I am rarely training for an event or have some kind of time frame in mind.
What I really want is “give me a good workout for today, that will increase my fitness for a focus and improvement rate I have chosen”.
It is a bit like continuous, but with some kind of plan for the next couple of weeks? And adapting this in case I miss days. And a forecast of where my fitness is going.
A start would be to always create an AI workout for the current day, no matter the program picked.
Maybe some of this is already possible, and I am just not able to figure it out.
I think all of what you’re asking for is possible right now. If you click the ‘Training’ tab, and then ‘Program’, you can choose ‘Continuous’ from the three listed options (it’s the middle one). You will then need to decide the kind of effort you want to focus on in the ‘Focus’ dropdown. In the ‘Improvement Rate’ drop down, you’ll choose how fast you want to improve, from where you are now, and in the table you’ll see how hours that will take. The system will then show you on a daily basis how much work you need to do, and what the focus of your workout should be. It’ll also suggest workouts from the library, and give the option to autogenerate workouts.
As @jjamesv says, Continuous is adaptive training for the Focus Duration you want to work on (which can be changed at any time) at whatever ramp rate you want to maintain (which can be changed at any time) for however long you want to train that way (two weeks, 3/1 block, etc.). XATA locates appropriate activities (indoors, outdoors, virtual) based on Suitability and form (fresh to tired).
You pick what you want to do today from the recommendations or adjust Duration and/or Filter to change things up.
There is never one workout picked for you. You have a choice to make from a number of suitable alternatives. Top of the list doesn’t necessarily mean that’s the best option today.
XATA adapts to whatever you decide to do.
Autogen is useful when a suitable workout isn’t found in the library or you don’t like any of the options recommended. Or you want a simple workout to ride outdoors (terrain and traffic permitting).
You can track your progress and trends on the XPMC chart.
If your HIT activities aren’t generating BTs now and then you can periodically test yourself by selecting a BT workout from the library to validate your signature.
In Continuous mode you can leave the calendar blank or follow XATA guidelines to select tentative workouts for the next week. If conditions change, simply do something else when the day arrives or take the day off. Any pre-planned entries will disappear if you decide to do something else.
The Training Pacer tracks your 7-day weighted average XSS against the ramp rate you’ve set.
Stay within 11am-1pm position over the week and you’re on track to match projected TL at that ramp rate setting.