After a few weeks of trial there’s still quite a lot I’m not getting with Xert. Just looking at the suggested workout which is SMART - Highway Star, this has suitability as “good, challenging, out of focus”. The first workout in the recommended list is SMART Best of you which has suitability as “good, challenging, near focus”; why was the latter not preferred?. As my XATA says I’m tired (I don’t think I am as I’ve only just started base and before that I had really dropped volume and intensity for my annual “rest”) and that I should consider an endurance workout or activity, I’m puzzled by the selection of the suggested workout and the recommended list 
It’s makes a random choice from the top 4. On the trial subscription, the system has limited trial workouts to pick from.
What is your program type set to? (TED, Continuous, Challenge)
If TED, what is target date set to?
What is current focus duration set to? (Athlete Type)
What is your current status stars count?
Program is set to TED for mid March 23.
Focus duration is set to Climber*.
Stars count is 3.5 green.
*I’m actually wanting to train towards an effort of around 40 minutes, after a considerable amount of zone 2 riding, should I change to a different focus duration.
You just entered Base phase (120 days from TED) from Pre-base.
In Pre-base a variety of workouts are suggested dependent on form. Once in Base endurance level workouts will be recommended.
During Build focus duration will fluctuate then zero in on selected Athlete Type during Peak.
See: Program Phases – Xert (baronbiosys.com)
You can change Athlete Type during a progression, but the idea is to match target focus duration for your event during Peak phase.
Selecting an endurance quadrant type as the target narrows the range of duration points experienced since you’d me moving from Endurance in Base to Endurance in Build/Peak. For this reason you may want to consider a shorter duration during Base/Build such as GC Specialist (8:00) or Breakaway Specialist (5:00) for higher intensity workouts. You can do this under Goals and Update Advice or temporarily on-the-fly by using Filter to recast the recommended list for the day. IOW feel free to experiment during your progression to see what changes in the recommendations. You can always change back to your original settings before deciding what to do.
Rather than a distinct workout, XATA is a set of guidelines to consider with suggested possibilities at or around target focus and XSS for the day. Any of the top four entries are viable as is recasting the list by setting a different time duration. You may also decide to adjust the Freshness Feedback Slider if you think calculated form doesn’t match how you feel.
Xert is a three level strain model (low, high, peak) instead of 5/7 zones.
Predicted form (tired to fresh) determines how often high intensity will be recommended during Build/Peak but status stars count also factors in. The higher your training load level (stars count) the higher the difficulty (diamond count) you should be able to handle. At 3.5 stars you are at a level that includes a variety of workouts in Xert. You can manipulate how quickly and how high you want TL to rise before your TED by adjusting ramp rate. You might choose a steady climb using Slow/Moderate IR or progress in blocks by raising IR up and down over the weeks ahead.
If you make a change in volume and intensity allow at least a week to pass (ignoring advice and needle position) in order for XATA to recognize that change. XATA considers your recent history plus any day-of-the-week pattern you establish. The Pacer Needle operates on a rolling 7-day window (weighted average XSS). Rather than consider deficit/surplus as an exact target to hit, consider it a range. Deficit is pts below Noon position and Surplus is above Noon. If the needle floats within 11am to 1pm you are attaining your desired ramp rate.
Tired (yellow) normally indicates your high intensity system has been stressed and you need to recover before the next HI session. Very Tired (red) = recovery level only or a rest day (you decide).
During Base phase endurance level workouts can include intervals between LTP and TP since anything below TP in Xert is considered low intensity while above TP is high intensity. However, you control the direction of your training through the choices you make day to day. If you prefer your Base period consists entirely of LTP-ish workouts (traditional Z2), you can select those instead.
XATA provides a set of guidelines while you choose/decide what’s best for you today.
In the event you go rogue XATA will adapt to whatever you decide to do. 
Endurance quadrant = focus duration 20:00 minutes or higher.
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Thanks for taking the time with that very informative reply.
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