Guys, really enjoying the podcast. I’ve been using Xert for ~2 years and am learning a ton about the system and hope to continue to learn more. They’re super-helpful and entertaining.
That said, two minor things that stick out to help improve the podcast:
The loudness difference between the 3 of you is notable. Scott is fine, I have a hard time hearing Armando without turning the volume way up and Stephen… is very easy to hear If you can maybe adjust that somehow, maybe mic placement, that would be really nice. I listen in the car and often have a hard time with finding the right volume.
We can hear your phones vibrating it’s not a big deal, but it’s enough that I have to look and see if my phone buzzed
Overall though, keep up the good work and I hope you continue to go in-depth on how Xert works and what good training is.
The goal of these podcasts was to help ease the learning curve of Xert by highlighting how Xert is different than other methods used to train with power. We decided to do it ‘Joe Rogan’ style, where the mic goes hot and we basically have an open conversation. There’s no editing/retakes, which is why you’ve heard phones buzzing before (the support email is busier some days than others ). We’ll work on avoiding that in the future and look to improve the production quality moving forward.
Thanks for the feedback Scott! The style is great, I like that it’s an open conversation and am not suggesting you go back and do edits, etc. mostly just something to be aware of
One topic that might be interesting to go into more, for me anyway, is something Armando raised in episode 7 (I think). He mentioned that the only way to keep improving was to keep spending more time on the bike and if you can’t increase time then you have to consider dropping improvement rate. I get the idea, but it sounds then like you’re saying you can’t improve at all if you don’t spend more hours. I currently do 9-10 hours/week on the bike and while I get that to improve faster I need to ride more. But I’m already just about maxed and probably can’t go more than 11-12. It feels a bit de-motivating to think that I’m sitting in the basement sweating away, suffering and not improving. It certainly feels like I should be improving. It would be interesting to hear how Xert deals with increasing training when the time is essentially maxed-out. Does the system increase intensity to match? Or do you just have to decrease improvement rate and deal with it? Apologies if I’ve misinterpreted the point, that’s why a bit more depth on it would be nice
Cheers and greetings from MN.
The idea of progressive overload is the foundation of this argument, and training in general for any sport. In order to promote positive adaptation (and become more fit), you either need to spend more time, increase the intensity of the stimulus, or both. Aftering seeing thousands of users’ data, we see this pattern over and again. There is a direct relationship between the training loads (low, high, peak) and the athletes’ fitness signature (TP, HIE, PP).
You can maintain fitness by keeping the same allotment of hours per week (IR set to maintenance), but unless you’re able to spend more time riding, you wont be providing enough stimulus to improve - your body becomes adjusted to that workload. Our bodies are very efficient, and creating new mito/increasing capllary density, etc. is very ‘expensive’ for the body…if there’s no need for them, your body wont continue to increase/improve them. You can combat this by using intensity to increase your total XSS/week, but you will need to pay attention to your freshness as you add more intensity into your training. Also, you’ll see a shift in the total distribution of XSS (more high/peak will replace some of the low). You’ll see a change in the progression focus type (seen on the Strain tab of the XPMC) as you do this.
We can maybe provide more in-depth discussion on this in the future… Cheers
I’m interested in this topic too. For example - once you’ve maxxed out XSS/week is it more sensible to maintain that level for a couple of months or instead let things drop down for a week or two and start building back up again?
Really excellent podcast - chanced upon it when searching for more cycling podcasts in Apple Podcasts. Listened to a few episodes and decided to try out XERT. After 2 training sessions, I am hooked. It takes indoor training to an entirely new level!
On the podcast - you might consider each of you having your own mic instead sharing one mic - reminds me of the conference calls at the office!
I have never really understood what the Focus of 2:18:22 means and the 209W. I am 93 XSS short of target but I have completed my effort today so what gives.
The XATA wont always recommend completely closing your XSS deficit, in order to prevent over-training. It factors many things, including surplus/deficit, form, training phase, etc.
Think about the recommended Focus as an intensity. In your example, XATA is telling to accumulate your XSS at your 2:18:00 hour power (which is essentially sub-threshold endurance). The 209W is indicating that IS your 2:18:00 power. If you had not already trained today, you should read this as: aim to accumulate ~93 XSS by riding as much at/near 209W as you can.
The podcast are great I found them this week and up-to no10 it has opened my eyes on the whole way Xert works which is great to get the training right, keep up the good work.
If you can maybe adjust that somehow, maybe mic placement, that would be really nice. I listen in the car and often have a hard time with finding the right volume.
it’s not a big deal, but it’s enough that I have to look and see if my phone buzzed