I have been using xert for 2/12 months using Time Trial Athlete:
You are in the Build phase of your program and have chosen a Maintenance weekly improvement rate. You have a Training Surplusof 174 XSS points allowing you about 1.4 days before doing your next workout. . Estimated break until next workout is 1.4 days .
Advice is based on your recent activities performed on Mondays as of 11:59 pm
My aim is to regain my fitness from cycling accidents. I started using exert from 1st April 20 to date and found improvement.
I am looking to start Time Trials, 10, 25 miles race season 2021. How do I set my goals, and which is the best information to enter. I have 12 months to reach my goals.
Sorry if this sounds a silly question, but any guidance would be appreciated. Thank you for taking the time in reading my post.
DG
I strongly suggest you read through the support section and FAQs. There’s a good beginner introduction there. Also, the podcast series is brilliant for explaining how to get the most out of the system.
Good to hear your are back on the bike and that Xert helped in improving your fitness.
I agree with @TwentySpokes that reading the support section and FAQ’s helps a lot.
Xert might be difficult to understand in the beginning and the more you read about it the better it is.
12 months is still far away so there is plenty of time to improve.
If you set your target date to somewhere in 2021 then you will probably only doing endurance workouts for the rest of 2020 which might be a bit boring.
My suggestion would be to set an intermediate target date somewhere 6 weeks from now and set your improvement rate to slow. That way you will go trough the training plan phases “Build, Peak and Taper” (http://baronbiosys.com/glossary/program-phases/) and keep improving your fitness. Once you have reached your target date, set it again 6 weeks ahead, etc. etc. until your first race in 2020. Approx 6 weeks before your first race set the target date to the race date.
Furthermore try to do some fun races in between to stay motivated. I find the races in Zwift very enjoyable and a nice break from the workouts. I try to do one race a week. And the beauty is that Xert will merge your race result seemless in your training program.
Just let me know if this was usefull and/or you need more information.
Good luck with your training!
Sound advise, although depending on David’s current fitness level, he might want to go through the complete cycle, including base. Plus, for build, peak and taper, you should allow more than 6 weeks.
Thank you, My fitness levels went from 160 watts to 200W hr. Trouble with me is that I want it now, but I know that serious training is required and I am willing to put the effort in. XERT, I find is brilliant how it has helped me to increase my power during the time of using.
As others have already mentioned here, I think aiming for something later this year will still be beneficial. One, it gives you something to train towards now. Two, it’s definitely important to go through the full training cycle (especially the peak and taper), since everyone responds a little differently and you’ll want to experiment a bit to see how long you need to taper before an event. Three, you wont be able to build forever… even professional athletes take at least a month off of structured training each year. By making an artificial target event towards the end of the year, you have something to train towards, can practice a good taper, and then plan on taking a bit of a physical (and mental) break from structured training before ramping up your training again over the winter months in preparation for your TT’s next season.
Hopefully that makes sense! Glad you’re enjoying Xert so far. We have a very helpful community here, but also make use of the support page & podcasts! Plenty to learn, but the more you learn, the more you’ll get out of the system! Good luck with your training!