Hi everyone,
I’m currently using the Adaptive Advisor and am on a moderate-1 improvement rate on continuous.
Is it normal, I always get HIT days suggested from XMB workouts and never a low intensity day? Even after a 2 hour HIT ride, I get another HIT ride the next day.
If I switch to another goal, like for example a race, I also get scheduled LIT rides.
Did I miss something essential, while setting up Xert? Or should I just ignore the HIT workouts, if I feel tired and just do LIT instead?
What is your status stars count?
Xert is unique in how it tracks low and high/peak strain and recovery loads against your calculated form.
If the dosage of low/high/peak strain isn’t sufficient to push you into tired/yellow status the next day, you’ll see HIT recommended.
You can see this graphically on the Planner by the form gradient line which will turn red/tired then back to blue/fresh before the next day.
When the recovery load is high enough form will change from red to yellow (the next day) before returning to blue.
For example, if you insert an extra-long LIT ride or higher intensity HIT workout than you’ve normally done in the recent past, that will trigger the extended recovery pattern (red to yellow to blue).
In XATA Continuous mode you are essentially in a perpetual build/peak phase under your control. You can change ramp rate to execute training blocks and Focus Duration to change what portion of the power curve you’re working on. Or you might leave it at your Moderate setting but deliberately ride outside the guidelines by using Filter to change Focus for the day, join an impromptu group ride instead, ride LIT instead of HIT, tackle a fitness test workout (in Slope mode), etc.
Xert will adapt to whatever you decide to do.
If you consistently feel the form calculation doesn’t match how you feel, consider adjusting the Recovery Demands slider. Moving it to the right (more recovery) which will cause more red/yellow to appear before a return to blue.
XMB (Garmin or EBC Android) will only show the Endurance screen format on days when no high/peak strain is recommended. To override a HIT day, you can either select a workout that has only Low XSS or go to Planner, [+], Manual tab, set High, Peak entries to 0, and Save. Then the Endurance screen will appear on XMB tied to the Low XSS target for the day.
You can also use this method to see what happens to your calculated recovery form gradient on the Planner.
For example, here’s my recommended XSS ratio today –
Difficulty Rating: ◆◆◆⬖
Availability: 1.9 hours
Recommended XSS : 129 ( 127 | 1.6 | 0.1 )
That is mostly Low strain with a smidgen of High/Peak I might easily accumulate outdoors with a few surges. If I select one of the recommended workouts the result is this –
If I somehow pulled off that workout HIT won’t be recommended until midday three days later.
More likely I would have bailed at some point but accumulated enough high/peak to keep me in yellow through the following day.
Red/v tired = recovery/rest
Yellow/tired = endurance
Blue/fresh = HIT in and around your selected Focus Duration
Green/v. fresh = ready to tackle anything
Brown = detraining
The other contributing factor is Specificity. Where did you spend the most time.
Polar HIT is less strain than Mixed or Pure.
The combination of recommended XSS (low/high/peak distribution which equates to Focus Duration target), Difficulty (diamond count; highest XSS per hour), and Specificity determine the calculated recovery load. I.e. number of days/hours required to return low and high/peak systems to fresh form.
Reference – Training Load & Status – Xert
Does the Polarization slider not have an effect the number of HIT workouts scheduled?
The polarization slider doesn’t directly control how many High Intensity days/workouts you receive, but more sets the upper limit for the most days between high intensity sessions. With the default of 4:1, the system won’t assign more High/Peak XSS than it calculates you can recover from in 4 days. The system knows this from your unique High/Peak training loads… As your high/peak systems are better trained, you’ll be able to either do more high intensity (in terms of XSS) or you can do it more frequently, where it may be necessary to spread the high intensity load over several days in order to achieve progressive overload.
What is your Focus/Athlete Type set to? If you have a 20 min focus selected, you might see relatively small doses of High/Peak XSS assigned more frequently since 20 min Focus isn’t very taxing on either your HIE/PP systems. If you’re just training for general fitness, I would recommend something like 6 min focus, which is a good all-around option.
FWIW, I’ve found my training a bit easier to achieve for 8 min & 5 min focus goals by moving the polarization to 3:1.
Thanks everyone for your input. It took me a while to respond, because I first had to take in all the new information.
My status star count is a little over 2 stars at the moment and I have set GC specialist as my focus type.
After analyzing my last rides, I noticed I went overboard on the low XSS portion of the magic buckets. I often held close to 236 watts, which is exactly my LTP. Sometimes even above little above. The recommended watts were around 200. Even on my “longer” 2h rides, I developed the same habit.
Could that be the reason I don’t feel quite as fresh as I should?
The XMB Endurance target defaults to midway between 75-100% LTP. That’s what the blue Zone data field shows (time spent in that zone).
LTP approximates to LT1 for many users but not everyone.
If you consistently ride at LTP and above you’re dipping into tempo territory.
Does ~236 watts feel like the top end of Z2 to you (RPE-wise)? Or has rhythmic breathing set in?
It’s not easy to stay within the blue zone outdoors. Surges are inevitable but you want to avoid tempo creep. 
The rainbow gauge helps you do that.
XATA Continuous is always going to push you to ride more based on your current ramp rate setting.
If you’re not feeling up for HIT on HIT days that’s a clue to scale back.
Your body is telling you more recovery time is needed.
You can do that deliberately by riding LIT instead of HIT, but I’d make sure it’s Z2, not tempo.
You can also take extra rest days whenever you need them.
IOW there will be times when you want to “advise the advisor”. That may entail lowering Improvement Rate for a week or two.
The Training Pacer needle reflects weighted moving average XSS over a rolling 7-day window. When the needle hovers between 11am and 1pm position you are maintaining the current ramp rate. Watch what happens to the needle when you change the rate – which you can do at any time to manage self-directed training blocks.
Possibly!
Some users in the forum here report that they prefer to do their endurance training below LTP - myself included at times. But there are probably times when it may be beneficial to train closer to LTP (like “Tempo” training), especially if that might be beneficial for the type of riding/event that you’re training for. If I have several days of low intensity in a row because I am yellow status from high-intensity training, then I often will include some “tempo” riding on one of those days. Not saying you have to do that, but it’s worked well for me.
On that note, this might be an interesting thread: All power values below TP contribute the same amount to XLSS?
Thanks again for the in-depth answer. I think I was just training too hard on my endurance intervals and cooked myself.
I have a completely different question. I hop it’s ok, I ask in this thread instead of opening a new one.
I have a gravel race coming up in the middle of April. If I select to train for a race, I get a really low amount of hours, because the race is only 1.5 hours long. The workouts seem more appropriate, though. They include a lot more high and peak load, than my continuous program and are building towards the event. My training readiness is set to 1 and I think the planner thinks I’m already at readiness 1.
If I want to increase the weekly hours and still use the event as my goal, because of a dedicated build und peak phase, should I just set the event duration up, so I can train more hours per week?
Yes, you’re interpreting that correctly… the system believes you already have the fitness required to complete a 1-hour gravel event. But it sounds like you’re now looking to optimize your performance on race day, rather than just complete it.
Here are two ways you can do that:
Option 1: Increase the event duration: Even if you expect the event to take just 1 hour, try increasing the duration to 2 hours and re-forecast your training plan.
This will:
Option 2: Switch to a GOAL program: Since you already have the base fitness needed to complete the event, a GOAL program can help you target specific performance gains - for example, improving your 5–6 minute power, which is useful for surges, attacks, or punchy climbs common in gravel events.
You can experiment with either approach and see which one gives you more training within your available time.
Also, one tip: I usually set my Max Weekly Hours slightly higher than what I realistically have. It gives me a sense of how much extra training I could fit in - and how much more fitness I might gain - if I stretch a bit in certain weeks.
Keep in mind: Max Weekly Hours is a ceiling, not a target. So Xert might only schedule close to that maximum once or twice, and you can plan ahead if needed.
Hope that helps clarify things! Let me know how it goes!
