Use of XERT for improving training

Training
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Hey folks.

I’m nearly at the end of my trial period and working out if this is a platform to pay for (just a pragmatic decision making process for me - nothing personal etc etc etc)

I came in to the trial not being too sure about what the key events are, hence the trial.

I know I am looking for:
Simple chart of training stress/summary for ‘form’ (even though training stress and form are often judged best by knowing one’s body, I like it)
Simple charts of peak power at various timeframes (eg 1min, 2min, 3min, 5,20,20 etc - ideally configurable to my own durations - this is to allow me to compare progress on specific workouts
Same for HR
The ability to plan for the next few months dynamically (as I was aware that was a differentiator) and that might be the main difference.

Then anything else that helps me understand progress, useful for training in the next year.

The training stress chart is there so that’s cool.
I haven’t found a simple way of extracting power and hr per duration/configuring duration. I know there’s a chart but I literally have to start moving a mouse around to get each bit of data bit by bit on that - bit slow.

Planning is work in progress. There are some oddities about breakthroughs that I often think - ‘great something’s gone well’ and then I look at the report and yeah, not really :rofl: so still working on how to use the planner.
I tend to set it to 12 hours and then get told a few days later I need to do 17 hours a week for the next 2 months, so that’s a bit odd so far but presumably something to do with me not being a full time rider maybe.

Other things I’ve been looking at. MPA is a number but it’s just that (so far). It’s certainly a fact that the more above threshold we go, the harder it is to maintain that until the lines cross but it’s just a number (or am I being daft).

What else have I not used so far that I’m missing?

You folks will all know better than me I suspect !

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I’ll let others chime in here as well, but thought I’d touch on a few points…

  • Xert was not made with the intention to allow users to slide & dice data every single way possible - most athletes find this overwhelming and/or unnecessary. There are already a number other platforms that already allow users to do this, so doesn’t make sense for us to spend time copying what is already available elsewhere. Instead, we have continued to deliver information that is not available anywhere else (MPA, Strain, 3-dimensional fitness tracking, etc.)
  • Does it need to be a chart? Xert aims to deliver your training status information in once glance with the # of stars & their colour
  • MPA is an actual, real phenomenon! Xert is the first (and only) platform to quantify it & display it in real time! :smiley: If MPA wasn’t a real physiological phenomenon, then why couldn’t you continue to hold 600 W for an hour straight? Or why couldn’t weight-lifting athletes continue to do their 1 rep max multiple times in a row? Maybe it’s because their Max Power is decreasing with fatigue :wink:
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Thanks for the reply.
No need for training stress / form chart I guess as long as the degree of difference between them is visible from that dial (it sadly told me I was tired today after a 96hr rest - that was odd, but hey it’s always possible)

Power by time - that isn’t complex, and is remarkably easy to understand … even if it was just 1/5/10/20/30 min numbers. But hey we can’t all agree on everything. I would not want to pay for two platforms to get that info too.

MPA - I’ll rephrase. Obvs our power output capability drops as we continue to work above threshold - my question is - as I know that’s a fact, what does the number tell me as far as planning training or executing training. Is it a measure that I can use for something?
For example I know my maximum power, I know my threshold. My MPA will be my max (I use 5s for mine but of course everyone may vary) until I start working above threshold and eventually it will drop to an all day power at some point due to fatigue.
So we agree it’s a thing, but how do I use it to measure the success or otherwise of training with Xert?
(I suspect as always I’m missing the key thing here, so spoke if that’s a daft question)

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Re: MMP data - mentioned in another thread, it doesn’t add much information to what Xert can already offer.

To further answer your question of “does Xert work?”… Here’s my little experiment I’ve been working on…

No breakthroughs in the last 8 months, yet Xert has identified a large increase in my fitness. All these improvements have been determined without me needing to do any 2 min, 5 min, 8 min, 20 min efforts just for the sake of setting a new 2 min, 5 min, 8 min, 20 min power records…

I’m a firm, firm believer that consistency is key! Xert has done an incredible job of keeping me accountable with the XATA & keeping my training pacer centered. Now with the Forecast AI training program, I’m generally aiming to keep most of my forecast circles green, which I know gets me closer to my Target Power goal - one day at a time.

Over the last several months, I barely noticed any material change to my fitness signature from one day to the next. And to be honest, if it was easy to increase your threshold quickly, then everyone would be able to see instant improvement with little effort! However, I hope that my progress can help encourage others to simply trust the process. If you start to add up these minuscule daily marginal gains over a larger time frame, you can start to sit back and see a significant improvement from your hard work.

Xert has helped me increase my training load in a steady, manageable fashion. You can see that other than a few illnesses, I haven’t needed to take a rest week despite training 6 days/wk on average for the last 4 months. Over that time, my threshold has gone up 24 W (~10%) and if we trust the Xert math, then in theory I should be able to increase my Threshold back to 300 W by mid-summer, if I can stick to the program :slight_smile:

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As a side note, I would say I’m pretty well past any “noob gains” from simply doing any training.

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I think your first statement there ‘’does Xert work’ answers my question, which was ‘how does Xert help me’

Its about the Xert providing a plan

I think I was struggling to understand what the primary benefit was, and if it’s the plan (and workouts) then cool.
I know XERT forecasts I may be able to improve threshold power (certain threshold power, not 20min number) by 3w in about 2.5-3 months at 17hrs a week.

That in itself was useful and probably tells me my time improving is realistically past me. As I’ll never be doing 17hrs a week (even though both times I’ve used the planner I insisted on 12hrs, within a few days I’m told I need 16.8hrs and that’s just not happening. I like my cycling, but for me that’s just bonkers (unless I’m doing one of of target rides that week)

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Ps absolutely love that target. That’s enormous. :dart:
Happy training.

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Hi Scott,

You and I have been running the same experiment and I’ve been seeing the same results :laughing:

I’ve always used the XATA continous improvement and just tried to keep the arrow pointing to 12o’clock . My last target event was in September and my training load and threshold dropped prettly steadily until I started the AI beta this winter. I havne’t had a breakthrough since Novemeber and my threshold is up about 15 watts since Janruary and is on track for 300 for my next event in May.

I’m curious how the AI will react once I start riding outside more my workout volumn is set more by the weather and how punchy the club rides get instead of plugging away at workouts on the smart trainer.

@ManofSteele, do you have the you decay method set to No Decay? Will you change it when you get to the end of your AI training plan?

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If you’re on the trial and you don’t have data - with breakthroughs - at different training loads, then the system is likely going to be a bit more conservative. It wouldn’t be too responsible for us to tell users with ~3 months of data that they could reach 400 W Threshold in 3 months :rofl:

The system uses your historical data to make predictions about where your fitness could be based on what you’ve historically been able to achieve. If you don’t have good data and/or not a lot of data in the system, the predictions are likely going to be less accurate. Since I have a few years of data in the system and breakthroughs at a number of different training loads, the system has pretty solid data for what it takes to reach a particular fitness signature.

I think I can relate to yourself… In my case, the only time I’ve reached 300 W TP before was when I hit a total training load over 100, which is a lot for me. Unsurprisingly, the ForecastAI training program predicts that I’ll need to achieve a TL of ~120 to get back there again. In theory, I just need to do the work to get myself back there! :slight_smile:

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Good stuff! Love to see it!

In theory, if you’re diligent in completing the required XSS & especially staying disciplined on endurance days (so you don’t prolong yellow status which could result in missing important high-intensity sessions), then you should have no issue reaching your Target Power or being prepared for your Target Event. Especially now that Xert can recommend outdoor activities that you’ve done before as part of your training, you can review the route (and how you rode it) and that should allow you to achieve the recommendations without being a slave to the trainer :wink: That’s how we intended the feature to be used, anyways!

Negatory. I’ve been on ‘Slow Decay’ for ~2 years now. Works a treat for me, especially now that aspects of the ‘No Decay - Training Load Matched Decay’ are added to all decay settings. I don’t ever really see a need to switch decay methods anymore.