I must have something set wrong as if I ask Xert to insert the recommended workout for each day then it just adds the same ones again and again and would happily have me do an endurance workout every day for weeks in a row and yet never thinks I am tired. (Always blue stars)
Feels a bit broken. Anyone any ideas what is going wrong?
You can’t really see in the image, but it’s just suggesting an endurancew workout everyday,. won’t get fooled again, or stuck in the middle, best of you again and again
Ah I think I have sussed it out. Whilst in the 1st month’s free trial you only have access to a few workouts. This seems like a bad idea. How am I supposed to figure out if this is going to work for me if I can’t even see what a sensible plan would look like?
Also even with the few workouts included in the trial, why is the training plan attempting to crush me with an enduirance workout evey single day(I know I clicked add one each day, but it has some recovey workouts in the trial as well) and yet thinks I will never be tired from it? I gaurantee you that after 2 weeks solid of eundurance workouts everyday my legs would feel tired!!!
Well I guess the only way to try Xert properly is to start a subscription to get access to all the workout and then see if I can create a sensible training plan on it.
This experience has very nearly turned me off it though as I’m now very skeptical about the adaptive planner
The adaptive advisor doesn’t offer advice on when you can train. You need to decide that and if you can train everyday, then you may want to increase your improvement rate. It expects you to continue to train as you have been previously only increase in volume and/or intensity for progressive overload that helps you acheive the improvement rate you’re looking for.
Be sure to listen to our podcasts to understand how the advisor helps you understand what you need to do to improve. Part of the goal is to help you improve but also to help you understand what it takes to improve.
Thanks for checking things out. Happy to help further if needed.
I’ve had similar issues. Although I’ve perhaps completed four hours of endurance training over a couple of days the dashboards are still saying I’m fresh, when I can hardly get out of bed in the mornings. It doesn’t feel very adaptive and this is based on more than four weeks of training with Xert and failing back the improvement rate. Not sure why but I’ve only been offered about 10 different workouts the entire time I’ve been training odd…
Yes and No.
Yes, there are distinct benefits to starting a subscription to gain full access and ability to load 90 days worth of power data history.
No, you don’t need to populate the planner to effectively use Xert.
The 30 day demo didn’t do it for me because it takes longer than that to understand how Xert works. It’s different than other platforms in scope and methodology.
To fully grasp the process you need to set a TED (target event date) 120 days from now in order to experience the phases (pre-base, base, build, taper, event).
You should note Xert is a hybrid polarized platform, not SSB/SST based. The workout schedule differs accordingly with base spent primarily on easier endurance rides. Workouts get tougher during build phase, but many taper down after the middle hump as fatigue sets in. As a result you’re not beating your head against the wall suffering DNF intervals like other platforms/plans I’ve tried.
As to whether you are tired or not day to day, there is a freshness feedback scale you can dial up/down which adjusts future recommendations accordingly.
Most of us Xerters DO NOT populate the planner other than week to week on occasion. That’s a main reason I switched to Xert. No more cookie-cutter 8-16 week plans based on SSB/SST which drove me nuts.
The “planner” in Xert’s case is XATA which dynamically determines training load recommendations through a phased progression and monitors how you a adapt day to day.
You can alter athlete type (focus duration), and freshness feedback (tired or not) at any time. You can also change IR (improvement rate) should your hours per week change or you wish to ramp up and increase TL (training load).
You can follow daily recommendations verbatim or select from the list of twenty suggested workouts (click Load More button). The recommended workout is randomly selected from that list’s top four matches based on your current settings and status.
You can alternately populate the week ahead with a defined pattern such as easy, hard, long, and rest days. XATA is based on a rolling week and will learn your weekly pattern.
XATA won’t automatically recommend a rest day (I suggest you do that) or BT (breakthrough) workouts, but the system will warn you when your fitness signature has become stale (time for a BT workout/ride).
In general your status level (star count) will coincide with workout difficulty (diamond count) as you move through the phases, but that doesn’t mean you can’t tackle a harder workout when feeling especially fresh or go easy if you’re feeling off.
If your schedule goes wonky you can also pick a workout based on time available today.
You can mix indoor workouts and outdoor rides by using a workout’s focus/duration as a rough guide when outdoors.
Carrying a daily deficit forward is normal. No need to try and wipe it. Just keep the pacer needle pointing up and you’re doing fine.
Use the Xert Mobile (XM) app at least for all your indoor workouts on a smart trainer. An exported workout run on another platform is not the same thing. You’ll see why when you experience a Smart workout (MPA based) or curvilinear interval or one with a mode change.
Sorry if I got carried away with newbie tips.
The main takeaway is that Xert is flexible which is a major difference compared to traditional training plans. Xert is power based training evolved. It requires a leap of faith.
@nige25 – You need to take some control over your destiny. See above, especially the freshness feedback scale (under Goals) and workout selection options.
Thanks for the podcast tip @xertedbrain I will work my way through those. Already listened to one of them and now understand why I can do lots of sub-threshold and sweetspot workouts without getting too fatigued, being as my LTP is 86% of my TP, which perhaps is also why the anerobic stuff destroys me, due to my fast/slow twitch balance perhaps?
@ridgerider2 Thanks very much for all that info. I can see there is a lot to digest here. I have paid up and now trying to pick my way through it all. My main problem right now is trying to fit in the amount of training Xert wants me to do. To improve it’s telling me I need a weekly load of 70+ and fitting that much into the week is a challenge. I’ve loaded up 3 months of power data already for it to go on. I’ve set the improvement rate to Moderate-1
I did kind enjoy just having a prescripted plan to follow, but I’m gonna give this a good crack as I love the idea of the system being able to account for any races or group rides I do instead of the scheduled training.
I think quite shortly I might need to schedule in a deload week which will presumably then mean I can dial down the weekly stress and then ramp it up week on week again.
I will only plan a week in advance and I guess I should set a target event date as I don’t have one at the mo.
See above, especially the freshness feedback scale (under Goals) and workout selection options.