Ohh jeh, das ist das drei Stunden Ausdauer Training, oder? So hart bin ich nicht. Mir reichen üblicherweie eineinhalb Stunden aufm Trainer völlig 
Ja, das ist in Tirol richtig ein Problem. Grundlagenausdauer über mehrere Stunden ist fast nicht möglich. Überall geht’s nur bergauf🙈
No, oudoors they would not be boring. There is just no flat area for a ride😩
Here’s the first in a series of YT training videos from Xert – Xert Academy Videos - YouTube
Speaking of YT here’s an overview of Xert Sessions from Tariq at SmartBikeTrainers.com –
First Look: Xert Indoor Cycling Group Sessions - YouTube
I run the Session Player.on XO for all my indoor workouts or join a group session whenever the workout or content interests me.
Hello,
I need some suggestions as my TP just keeps dropping and I want to increase it. I have done two separate BT and both times I have increase PP but lower TP. What would you suggest I do to increase my power. I follow all of my current training recommendations but things keep falling.
Thank you!
-
Are you running the 30 day trial or are you a subscriber?
I subscribed 3 weeks ago -
What equipment do you have for training indoors and outdoors? Include meter type, trainer type, bike type, bike computer (if you have one), and phone (Android or iOS).
I have a Wahoo Kicker V5 and my bike is a Cervélo S3. I run the IOS app on my phone with all Wahoo sensors. -
Are you young (20-30s), older (60+), or in the middle?
(no need for exact age)
I use to be young
. I am currently 37. -
How experienced are you with training by power? (newbie or X years using another platform).
**I been training with power off and on for 2 years. ** -
Are you a recreational rider or competitive racer?
I am your average recreational rider. I don’t race and I only do a few group rides. (family obligations) -
What are your goals? (example, special event in 3 months or best fitness for riding this summer)
My goals are to be as fast as I can be to smash some KOMs in my area. I also have two small kids that keep me active. My long term goal would be to have about 3 stars here and a TP of 300. I have to figure out how to achieve that because this app is the only thing I use until the summer (then a lot of outdoor rides) -
How many weeks or months of recent power data have you loaded into Xert?
I took a 7 month break from cycling because I had ankle reconstruction surgery. When I was younger I got hit by a car and now I am on my 5th surgery. When life gives you lemons you make lemonade
. So basically I started over with my data. -
What is your current star status? (example, 2 stars)
About 2 stars. My goal is 3 or more stars. -
What Athlete type did you select? (determines focus duration target)
I selected GC specialist because I thought that was a good all around profile. When I used to be apart of Sufferfest it told me my type was Pursuiter. -
Which Improvement Rate (IR) did you select? (hours/week training load & ramp rate)
I picked slow as I am just getting back on the bike. I have 5-7ish hours a week to train. -
What TED (target event date) did you enter? (determines what phase are you in)
I don’t have any target events as I am not a competitive cyclist. I just want to be fast for summer so I can KOM hunt.
I appreciate all your help!
I’m not an expert, but I usually do sprint time trialist (Slow) until daylight savings time change. Then switch to Breakaway Specialist or Rouelor (Moderate) with a target event in mind. Which is usually a fondo or bike trip of choice.
I do some workouts verbatim and sometimes sprinkle in Zwift or group rides for sanity. Xert is flexible for those type of things. Good luck.
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Hello,
- Are you running the 30 day trial or are you a subscriber?
Trial, will subscribe if Ill find the platform useful for my needs - What equipment do you have for training indoors and outdoors? Include meter type, trainer type, bike type, bike computer (if you have one), and phone (Android or iOS).
Kickr, p2m, wahoo bolt v2, android, road bike - Are you young (20-30s), older (60+), or in the middle? (no need for exact age)
30-40 - How experienced are you with training by power? (newbie or X years using another platform)
1-2 years riding with PM and training to power but not with a plan, mainly self-coaching - Are you a recreational rider or competitive racer?
Recreational - What are your goals? (example, special event in 3 months or best fitness for riding this summer)
Fit, fast, long endurance - How many weeks or months of recent power data have you loaded into Xert?
3 months (strava), I have more - What is your current star status? (example, 2 stars)
4.5 stars - What Athlete type did you select? (determines focus duration target)
Sprint TT, TT - Which Improvement Rate (IR) did you select? (hours/week training load & ramp rate)
Slow/maintenance - What TED (target event date) did you enter? (determines what phase are you in)
I didnt, continuous
More background:
I am new to the platform, or any other “training” platform, up until now I have “self-coached” myself based on some stuff I`ve found online.
I am not the training plan person, I enjoy riding my bikes, zwift events/races and group rides.
Question:
In the previous months I mainly did volume (lots) and averaged 12hrs/week of riding (mostly z2-z3) and Xert classified me with 4.5 and recommends me to do 13+ hrs / week.
Now this is wicked, I dont want to do 13hrs + a week, yes I did it until now but that is not the reason I am trying to do training plans…
Is there a way I could somehow to “fool” the system and XATT so that I will have gains but with less hours on the bike?
Am I close to my potential and that basically means that I have to suck it and If I want to “improve” I have to ride more (as recommended by the platform) /
Xert is the ideal platform for those who like to self-coach and keep things flexible.
Unique to Xert is the ability to start at whatever level you are at and proceed from there.
Canned plans and calendar focused platforms assume otherwise.
What you can do is reduce IR (improvement rate) until hours decline to a desired level. For example, “reset” your weekly TL (training load) commitment by switching to Off-season, drop your hours, and wait for XATA’s 7 day rolling cycle to kick in. In the meantime, ignore any suggestions based on what you did last week and establish a new pattern. Then resume at the level you are comfortable with whether that’s static (Maintenance IR) or a progression (Slow ramp rate or higher). With Xert you can ramp up and down over time to accommodate a changing schedule.
Even if your hours remain static you can manipulate TL (training load) through workout/activity management. IE, decide which days to ride short and hard (high intensity) versus long and easy (low intensity endurance) or in between including what Xert calls “hard” endurance.
While TL is the controlling factor for progressive overload you can manipulate how you spend your hours and continue to improve. Perhaps not as dramatically as a phased progression, but fitter (and faster) nonetheless even when TP levels out.
I suggest changing Athlete Type to GC Specialist for a greater variety of workouts in Continuous mode. Selecting a type in TT quadrant will recommend endurance level workouts. My guess is you will benefit from some higher intensity folded into your training especially if you aren’t doing that now. At 4.5 stars level you will likely see a lot of blue form (fresh) which means you can be as selective as you want and jump around more to experiment.
Welcome aboard.
Hello all,
I have a question about my high intensity energy.
It is set too high after importing al my (true) files. It sais my 5 min power should be 400 watt. This isnt right because my best even power is 350w. Same with my 2 min power.
Ot means that I have to do workouts that I cant handle.
I tried updating my powercurve. It works for one day. After uploading a new file, the curve jumps back to unrealistic watts for me.
Max power is 1450
True 5min power is 350
True 20min power is 305
Hope someone can help me.
Rob
Hi @Robvdberghe ,
For questions about your personal data, it’s best to reach out to Xert support. Someone will be happy to help review your data and get things sorted out! Cheers!
Hey,
I am not sure I am following…
In order to reduce the recommended xss/week and recommended hours/week all I need to do is the have a 7 day history with a desired amount of these metrics?
I thought thay XATA takes into account all of my activities…
If we are taking an athlete who trains 13hrs/week and we will reduce his load to 6hrs/week wouldnt he “loose” fitness?
Thx
You can use a combination of ramp rate (IR) and the fact XATA is calculating your average weighted TL over a rolling seven-day period to alter your hours/week commitment.
For example, if you want to lower from 13 hours to 10 hours you can change IR to Taper and slowly reduce the hours or switch to Off-Season and start riding a lot less.
7+ days later you’ll be in your “new” TL pattern. XATA recognizes that with both recommendations and pacer needle position. You can then change IR back to Slow, Moderate, etc. or choose Maintenance if you want to float there.
TL ultimately controls fitness levels, but it depends on what you are trying to accomplish with the reduction. Does your schedule demand the change? Do you need a rest week? Injury or sickness? Are you tapering for off-season?
As to losing fitness when moving from 13 to 6 hours, that is inevitable, but it doesn’t happen right away. If you are feeling great at 13 hours the first couple weeks at 6 is going to be a hammerfest. That will keep your signature topped up. If rest/recovery was the goal, you’ll want to avoid doing that. 
You can see this feature in action by selecting Goals, change IR to Taper or Off-Season and the ATP slider will immediately lower the hours. You can then drag the slider to the right to see the predicted decline week to week. Ultimately you control the outcome by the decisions you make moving forward. XATA will adapt to whatever you decide to do.
OK, I am starting to get an intuition on how to use Xert…
It will take some time to master it…
One more question If my current status is “Tired” and the XATA recommends an Endurance workout of X - XSS, If I will follow the advice and perform such activity, can I be fresh the day after? If I plan to do “intensity” the day after it, is it my responsibility to take it easy (less XSS) so that I will be fresh the day after?
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It is going to depend on several factors including your current training load status (stars count) and status form (star color).
Watch this video snippet to see how form changes on the Planner based on choices you make.
Episode I2 - Mastering Xert - Improve - The 3 P's of Training - YouTube
First Scott mentions Xert’s hybrid polarized approach and then shows how this affects the Planner in regard to high/low intensity workouts and changing form in the days ahead.
You are correct regarding your ability to manage your form. You can decide to go easy today (or take a rest day) and push form into blue/green faster in the day(s) ahead.
Taking it easy however can mean different things.
XSS is a combination of strain over time so that number will vary depending on the intensity of the workout. You may select a low intensity endurance workout that rarely jumps above blue, while a “hard” endurance workout rises into green (sweetspot territory) and may tap into yellow (threshold). The latter is going to add more strain so your form may stay in yellow longer. This is especially true if you are in Base phase following a progression with a TED (target event date). In Base phase endurance rides will be recommended day after day but they will vary depending on the training status you have achieved. Someone starting out at 1.5 stars is going to get different recommendations than someone who started a progression at 3 stars.
If you have Xert set to Continuous you can take control over your weekly workload distribution to affect your form changes. The higher the XSS value and the shorter the workout, the greater the intensity and the longer form will go to yellow after that activity.
Not to complicate things further but I should mention you also have control over your form feedback. The Freshness Feedback slider is Xert’s nod to the bell curve and is a subjective tool to accommodate differences in physiology and experience. For example, someone with years of cycling at various training loads may recover much faster than someone just starting out and is new to cycling. Age and general health are also factors. You can use the FF slider to tell XATA predicted form doesn’t match how you feel today. If XATA predicts yellow but you are raring to go with a spring in your step, feel free to slide to the right. This will trigger blue/green form selections. More tired than usual? Slide to the left to make things easier. Slide back to neutral when you are comfortable with the recommendations. That may be the next day or several days later. Over time most users find neutral (0) works well especially as they reach higher training load (hours/week) and are recovering well to the strain. But you can always use the slider if that weekend gravel ride turned into a wrong-turn marathon from hell and you’re feeling it days later. Sometimes you need to advise the advisor or ignore the recommendations and do what feels best today.
Reference –
Freshness Feedback – Xert (baronbiosys.com)
For XATA, yes, you can be fresh the next day. An endurance ride with no time above TP will not negatively impact how long it takes you to move from yellow to blue. Only above TP strain is relevant for yellow status. It’s therefore only the really hard endurance rides you need to avoid as suggested by @ridgerider2 (and XATA won’t recommend them anyway if you are yellow)
Whether you want to do a long ride or not depends on your plans though, and @ridgerider2’s considerations of how much fatigue you want to carry, and therefore how long or difficult a workout you choose are all worth thinking about as well.
This point I don’t think is correct. The hours you need are determined based on ramp rate (rate of adding training load), and training load itself, which is calculated over much more than 7 days for the low strain component. XATA will not recommend anywhere near zero hours after a week off. The rolling 7 days only applies to the training pacer / needle
Thank you guys for the help…
Hi
I have a query about the “SMART - Takin’ Care of Business - 60” workout. I’m slightly above 2-star, and this workout is 2.5 stars.
Firstly, I’m newbie to Xert, but it looks like the right product to help me improve my cycling, moving away from static plans.
When I tried the “SMART - Takin’ Care of Business - 60” workout, I couldn’t complete it without breaks due to the sustained high cadence over the course of the entire workout, with the target varying from 110-125rpm for 50 minutes. If I stuck to just 100-110rpm, I’m sure I could have readily finished it. I also tried to double check the cadence targets in the “workout designer” after the session, but couldn’t find any cadence settings there.
Whilst I can appreciate this workout would be beneficial for neuromuscular and cardiovascular adaption, I’m not clear on how these adaptations would be reflect in any of the Xert performance metrics.
Questions:
- As I get better at this workout achieving the target cadences, what Xert metrics/signature elements should I see improving?
- How can I check the cadence targets using “workout designer” for an existing workout, or edit cadence targets in a new workout I build myself?
Thanks in advance
I’ve done this workout a couple of times and wasn’t aware there was cadence targets. Where are you seeing these targets because I don’t get them using the android xert ebc app.
I think there might be something wrong with your setup (trainer, app, connection?) because there are as far as I know no cadence targets in Xert. I don’t even know if it is possible for a trainer to force a cadence. The workout you did is a normal ERG mode workout with normal mixed ‘enduranceish’ (bit high in places for what most would call endurance) power targets. You do those in “auto” mode on a Xert app/player and it sets the trainer to ERG mode fixing the power output to the target. You can then do any cadence you like in any gear you like (gears don’t do anything in ERG mode).
There’s probably someone else who can describe it better.
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I assume you were monitoring the CO scale shown above the rainbow gauge on the Remote or Session Player.
See this explanation for CO (cadence optimizer): Workout Cadence using EBC - #2 by ridgerider2
If you feel the optimizer range is “off” from your natural cadence range, you can file a support request with support@xertonline.com to reset it.
Or continue to ride at comfortable cadences to complete workouts and the scale should adjust over time.
When you view the workout in Workout Designer, does it look like this with matching colors?
This workout shouldn’t be overly taxable with some over/under intervals – two 60 sec yellow/orange efforts above TP, and green/aqua minutes between LTP and TP (traditional SS zone = “hard” endurance in Xert), and blue RIB (rest in between) below LTP.
How comfortable this base endurance workout feels will depend on how often you have done this type of workout in recent past and whether your signature is dialed in.
In either case ride at the cadence levels that feel best for you.