Hi folks. I used Xert for a bit several years ago. Maybe in 2018 or so? I dropped it though and went to training peaks. I also use Strava Premium, Golden Cheetah and Intervals.icu.
I have dropped training peaks and I may drop Intervals.icu if XERT has some of the features I’m after.
I like the fact that intervals tracks my performance for the current time period and compares it with previous time periods on a convenient and easy to read graph. It also has a lot of good information regarding various power intervals. For example, 1min, 5min, 10min, 20min, all the way up to 3 and 4 hour power.
It also provides pretty good HR data so I can review VO2 workouts for example and see time in zone very easily.
Does XERT do this now? I’m not eligible for a free trial because I used to be a member, so I’m hoping to gather info from current users regarding a possible switch.
There are lots of good reasons to use Xert but if you want track time in zone and see HR analysis you’re out of luck… there are no real ‘zones’… am not aware you can easily see power records either, but you can see your current power curve based on your signature
There are good reasons for this though e.g power curve modeling in other platforms is based on power-duration records, which require perfect pacing and dedicated efforts while fresh… for multiple points on the curve… Xert would look at any efforts in context (what had you done before to generate fatigue) and also be able to analyze variable efforts significantly better (no comparison, other approaches capture nothing). E.g on a climb, 4min on 30 sec easier, 2 min on 1min easier, then 3 min all out… is quite unlikely to set any power duration records (all efforts after the first were starting from a fatigued state… and you wouldn’t go all out in the first 4 min if you knew there were still 6 hard minutes to come), but could well be a fitness breakthrough which Xert would identify, update your signature and power curve
You can always keep Xert and Strava and / or Intervals.icu… and maybe if you ask them nicely they’d give you another free trial (send an email to support)…
Thanks for the info. Kind of bummed they don’t have a way to pull in HR and power zone data. There’s a dozen apps out there for cyclists like us but none of them do all that we need, that’s super frustrating. I’ll keep reading on xert and see if it’s worth trying again. Thank you for the help.
I suggest you watch the Academy series videos which didn’t exist in 2018.
Mastering Xert (watch in order): Discover + Improve + Perform
If those pique your interest, subscribe for a month ($9.95) to experience all features with your data imported. Compare Plans – Xert (baronbiosys.com)
@ManofSteele I feel this is still my biggest struggle with xert.
E.g., if I re-build a typical VO2 workout using the xert workout designer, especialy if its an easy version (accumulating little fatigue), it might end up being classified as “endurance” focus.
I think this is not very helpful given how useful this training intensity is in terms of proven physiological adaptions. Sure, there are enough workouts with VO2 like focus (climber/GC specialist), but naturally these are much more difficult by definition and therefore not practical to start with during a fresh build phase, especially as a beginner.
Maybe you should think about a difficulty progression system like TR has instead of holding on to the focus metric.
Have you taken a look at the Closer or Elastic Heart series that vary in difficulty?
Start with the easiest one and see how well you do. Need to shorten it? Copy and shorten it.
Also, any hard workout can be completed in Slope mode if you are having problems under ERG control. If you make the effort, you’ll trigger adaptations. Same as outdoor workouts that don’t necessarily go as planned.
We have some really nice improvements planned for the coming update which will address this legitimate concern that you (and some others) have posed in the past. Perhaps a full blog post explaining the changes we have planned/made (plus why we made it) would be an interesting read for yourself and others who are curious.
Yes, you can do anything with Xert and many of its metrics are the most advanced and well thought out of any tool I know. But you have to know what you are after and roughly how to achieve it. Or use it with a coach.
Other tools, while being much less powerful, take you more by the hand.
Now I am curious what might come
