In case you may not have noticed, we recently added some neat functionality from the ‘Train’ tab in Xert. When a training workout or session is upcoming or ready, you’ll now see a few buttons at the bottom of the panel:
The Play button will open the Xert Session Player in a new tab
The gauge icon will open just the Xert gauges (Power, HR, Cadence, etc.) in a new window
The Chart icon will open just the Workout Chart in a new window
After opening the Gauges & Workout Chart, both their windows can be resized and repositioned however you’d like on your screen. This will allow you to monitor your Xert workout stats while simultaneously having other apps/windows running. This is especially helpful for larger screens - Laptops/desktops hooked up to a TV, for example. Overall, this should give you more flexibility in how you choose to use Xert for indoor training I’ve outlined just a few potential options below!
Personally, I use this for my endurance rides when I want to watch a movie or TV show, or using Zwift while doing an Xert SMART workout. Hope you get a chance to try it out for yourself!
Nice! Entertainment is key while doing workouts on the rollers
Could you eventually also bring back the simple “select” workout button? I use the XERT IQ-App on my Garmin to do the workouts and currently have to “play” the desired workout first to get it processed in the IQ-App, if I do not want to go with the suggested workout.
Not likely… the ‘selected’ workout idea was confusing to new users. You’ll just need to hit the ‘play now’ button instead of the ambiguous ‘selecting’ a workout. Once that’s done, you can launch the Xert Workout Player on your Garmin.
I would like to second Pordus. For me the confusion is the other way around. “Play now” sounds to me like I’m actually starting the workout this second and that’s not what I want to do when at my computer finding and selecting the workout for today.
Maybe because the computer is nowhere near my bike. I use EBC for the actual playing and monitoring but the web site on the computer is easier to use to find what I want to do today, maybe modify it a bit in the workout designer and select it in advance.
I do watch videos while riding and might try the new popup windows but that would still not be the computer I use to select the workout but some old laptop connected to an old monitor by my bike, kinda hard to use with the mouse on a box and no chair and so on. Not sure how ‘normal’ that setup is though.
Can you actually ‘play’ the workout from a webbrowser? You need an app (Android/iOS/Garmin) to play the workout, right? I try to get used to it but it still kinda feels wrong to press something called ‘play now’ when I want to select a workout I will do after changing clothes and getting something to drink, about 10 to 20 minutes or sometimes more later in another room with totally different equipment (phone, laptop, bike).
Just an opinion though, it works the way it is and that’s most important.
I think that is the main contributing factor. Most of us start the selection process on our laptop/tablet at our trainer desk just before we work out. Play selects the workout followed by EBC (or Connect IQ player) to Start the workout which is normally as few seconds later but could be minutes later (“crap, forgot to fill bottles”).
Since Xert is designed as a dual device experience the typical setup is two screens.
EBC on your phone (or Connect IQ player on Garmin) plus tablet/laptop/PC displaying XO and the Session Player or the gauge/chart pop outs surrounding whatever else you want to watch in another Window (Zwift, Netflix, etc.). Many users also mirror or use an HDMI cable to a big screen TV.
Or here’s an idea if they decide to change the word.
Renaming the button on the web-page is only half of the story. As I said I use the XERT CIQ-App on my Garmin to do the workouts. The quickest way to select a workout just before I ride is to pick up my phone, open the XERT app, go to train and browse the workout library. But in the IOS-App there is no way to select a workout - only a play button, that starts the workout right away:
Having the simple “select” functionality here would help, instead of ending and discarting the workout in the IOS-App prior to start the workout on the Garmin.
No need to open EBC to select a workout if you don’t intend to run the workout on your phone.
Instead bookmark xertonline.com on Safari, view the Training page, and make your selection from there.
Default list is recommended workouts, but you can alternately search the library.
This also means viewing full XATA details with option to select a Session for indoor training.
Next run the Connect IQ player on your Garmin.
I’ve outlined just a few potential options below!
