admin – Xert Breakthrough Training

Xert Coach & Athlete Profile – Richard Wharton

admin — Fri, 07 Jul 2017 13:44:16 +0000

Richard Wharton

Dallas, Texas

Richard is a USA Cycling Certified Coach at the Cycling Center Dallas

Coaches Love Xert

“I first began working with Xert on an experimental basis back in the late fall of 2015.

In early 2016, I used it exclusively to train for a stage race that was to be held in April. The workouts were REALLY hard, but Xert showed that my fitness was improving, and my ‘focus’was hitting the goals.

Furthermore, Xert told me when to back off and ‘focus’ onrecovery. I was really skeptical at first, but became more and more convinced as time went on. I ended up with one of my best efforts at the event in five years.

The latest versions of the software and the interval protocols have further convinced me that Xert is accurate, predictive, and is an all-new paradigm for cyclists and triathletes looking to improve their fitness and performance.

I love it so much that I have begun to implement it with clients at my studio and online. Anyone with a current-generation Garmin or Android App can run the program, witness the workout in real-time, and challenge themselves mentally and physically to regular fitness breakthroughs. As a full-time coach since 1993, I really have never seen anything like this at all, and I can’t wait to see what’s next!”

Richard also provides detailed training on how to use Xert. You can find out more about the Richard and the Dallas Cycling Center with this link.

Xert Athlete Profiles – Nigel

admin — Fri, 07 Jul 2017 13:43:54 +0000

Nigel is a rider in his 60s who had a catastrophic injury.

Overcoming adversity with Xert

“November 31, 2013 I was given a 50/50 chance to ever walk again following emergency surgery for a Cauda equine spinal cord injury. Since then I’ve worked hard to achieve some form of recovery.”

Nigel’s injury

Bike Set Up

Ridley SL Frame
SRAM ETAP
Quarq power meter

What happened

Starting immediately after surgery, Nigel started the long process of recovery.

By February 2014 he was able to “shuffle about with the aid of two crutches and to ride my wife’s step through bike on a turbo trainer for 3 minutes.”

Keeping his feet on the pedals due to pain was just one of the struggles Nigel faced. However, Nigel built up enough strength to be able to mount his own bike and with assistance to clip in and out of his pedals.

“Later I discovered Zwift which meant I could be entertained whilst I worked at my endurance, and given that I was making progress in 2016, I bought the Tacx Neo.

In 2016 I came across Xert in Beta, although I was a little unsure of using Xert I could see that the tools offered may be to my advantage and encouraged me to make process. Progress was steady if not exciting, but since using Xert things have changed up a gear and I’ve seen my FTP progress at a satisfying rate, using their suggested workouts, some completed successfully, others I’ve failed, but that is the nature of the beast. Any drop in performance is down to me not trying hard enough or losing focus, but after some more intense efforts, my FTP is on the increase again.

Xert Athlete Profiles – Scott Steele

admin — Thu, 29 Jun 2017 18:38:18 +0000

Scott Steele

Minneapolis

Man of Steele

Scott is a 22-year-old avid cyclist from Minneapolis who entered the sport only one year ago.

Background about Scott Steele’s use of Xert

On May 7th he entered his first Criterion race expecting to do very well given his fitness levels, gained from Triathlon training over the past 3 years.

Riding 9-12 hours a week, Scott was excited about the Criterion and was prepared to “give it” on the day and to stay with the leaders.

Bike Set Up

Orbea Orca GDR
Garmin Edge 520 – set up with Xert mobile to display MPA and Time to exhaustion
Quarq DFour power meter
Simple Heart rate monitor

Race Day

Charging off the line, Scott was surprised at the power used by his colleagues on the first lap. Keeping up with the leaders,

Scott noticed that he was digging into his reserves to keep up with the leaders, all the while not using more than his MPA but more than his threshold power.

By the fifth lap, Scott knew he was in trouble as his output crossed over his MPA threshold (going into the red).

As you can see from the image below, the point where the two lines cross is the classic example of “dying.”

Scott’s fitness signature

Needless to say, as the lead group powered away into the distance, Scott was left to recover (while still putting up above Threshold Power it should be pointed out) and finish off the ride.

Lessons Learned

Scott’s Xert Fitness Signature was very accurate. It was able to show Scott that he was heading for an issue as he raced with the leaders and, after the fact, show the time and place where that point was.Criterion racing is a lot about your power. No matter how much you may hide in the peloton, you need power, and, when finishing a race, its a good idea to know what is ‘left in the tank.So now Scott is training with Xert to increase his Threshold Power through a combination of Xert Smart Workouts, regular rides and other training. He continues to user Xert to model his Fitness Signature and is very happy that he doesn’t have to do FTP or other tests as Xert tracks his fitness.