiology anchors.

You do not need to memorize the internal math to use the planner well.

Use this glossary when you want a quick plain-language answer to:

what a term means
why TRIPS shows it
whether it is something you should actively tune

MDR

MDR represents metabolic difficulty ratio.

In plain language, it is a terrain-demand multiplier relative to an economical flat baseline.

More precisely, it is a unitless ratio that compares the hike's metabolic cost to your personal baseline flat, unloaded walking state.

Use it as a comparative signal:

1.0 is roughly flat-baseline demand
higher values mean the terrain is demanding more than that baseline
peaks help you find where the route or day is likely to feel hardest

MDR is most useful for:

spotting hard route sections
comparing one day or route version against another
understanding why pace may fall even when distance alone does not look extreme

MDR is not a standalone pass/fail score. Use it together with time, energy, and fatigue signals.

MEM

MEM represents metabolic energy miles.

In plain language, it converts route cost into baseline-equivalent miles so you can compare effort more intuitively.

More precisely, MEM is the product of MDR × actual miles.

A simple way to think about it is:

if MDR stays near 1.0, MEM stays close to actual distance
if MDR rises well above 1.0, MEM grows faster than actual distance
the bigger the gap, the more the terrain is amplifying route cost

MEM is useful when you want one compact number that blends distance and terrain demand.

For the longer conceptual foundation behind MEM, see The Metabolic Energy Mile (MEM) Framework.

HRR

HRR means heart-rate reserve.

It helps TRIPS interpret effort relative to your own usable heart-rate range instead of using bpm alone.

If you want the deeper reference article, read Heart-rate reserve.

BMR

BMR means base metabolic rate.

This is your baseline body-energy requirement at rest, before route movement is added on top.

If you want the deeper reference article, read Base metabolic rate (BMR).

S0

S0 means your baseline walking speed anchor.

It is the flat-ground reference pace TRIPS uses as part of your baseline locomotion model.

If you want the deeper reference article, read S0 (Baseline walking speed).

E0

E0 means your baseline energy-per-distance anchor.

It represents the energy cost of your economical flat-ground baseline, not your total route calorie burn.

If you want the deeper reference article, read E0 (Baseline energy per distance).

hrS0

hrS0 means the heart rate at your S0 baseline.

It pairs with S0 and E0 so TRIPS can interpret your baseline movement state from speed, energy, and heart-rate angles together.

If you want the deeper reference article, read Heart rate at S0.

hrAeT

hrAeT means heart rate at aerobic threshold.

This is the upper anchor TRIPS uses for your sustainable aerobic effort range.

If you want the deeper reference article, read Aerobic threshold.

When to care about these terms

For a first-pass plan, focus first on:

route structure
day splits
hiking-time limit
food and pack assumptions
whether one day is obviously much harder than the others

Use the glossary terms mainly to interpret what the planner is showing you, not to force early precision.

If you want a fuller walkthrough after this glossary, continue with: