hi im new here and trying to figure things out. thoughout my 1 week of use of xert, i find myself not finishing most of my interval workout especially vo2max effort workout. i have enough sleep, recovery and i eat right. what should i do? im doing a climber athlete type and i have an event on the 15th of october. it’s really frustrating. i know i can do those watts but cant really finish the whole thing. i can finish the first 2 sets after that, i really cant push though at all. any tips
Hi Joseph,
Welcome to Xert! For most athletes with a valid fitness signature, the workouts should be achievable. What difficulty rating are the workouts? Xert will recommend workouts with a difficulty rating (in diamonds) that corresponds with your training load (in stars). Some of the 4/5-diamond workouts can be difficult to complete, even for athletes that have relatively high training loads (4+ stars).
I’ll also mention that if you are struggling with workouts, you may also want to review your breakthroughs in Xert and see if there are any errors in your data that may negatively impact (skew) your fitness signature. Feel free to send a note to support with some links to activities where you struggled with a workout. We can help review the data with you.
i’m just following what xert will recommend for the day. i noticed at first my threshold power was at 230 now its down 222. so i guess xert was adjusting now based on the workouts i’ve done so far. am i right? before starting xert i went for a 200km ride and recorded some peak performances (trainingpeak) and it was sync to my xert. should i look through my activities again?
What is your current status stars count? (Training Load)
That determines which workouts are recommended. Example, 3 stars = 3 diamond workouts.
Depending how much historical data was synced, it can take several weeks of activity data to dial in your signature values. If you want to scan your activities for any power spikes, select Activities, Table, then Edit Columns button at top. Add Max Power and sort your list by that column. If you notice any unusual spikes tick those rows, then select the Flag button in upper right. That will exclude those activities from signature calculations, but still include the training load.
If you set a TED (target event date) the recommendations will be endurance based (<TP) for number of weeks due to the phased progression logic in XATA.
Program Phases – Xert (baronbiosys.com)
With Continuous ATP you’ll get a variety of high intensity workouts for selected Athlete Type (Focus duration) when form is fresh and endurance level workouts (easy and “hard” below TP) when form is calculated as tired.
Continuous Improvement – Xert (baronbiosys.com)
You can experiment with VO2max workouts by selecting a workout with lower difficulty rating (diamond count). For example, if you search the library for “VO2” you will find two series of workouts. One called Closer and the other called Elastic Heart (hard start intervals). Both use SMART intervals tied to your fitness signature. If failing Closer 170 (3-1/2 diamonds), try one of the 3.0 versions next time. Or failing Elastic Heart 3.5 try 3.0 next time.
When scanning the recommended list of workouts you can tell how intense a workout will be based on the thumbnail chart and how often MPA line drops down and how far. Also the shaded portion indicates what level difficulty/fatigue will accumulate.
Don’t be discouraged if you have to dial down intensity to complete some intervals or switch to Slope mode and tackle the interval as best as you are able. The end result will likely meet the strain ratio target intended.
Welcome aboard. 
Lots of newbie tips in this thread –
Beginner questions - Support - Xert Community Forum (xertonline.com)
my bad it’s 226 not 222 watts for my threshold power. so far my current status stars is 3 stars.
Blockquote
i’ll take note of this. it’s just frustrating that i can’t finish workouts. i know i. can do those numbers outside but it’s really hard when using trainers especially if its in erg mode
If you’re struggling with workouts indoors, one of the biggest limiters is ventilation/air flow. If you’re overheating, you can struggle to hit power targets. Another thing to be aware of is whether your indoor trainer is placed on a hard or soft surface. If the surface is soft, you might actually be losing some of your power, especially at higher powers.
i might try adding a fan on my next workout
Add two, strong ones (and probably some headphones to get rid of the noise 
) and drink enough water. Stuff like that can make a lot of difference. Getting an indoor riding setup right for you needs some experimenting (and usually lots of air flow).
2 Likes
Fans are a game changer. Just do it™.
I use two fans. One for legs/torso and the other is blowing on my face/head.
I hope someone can add to this, I am not sure if this would have anything to with the main topic, but in Zwift, you can adjust the trainer difficulty and most of the reading I have found recommends setting it at around 40%. Would changing the resistance in Xert instead of lowering the watts in a workout have any effect in helping get through the workout?
Hi Kevin,
Good question, but no. That option only reduces the gradient for when you’re climbing hills (e.g. by reducing the trainer difficulty, 17% gradient won’t feel like 17%). It makes no influence on target power during a workout (using AUTO mode in Xert EBC app).
1 Like