It has been just 45 days since I started to use Xert. I immediately set up my target event in 120 days to enter base phase, starting training program and get workout recomendation. As 45 days just passed, I have entered in build phase. But dont feel that I built much of endurance as my workout were under 1 hour and only indoor. And because I dont aim to any event date, and think that I should work on endurance more, would not be the best, to shift target event in next 120 days to start base phase again and continue to work on my endurance before any intensites? XATA could be more adaptive and determine, that I am not ready to enter next training phase and offer to extend (or shortened) current one.
And other question: my idea was, that base should be done around LTP, but planner recommends me workouts at 92%TP and as i tried to fill next few days in planner (just to see what recommends, I know that is the best not to plan with xert), my interval targert is every day+1W(when being fresh). Is not this intensity for base phase too high, should I follow xata target intervals or ride at LTP in base phase?
Not entirely sure what you are aiming at, but have you experimented with IR? If you feel you could handle more, you may want to set that to a higher setting. Also, you started with an event date 120 days out, but now that youâre entering build phase, you want to shift it to 120 days again? I guess that without any other changes (like IR) there comes a point when Xert doesnât really know what to do (with you) anymoreâŚ
Also, but this is trickier, you could play with XPMC settings. Standard settings may not be right for you eitherâŚ
Robert, I didnât have any problem with xpmc to determine my form status and workouts matches my fitness signature. I set athlete type GC Specialist, IR is moderate-2 and both suits me. I donât have any event I would need to prepare for, I wanted to start to train after winter and the base seemed right point to stay from. But as I didnât spend any big hours in a saddle and donât need to be prepared for any specific date, I thought that the best might be too continue to build endurance. And first and only thing how to do it, that came on my mind, was to shift target event date to be at the beginning of base phase again.
That makes sense, but if you want to increase your endurance, you will have to rack up your training. If you feel that you should not go to a higher IR, then you can only go for longer sessions and you will build up a surplus XSS, which in turn will force Xert to recommend only recovery rides.
That doesnât make sense and I think Xert is not meant to use like this. It âneedsâ a target date and event and guide you towards a peak at that specific point in time.
Then again, one other thing you could do to change your training regime, is change your athlete type to either century rider or triathlete to work on 2 or 3 hour power, or to (sprint) time trialist to increase 1 hour power.
In short, imho, Xert needs something to work with - slightly charging it: just pedaling along is not the way to go.
If you want to fully experience what Xert does over the full 120 cycle I suggest you keep the current goal date. You can set a future date when you reach the first or ride post event phase in maintenance mode before setting a date.
Why are all workouts less than an hour? Are you riding 7 days/week indoors?
Its right, that I could change athlete type to be more endurance focus, but I would like to go for shorter duration eventually. All I wanted was to extend base phase as my conception of base phase was to do many long rides with low intensity to build some base and when I rush that and skip to build phase prematurely, I will miss that later. But maybe my conception of base phase is outdated.
But at some point, the intensity has to increase, or you wont be prepared for the demands of your event. If you need a longer base period, move your Target Event Date back. Given the unfortunate epidemic, this is readily an option since most spring/summer events are being cancelled. Once you have a sufficient base of fitness built up, you really donât need a huge base period, and youâd be better off focusing on the demands specific to your event type.
I actually did just indoors rides as weather still was not very nice, which will change soon, I hope. I have not done any long rides with low intensity, which I considered as necessary for base phase. Its why I wanted to start with base again. Dont you think that building phase with 92% of TP(this xata recommends) is better than building it by riding aroung LTP?
Blockquote
Once you have a sufficient base of fitness built up
But how to determine that Scott. Should I use Efficiency factor for that?
And what do you think about taget power, that xata reccomends - 92% of TP, when I am at the beginning of base, would it be better than riding aroung LTP or mix them?
It comes down to the time available to train. If you have more time to train, training at/below LTP might be better and/or more sustainable. Itâs also rather boring to follow a workout at sub LTP intensities, so you may find that simply free-riding outside or on Zwift might be more enjoyable. I notice that every once in a while itâs nice to do a ride outside without looking at the numbers and remembering that I ride because I enjoy it, not because a computer program told me to 
We recognize not everyone has unlimited training time, so the quickest way to accumulate XSS is to increase the intensity (or perform endurance under fatigue), which is why youâll see higher intensity workouts recommended if youâre only training ~1 hour/day.
This seems to add a pre-base period before the base period. I did some searching for âpre-baseâ in the help area but didnât find anything to explain how pre-base differs from base.
Should I just assume that Iâll get the same types of recommendations during the pre-base period as I would during the base period?
Thanks.
That probably is not what Scott meant - push event date back means earlier in time, not later - at least thatâs how I read that. In which case you will go from base to build.
Hi JFC,
Pre-base basically means that youâre so far out from your TED that what exactly you do today is most likely irrelevant by the time of the target event. So the system will recommend endurance workouts when youâre tired and workouts that are focused around your athlete type when fresh/very fresh.
Thanks, this makes sense.
My ultimate target event date is a 1 hr TT around February 2022. Clearly, there will be other events between now and then, but theyâll be âBâ and âCâ events along the path to the Feb 2022 goal.
I want to have the highest threshold I can possibly have by then, given my hours available to train between now and then.
Assuming I keep my hours available to train up-to-date as life changes occur, will the XATA make the the right training recommendations for me to reach that 2022 goal or should I manipulate other parameters in Xert between now and then, too? Should I tinker with my TED, decay method, or perhaps schedule breakthrough sessions every several weeks to ensure that my fitness signature values are trending upwards along the way?
In other words, my question is this: can Xert provide me with good training advice to maximize my performance for the long term assuming Iâm the pre-base period for 16 months or so?
Thanks.
Hi JFC,
As you mentioned, youâre clearly going to have other events along the way, so my recommendation is to not stay in pre-base for 16 months. I think you should plan for a TED (or several) between now and Feb 2022, using those B/C races as intermediate steps along the path to your TT. Itâs likely going to be beneficial to train for those events and experience what itâs like to follow a full training cycle with Xert, including a full build, peak, taper, and enjoying some (well-earned) recovery after those events. I also think pushing for a breakthrough every few weeks is definitely important in making sure you are seeing the improvements that you would like to see, as well as keeping the intensity of your workouts at an appropriate level.
As far as decay settings, if youâre pushing for breakthroughs every few weeks, itâs best to leave it on Optimal Decay. The No Decay setting is really best reserved for periods where you arenât going to be aiming for any intensity at all. Many of our users find the No Decay setting to be helpful between the months of November and April, where theyâre focused on base training.
Hope this helps!
For the recommended focus duration what is the best way to determine what type of workout (looking at the workouts in the workout section) I should use. For example, my current recommendation is 3hr power.
It seems the workouts do not use the same terminology, 3 hr power, but the rider type.
I would just follow the training advisor in the first instance⌠and if you want to try something different there is a filter option there as well⌠still only goes up to the âenduranceâ level which doesnât differentiate between the different focuses above one hour⌠Iâm not sure it really matters though⌠if you want the lowest intensity endurance workouts you can also filter by difficulty (less than or equal to two stars sounds like what you are looking for⌠higher stars typically brings the focus closer to one one hour or even a bit below)
As @wescaine mentioned, all workouts with a focus duration of 20:00 or more are all classified as âEnduranceâ - despite there being many athlete types under the umbrella of Endurance (Sprint Time Trialist, Time Trialist, Century Rider, & Triathlete).
We did this since your LOW system contributes the vast majority of work in your 20+ min power. Treat anything with a focus duration of > 1:00:00 as an LSD recommendation. I too like to keep my intensity relatively lower for those longer rides, and I will either filter workouts to 2.0 Difficulty or less, OR pick a 2.5 DS workout and turn the intensity down 5-10%.
It would be nice if we had a way to filter for rides that have a focus duration > 1:00:00. Trying to filter by difficulty isnât ideal as difficulty is dependent on duration.