My training status reads as follows:
Your current Training Status is Fresh and should consider a Puncheur
activity or workout, generating about 82 XSS of overall strain.
But when I go to the planner and automatically plan a recommended workout it doesn’t match:
The focus and TSS are completely different and when I delete and regenerate it shows me something different again.
So it’s not really clear to me if I should hand pick a puncheur workout or if I should go with the recommended workout.
Hi @sjoerdth
Great question! I suspect that you’re borderline Red/Blue training status, such that you’re in the Red/Very Tired status in the morning, but you actually freshen up over the course of the day so that by the time of your recommended workout time (11:59 PM - the default setting), you’re back to blue status.
Understanding that should help you out a lot since you’ll only be recommended Active Recovery workouts (or complete rest) when you’re Very Tired/Red status, but when you switch back to Blue/Green status, you’ll be recommended HIIT based on your program phase and athlete type. Hopefully that makes sense!
I suspect that you’re borderline Red/Blue training status, such that you’re in the Red/Very Tired status in the morning, but you actually freshen up over the course of the day so that by the time of your recommended workout time (11:59 PM - the default setting), you’re back to blue status.
I think you might be right, yesterday afternoon when I was playing around with some settings it said I was tired and in the evening, when I chose my workout, my traning status was fresh. But at the moment of the screen it was also fresh, so in that instance there shouldn’t be a difference right?
The planner can be used tor populate future workouts and play what-if scenarios.
XATA is advice at the moment which can change hour to hour until your next activity.
Take a look at the top four recommended entries on the Trainer Advisor page including Load More to show all twenty. That is the advice XATA recommends at the moment if you want to train now.
In pre-base/base the recommendations will lean towards endurance but the focus duration and intensity will vary based on the athlete type you have selected.
Related post with a podcast tip –
https://forum.xertonline.com/t/training-deficit-in-xata-vs-fitness-planner-at-different-time/
I had to look up what XATA means… 
That post and podcast look interesting, I’ll dive into that, thanks.
Listened to the podcast and as I understand it now:
If my observations or correct, I still think the range of XSS and the difference in focus in the recommended workouts is a bit strange:
Maybe I shouldn’t look too much into the focus thing, because an unexpected focus doesn’t mean it isn’t benificial. But 65 XSS or 148 XSS seems like a huge difference, could that be because I’m in trial mode and there is less to choose from?
In your case with 3 stars (competitive status) you are going to get higher intensity suggestions. It also depends on Athlete type.
Click on the Filter to right of Recommended Workouts and change from All (the default) to a specific type, click Apply, and watch what changes on the list. Endurance is likely the tightest group.
Focus will change as you move through phases or you select on-the-fly depending on what you want to do today.
If I look in the workout library the current total count is 485.
I am not sure what limitations are in the trial but the more historical data you have on file the more accurate the fitness signature calculation.
I think partly due to the trial, but also as you are pre-base, which is random workouts somewhat near your athlete type in terms of focus as mentioned here
Play with different target event dates and you should see more consistency (unless the trial really is greatly limited)
I decided it was easiest to just subscribe 
Pulled in all my data, or at least as far back as I was allowed, 2018 I think. That didn’t really change anything, but I expected as much because I’ve been riding consistently over the last months and Xert in trial mode used data from the past 3 months.
I think partly due to the trial, but also as you are pre-base, which is random workouts somewhat near your athlete type in terms of focus as mentioned here
Play with different target event dates and you should see more consistency (unless the trial really is greatly limited)
Planning is always a bit strange for me, as I don’t do any races, I just really like riding and numbers/stats (so Xert 
). But it looks like it would be best in my situation to work with that 120 day period, in theory that should create optimal progression.
Yes, same, no racing, just curiosity. Depending how good your base fitness is (3 stars implies pretty good), you can choose a closer Target Event Date and go straight to ‘Build’ - workouts will be more interesting and you’ll see how recommendations change week to week as focus shortens. But no harm in doing more base - it’ll help recovery when workouts do get more intense later…
Just did that actually, 120 days from monday, so I will start base next week. I just finished 2 base blocks, but I really don’t mind charging the engine a bit more, I find it really helps me sustain my power and prevent cramping in longer rides during summer.
Thanks for all the helpful replies, I feel like I’ve learned enough to start making use of Xert
Dont stop asking questions, if you have them! It’s a learning experience for all of us!
ah man… I’m feeling better and better about this training app! something i never realized during my first attempts with Xert is that the XATA plays much nicer and makes more sense when you realize it’s really critical to plan your exercise around time… not just day of week. realizing the ability we have to recover from fatigue in just 8 hours… it’s remarkably insightful that Xert realizes this fact!
So when I’m looking for advice, step one must be to enter the activity date and time BEFORE looking at anything else
