I’m currently trying out XFAI with a GC goal set for March 29, 2026, to test how it works and see if it suits me. So far, I only have one A race planned for June 20, 2026, which I’d like to focus my preparation on, so I’m experimenting with different settings. I’ve now decided to do a smaller block using XFAI to prepare for spring, after which I’d switch either to XATA TED or XFAI Event for a road race of about 110 km.
I’d like to know how to best work with XFAI and, for example, how the IR pace is determined like in XATA—is there something similar? How often do you use Adapt Forecast? Only when the red dot appears, or before every workout? Right now, I have a workout planned with XSS 81, but when I click Adapt Forecast (no red icon showing), it adjusts the workout to XSS 67. So how should I proceed? Should I check the plan every day using Adapt Forecast, or only when the red dot lights up? Thanks in advance for your response.
I suppose it’s a bit of personal preference! The red dot typically appears when Xert identifies something is “wrong” with the plan (training when very tired, high intensity scheduled when yellow/tired, etc.). When you adapt, Xert will try to reshuffle your training to remove any identified issue with your training plan. However, if you skip days on days of training, the original target may no longer be achievable so you may need to re-forecast a new training goal.
XFAI doesn’t directly use Improvement Rate like XATA. Instead it schedules the training needed for each system (Lo/Hi/Pk) to achieve the target training loads by the target date without training any system when they’re tired.
If you’re still very early in your training plan, there’s likely to be more volatility when adapting, since what you do today doesn’t have much material impact for your fitness in June. However, if you’re on a tight plan (with little room for error) or as you near your target date, there becomes less “wiggle room”, if you will.
Personally, I like to roughly organize my training for the week on Sunday. This might include pinning/swapping workout days depending on my (Zwift) race schedule for the week & other recurring weekly group rides that I host. That gives me a good idea of which days I’ll be doing low intensity or high intensity.
Once I have things set, I typically just leave things for the week, even if trainings go a bit longer or shorter than I originally planned. Short of completely failing a workout (which never happens) or completely skipping a day of planned training (rarely happens) I’ll just leave it for the week and then re-assess and adapt my training as needed at the conclusion of the week before planning the next week of training.
I found this approach gives me a good balance of adaptability around my/family’s needs for the week, but also gives me a pseudo-schedule of how long & what to expect on a given day.
I adapt it when I know I have made/done significant changes from what was forecasted. like take a 48 hour offseason. still waiting on Xert to dump that offseason on my cal.
Thanks for the information. I have one more question, because I’m still going in circles about which approach and plan makes more sense for me right now – whether to use XATA or XFAI.
Unlike XATA, I haven’t really found any good explanatory videos for XFAI, so I’m curious how you decide which approach to use and when. Ideally, I’d like to set up a plan along the lines of: “I want to train, I have X hours per week available, on specific days I can train at most Y hours,” and use that to prepare for road events around 100–120 km, without having to worry about a precise target like “how many watts I want to gain.”
This whole “set your target watts” part confuses me a bit, and I’m worried I’ll either overshoot the goal or underestimate it.
Thanks in advance for your response.