I’m relatively untrained at the moment hence the long time scales and XERT has me doing Low intensity until December before any hard efforts are programmed in, so I’m currently in base. I’m fine with that, consistency over the long haul always works I find, but the 171 TL seems a bit high and wasn’t that high when I did the ‘event’ originally.
But, would it be better to split this long-term goal into shorter time-period chunks to achieve the same goal?
Thanks for sharing your thoughts! I took a quick look at your account and have a suggestion that might enhance your experience with the Xert Forecast AI programs.
Currently, XFAI sets your availability based on your usual activity time, which means the programs are designed around your typical riding schedule. It seems like you’ve reached the limits of what can be achieved within your current training load.
To see more significant improvements, consider adjusting your availability. By increasing the ‘Weekly Availability’ settings, Xert can schedule longer training sessions, giving you the opportunity to push your fitness further. Remember, the principle of progressive overload is key - if you continue to do the same workouts/same rides, etc., your progress will plateau.
You might also think about selecting a shorter focus duration. For example, aiming to increase your 20-minute power can be quite time-intensive, so experimenting with a different focus could yield better results. In my example at the start, I’ve selected a focus of 6 min power, but I still expect that my 20 min power will increase as well!
Hope that helps/makes sense. Send me a PM if you want some help with that!
It looks like your program forecasted a final of 224 W. As you drag the circle forward & back, the empty circle will show the Forecasted signature/TL on that date, while the filled in circle shows your current signature/TL values (or completed, if viewing dates in the past).
I think configuration is not bad but not optimized.
Why it’s not possible to add a .gpx (without power data) as reference ?
I know that it’s possible to other system’s.
And suggest the power reference during the race on this .gpx.
The picture shows an old programme that I did 2 weeks ago. Obviously I’ve updated my programme as it was completed in one big ride when it should have taken me 8 months…
That’s exactly one of the ways that we anticipated/hoped that people would do it - nice!
The final target TL will depend on the XSS of the event & your Event Readiness. Obviously you can complete that ride with a TL much lower than 171, which is why we added the ‘ER’ metric. There seems to be some discussion in cycling ‘Durability’, and this is how we can indirectly account for that.
If you want to read more to better understand this, you can expand below...
For an athlete with a TL of 25 (1-star) trying to do a multi-hour hard ride is going to leave them fatigued pretty quickly and likely red status for multiple days after. However, if you train more and reach a higher training status (say 50 or 100 TL), then you have more fitness to ‘buffer’ you from the effects of fatigue, if that makes sense. I’ve tried to sketch out what I mean below…
Vertical axis is form over time (as you ride), X-axis could represent time (or XSS) of your event. The longer the ride is (or more XSS it accumulates), it will cause your form to decrease. The higher your starting form is, the larger your ‘buffer’ is before you reach ‘tired/very tired’ status.
Also important to note that this concept applies to all 3 energy systems: Low, High, & Peak. If your event will put a lot of strain on your Peak Power system, then it would be advantageous to have a well-trained Peak system that can tolerate the repetitive strain - and in fact, could be to your advantage if other competitors don’t have High/Peak systems that are as well trained
Your example can be explained by the numbers not shown in your screenshot.
Namely start/end TL table deltas.
Here’s an example of an 8 watt increase to my 8-minute power before running a forecast:
The other contributing factor is hours and availability. If too restrictive and you are already training at or near your max hours/week that will squash estimated deltas.
If you can run forecasts on a laptop or tablet you can more easily view all the factors before you run the forecast and see how changes to Focus and Specificity affect possibilities and projected deltas. For example, try Polar GC Specialist or Breakaway Specialist and note the difference in possible watt increases before Achievability text changes from green.
I’m not seeing what you describe in any of my forecast tests, but I’m only defining a rest day and most days have no restrictions.
Bottom line: If a forecast results in a flatlined TL graph, there is only so much improvement you can squeeze out of it. One thing you can try is increasing intensity on HIT days by adjusting XSSR (Difficulty) under General Setting. The question then becomes whether you can handle that increase.
That isn’t what you should assume from the projections which are based on your current and recent TL history.
There is nothing stopping you from leap frogging along the way and exceeding a projection.
This is especially likely to happen when starting TL is low.
It’s also a good idea to validate your current signature before running a forecast. Simplest way to do that is ride the original fitness test workout in Slope mode. Over and done in 30 minutes with less than 10 minutes of hard intervals. Even if nothing changes you confirm where you’re at (no latent BT).
Thanks for sharing! Looks like this program will significantly increase your training load from 1.5 stars up to 3-star status, which is fantastic! Further, your increase in training load is applied to all 3 of your training loads (Low, High, & Peak), which will help prepare you for the duration of the race, as well as giving you a nice boost in your power for those short/punchy climbs you’ll likely encounter in Belgium!
Simply having GPS/elevation data is nice, but one could ride on that course in a number of different ways… for example, you could attack hard up each of the climbs, or you could drop to your easiest gear and spin up them. The course is the same, but how it’s ridden will dictate the demands of the event. That’s why Xert’s analysis is based on power data! If you’ve done the event before (or know someone that’s done it), you could use that activity file with the Race AI option to plan your training!
That makes complete sense. I’ve always found that if my event XSS is 2-3 times my current training load then I’m fine with spinning the cranks the day after and return to training. But if it is going to be 4-5 times more, then I can either take it easier and still be able to ride the following day. But if I go for it then invariably I’ll get ill and have to have 3-4 days off the bike. Training load for me at least is like a sponge, or how much effort I can absorb without getting an upper respiratory tract infection
A brand new Xert user here (since 22nd of October or so) - Had no clue what I was doing, so I started with a short plan - everything just… quite randomly set:
Things look good, had one unexpected rest day due to knee issues which immediately pushed me backwards a bit, but I think I’m still on the track to reach the short term goal. I think I’ll try some longer plan after this, with more ‘blank’ days (I enjoy the workouts, but I like doing some Zwift racing as well, and they don’t always match the planned workouts that well + after a race I’m usually exhausted enough that I wont be doing another ride just to reach the TLs)
Good stuff, thanks for sharing! Wow - you have XSS per Hour preference maxed out, so Xert is going to give you some tough targets on your high intensity days! Be sure you pay attention to how you feel - with the recovery demands turned all the way down, Xert has your permission to pile up some serious training!
If Xert gives you a rest day, you can still ride easy. It just means you don’t have to train on that day to achieve your targeted increase in fitness.
With XFAI and the XSS Buckets data field for Garmin (if you have one), you could race on a prescribed high-intensity day and then aim to top up your buckets afterwards, if needed. I think it’s something I’m going to be doing myself this winter training season
Hi, very new user, started last week. I have very similar situation to Viking. I am unsure of my plan for the same reasons. I want to improve my 10min and I unfortunately have 8h. I don’t see why I would adjust my objective, for ex 10 vs 6min. I’m still hoping the system will tell me what I can achieve in 8h, if it is only 1w over the winter, so be it I guess.
That’s what I would do. Set an interim goal for a date in the spring followed by a 1-2 week lull then set a Goal/Event/Race forecast for August.
I’d have a hard time following a single forecast plan for 6-10 months or longer.
Consider that a standard Base-Build-Peak progression on XATA is 120 days long. That means you can literally go from sitting on your couch to a peak fitness level 4 months later.
XFAI provides a more nuanced approach to dial in particular targets with options like Readiness for an event or race. However, my attention span to stick with a mapped itinerary month after month is limited.
Another option is a XATA phased progression to get ready for Spring Time followed by a break period, then schedule a specific XFAI forecast for a target event in August. That’s how I’ll be using XFAI. YMMV
That is what I was thinking, though perhaps a VO2 block for 4 weeks and then follow a Steve Neal type tempo training for 6-8 weeks and see where I go from there. If XERT 2.0 was out I think that is the direction I would go as hopefully we will be able to track fitness/durability between LT1 and LT2
But it has been interesting to choose a hard workout/course and see through the Planner what XERT says I need to set a PR.
I think I have figured it out and I really like it! Way better than the XATA with regards to how it prescribes rest days and suggests other workouts as needed when a workout is missed, or ended up harder or easier than planned. After tweaking polarity, availability, flexibility, I’m well on track to reach my goal of adding 5 watts to my 6 min power in 5 weeks or so.
It’s great to see you focusing on improving your 10-minute power. With your current schedule of 8 hours a week, maximizing your training load is key to making the most of your available time!
While it’s understandable to want to stick with your goal, achieving significant gains will require some adjustments. Since you’re nearly maxed out on your training capacity, consider optimizing your sessions further. By maximizing the XSS you achieve each week, you can work toward those marginal gains. If time is a limiting factor, increasing workout difficulty is one way to pack more training into your schedule. Try adjusting the XSS per Hour Preference (under Program Settings > General) to enhance the intensity of your sessions.
For more substantial improvements, consider freeing up additional time for training if possible. This would help Xert grow your training load and ultimately boost your fitness.
Feel free to share your thoughts or ask questions as you explore your options. We’re here to help!
Best of luck with your training, and I look forward to hearing about your progress!
You’ll need a .fit file with power & elevation data though, or you can use one of your past activities. We don’t allow users to upload a gpx file, since Xert needs the power data to estimate the training demands of the ride/course.
