Scott – Xert Breakthrough Training

Magic Buckets – The Evolution of the Workout

Scott — Thu, 23 Jan 2025 19:57:20 +0000

Have you ever asked yourself any of these questions when it comes to doing workouts:

Why am I doing this particular workout?
Why do I need to do these intensities and these durations?
Am I hitting the workout interval targets sufficiently well and if not do I stop or keep going?
What is about these specific interval targets anyway and how precise do I need to be?
Could I do something a bit different that I would prefer and get the same benefit?
Can I get the same benefit by just riding or racing? Workouts can be a drag.

You’re not the only one. Pretty much every athlete will ask themselves these questions at various points in their training. Wouldn’t it be great to have all these questions answered?

Answer These Questions with Xert Strain Scores, Forecast AI and XSS Buckets

After many new innovations in training, including capabilities like Smart Workouts with dynamic intervals (first and only platform ever to do this), and diving deep into understanding the process of training and improvement, we developed Xert Strain Score and more recently Forecast AI and XSS Buckets. XSS Buckets allows you to train for improvement, without the need of doing structured workouts. With Forecast AI, athletes not only could understand what the workouts did but also why the were doing the workouts as part of their training plan.

But one question lingered:

How do I fill these buckets without following a workout?

Answering this question is key since without an answer, athletes are left to use trial-and-error to do their training and may often consume valuable training time unnecessarily. Some structure and guidance would be very useful.

Introducing Magic Buckets

Magic Buckets brings a new dimension to training and workouts that has never existed previously – interval targets and durations are calculated on-the-fly for each athlete at each moment.

Re-read that last statement a few times and let it sink in. Magic Buckets essentially recommends and builds a workout as you ride, adjusting the workout to you. Now with Magic Buckets, all you have to do is follow the guidance it provides.

Magic Buckets operates in two separate modes depending on whether your daily training goal is a high-intensity training session or a low-intensity / endurance training session. We’ll describe these two different modes as:

Magic Intervals
Magic Endurance

Watch this video where Scott will walk you through how to use Xert Magic Buckets for your training. This demo will show you how to seamlessly integrate Magic Buckets into your routine without rigid workout plans. It’s a great way to adapt your training and optimize your results with the flexible guidance that Magic Buckets provides.

Magic Intervals

Magic interval workouts are a unique experience like you’ve never experienced before. Your target interval power is calculated for you based on what you’ve done so far and what you need to do to complete the training. Your recovery / rest-in-between power targets are also calculated as well as their durations. Calculating the power and the duration for your recovery is important since this helps ensure you achieve your training goal for the workout and ensures you’re recovered enough to do the intervals. That’s part of the magic the method uses.

What do I need to do?

Simple. You warm up and start filling your low bucket. When you’re ready, hold the high-intensity interval power for as long as you wish to fill your high and peak buckets. Once you back off from that, the recovery/rest interval is computed – both target power and duration and you continue to fill your low bucket. Follow that and repeat. Once your high and peak buckets are full, you can ride easy and fill the remaining low bucket while you cooldown. Done.

Challenge Levels

To make Magic Buckets more engaging and to motivate athletes to go a bit deeper and get more out of their available training time, we’ve introduced the concept of Challenge Levels. Challenge Level is a value between 0 and 10 that represents how much fatigue *at the interval power* you’ve reached. The deeper you go, the higher the Challenge Level you reach.

Reaching higher Challenge Levels is great motivation but the other added benefit is that you get to complete the workout sooner. This means that athletes with time crunched schedules can do more training in less time by focusing on doing their training at higher Challenge Levels. Here’s an example of how long a given workout would take at different Challenge Levels. We use a typical 5×5 VO2 interval workout as a benchmark:

Challenge Level Workout	Low \| High \| Peak XSS	Number of Intervals	Interval Duration	Estimated Difficulty	Estimated Duration
1	105 \| 9.3 \| 0.5	37	53s	69	01:35
2	105 \| 9.3 \| 0.5	33	53s	88	01:11
3	105 \| 9.3 \| 0.5	29	53s	103	00:56
4	105 \| 9.3 \| 0.5	24	53s	118	00:45
5	105 \| 9.3 \| 0.5	21	53s	123	00:44
Standard 5×5 Workout	105 \| 9.3 \| 0.5	5	300s	108	01:09

Now Available on Garmin Watches!

Magic Buckets is now supported on over 100 Garmin watches! Enjoy real-time, colour-coded training guidance on your wrist whether you’re riding indoors or out!

Magic Intervals User Interface for Garmin ConnectIQ

Key things to know when doing Magic Intervals:

It takes 5 seconds for the gauge to switch from one interval type to another. When you start your high intensity interval, hold it for 5 seconds for the INTERVAL state to show. Similarly, after completing your interval, hold the recovery power for 5 seconds to see the gauge switch to the RECOVERY interval.
Once your recovery is complete, you can continue to recover and collect more low intensity XSS or can start a new interval to stay at the same Challenge Level.
Recovery intervals are calculated to give you the precise recovery and low intensity strain and maintain your current Challenge Level (Challenge Level on the left of the bar). If you sustain the RECOVERY power for the RECOVERY duration, you’ll start the next INTERVAL at the start of the Challenge Level.
Let Challenge Level be a workout objective. The higher the level, the more efficient each second of the workout becomes.
Reaching higher challenge levels requires you to sustain the target interval power longer.
Stop or start high intensity or recovery intervals at any time. You don’t need to be precise to complete your training since this will continuously adjust for you. However, the less training that remains, the more precise you’ll need to become to finish the targets without spending unnecessary training time.
Start your intervals at any time. Because things continuously adjust, you can do the intervals at anytime during a ride. For example, you could start your magic intervals after a competitive group ride to finish off your training. You’ll likely notice that the target interval power will change over the course of the riding you do beforehand. This is because Magic Buckets is continuously recalculating what you’ll need to do to complete the remainder of your training based on what you’ve done so far.
It’s ok to be a bit off target or stop/start at random times if you need to / would like to. It will recalculate what you need to do to complete the remainder of the training.
Use the integrated cadence optimizer. Your cadence is shown as a triangle on the gauge. Aim the triangle along the thin bar to have your cadence within a range that is suitable to your usual cadence pattern.

Magic Endurance

For those days when you need to ride easy and avoid high intensity so that you can recover sufficiently, Magic Buckets will run in Endurance mode, where your buckets fill if you can maintain discipline in avoiding high intensity.

Magic Endurance has different buckets as compared to Magic Intervals:

Low Intensity XSS – This is the main bucket that needs to be filled to complete the required training. You can fill this bucket simply by riding.
Zone XSS – This bucket shows you how much XSS you’ve accumulated in the ideal zone. You should aim to keep this number the same as the Low Intensity XSS number.
Fat XSS – This bucket shows you how much of the XSS you’ve accumulated as *fat* XSS. This is an additional piece of information for those that are looking to focus on improving their fat contribution to their training. This number is always less than your Low Intensity XSS since there are always fat and carbs being utilized during exercise.

Magic Endurance User Interface for Garmin ConnectIQ

Installing & Registering Magic Buckets for Garmin – 4 Easy Steps

Step	Description	Instructions/Screenshot
1	Download and install the data field from the Garmin App Store on your Garmin device	Link to Garmin Data Field: https://apps.garmin.com/apps/e8c1828f-0b0d-461d-82ba-033d7ea7c7d3
2	Add it to a full-screen (single data field) page of your preferred Activity Profile on your Garmin device	Instructions: https://support.garmin.com/en-US/?faq=gTIEqA7g6h9md50pQsDpl6
3	Start your recording and move to your Magic Buckets page. Then immediately Save the recording. If you you have Garmin Health/Connect sync set up on Xert, you’ll see the registration notification. If you don’t have Garmin Heathl/Connect set up, upload the FIT file to Xert to complete the registration process.	You’ll get an empty recording in Xert that can be removed. You’ll also receive a notification that your Garmin has been registered.
4	Send or upload the FIT file recorded to Xert. (Be sure the activity is processed before proceeding to the next step.)	There are two ways to get your FIT file from Garmin into Xert: First have Garmin Health/Connect set up on your Xert account, or Upload the FIT file that is saved to Xert Online.
5	Start a new recording. Xert will automatically send your workout targets to the data field.

Now Available on Android and Hammerhead Karoo!

Garmin was the first platform to support Magic Buckets, but the experience on Android and Karoo takes it a step further! Xert EBC gives you more screen space, responsive swipes, and touch-based navigation — making the training experience feel modern, clean, and intuitive. Your Low, High, and Peak XSS targets are automatically fetched based on your training goals for the day—no need to pick a workout or configure anything manually!

Installation

Android: To get started, install the Xert EBC app from the Google Play Store and register for the Beta to access the Magic Buckets feature.
Karoo: On Hammerhead Karoo devices, install Xert EBC from the Extensions menu, which will allow you to install and launch the Xert EBC app directly.
- Alternatively, once installed, you can add the MPA data field to any Karoo profile. During a ride, tap the MPA field to launch the Xert EBC app and access the Magic Buckets interface. To return to your Karoo’s recording screen, swipe up or press the bottom-left button.
- This integration allows you to use all Karoo features – like navigation – while also accessing Xert Magic Buckets. Enjoy the full experience with swipe-based app navigation and dynamic, target-driven feedback—just like on Android!

Magic Buckets User Interface for Android & Karoo

Access the Magic Buckets Power Gauge and Challenge Level gauge by swiping the top half of the app screen.
See your current interval state, upcoming targets, and interval power guidance at a glance below the Power Gauge.
Swipe the bottom half of the screen to view your real-time XSS buckets and estimated workout (and endurance) time remaining.
- Tap data cells for deeper insights
Your Power Targets constantly update throughout your ride based on your progress—perfect for outdoor or unstructured rides.

Magic Buckets on Android and Karoo give you intelligent, adaptive guidance that helps you hit your training targets in a fun, unstructured way!

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: What happens if I need to stop early or if I do too much?

A: No worries! Magic Buckets is just one part of your overall training being managed by Xert, whether you are following a Forecast AI plan or taking advice from the Adaptive Training Advisor. Anything you miss or overdo will be incorporated into your future training requirements.

Q: Can I use Magic Buckets with non-cycling activities?

A: Currently, Magic Buickets is optimized for cycling only but will adapt in any activity that aligns with Xert’s system of tracking fitness across Low, High, and Peak energy systems.

Q: What devices support Magic Buckets?

A: The Magic Buckets feature is supported on:

Android smartphones & tablets via the Xert EBC app
Hammerhead Karoo devices via the Extensions menu
Compatible Garmin Edge devices & watches via the ConnectIQ store. See the Garmin App Store page for a list of devices.

Q: When will Magic Buckets come out on my device?

A: Over time, we will plan to bring Magic Buckets to Xert EBC for iOS as well as other devices that have support for open programming interfaces.

Last updated: 10 October 2025

Xploits: How Xert Helped Claim Victory at the Australian Gran Fondo Championship

Scott — Mon, 20 Jan 2025 13:36:52 +0000

This inspiring story comes from Nigel Davies, a 75-year-old athlete who recently claimed victory at the Australian Gran Fondo Championship for 2025. After a year of training with Xert, using features like Forecast AI, Nigel not only met but exceeded his fitness goals, proving that age is no barrier to achieving peak performance with the right training approach.

The Journey: How Xert Transformed Training for the Big Race

When Nigel first started training, he struggled to fully understand how to optimize his training. After learning how Xert could help, Nigel inputted the Australian Gran Fondo Championship details into Forecast AI as an event. He input the event as a Competitive Gran Fondo with Hilly Terrain and an estimated duration of 2.5 Hours. Based on his event type and time remaining until race day, Xert calculated an Event Readiness rating of 1.7 – Excellent, signaling that his projected fitness signature and training loads were on track to deliver the fitness and durability he needed.

Factoring in all this, Xert Forecast AI generated a tailored training plan based on his available time and race goals, and estimated a 10 W improvement to his FTP, from 218 to 228 Watts was needed to reach the result he wanted.

From September 2024 to January 2025, Nigel increased his Training Load from 60 to 73 and his Threshold Power increased from 220 W to 257 W on race day!

The unique aspect of training with Xert was its ability to break down training sessions into three zones or buckets was we refer to them. These buckets are: Low, High, and Peak. Nigel tracked his progress in real-time using the XSS Buckets data field on his Garmin device, providing a visual guide to ensure that he was hitting the correct training intensities and overall training volumes needed for each bucket. The real-time feedback from Xert kept him motivated and made it easier to stay on track & tailor his training sessions to his fitness level and to the most effective way of training that he preferred.

Nigel wasn’t perfect every day, but he did achieve consistent training. The XSS buckets data field allowed Nigel to track his progress towards daily training recommendations in real-time on the road and achieve consistent training. He strived for the positive reinforcement that Xert provides in the fitness planner, such as green ticks when specific training targets for Low, High, and Peak were hit:

Over time, Nigel saw a significant improvement in his fitness, FTP and Xert’s other fitness signature parameters – far exceeding his original estimate, reaching 257 Watts! On race day, Nigel finished the Gran Fondo Championships with a time of 2 hours and 21 minutes, a full 19 minutes faster than the target time & sufficient to achieve 1st place in his age group!

Training with Xert: Focus on Durability and High Intensity Energy (HIE)

Nigel’s Forecast AI training program in Xert was focused on six-minute power (Rouleur Athlete Type) based on the race’s conditions, which included multiple climbs per lap. In order to achieve an event readiness of 1.7, Nigel not only needed to increase his total training load, but also needed to target specific increases in High & Peak Training Load, shown in his progression chart below.

Progression chart showing Nigel’s High (yellow) and Peak (red) training loads as he progressed through his program & tapered for the Australian Gran Fondo Championships.

With the help of the XSS Buckets data-field, Nigel could focus on building his durability and increasing his High Intensity Energy through 5-6 min interval repeats. These efforts helped him specifically develop his High Intensity Energy system in preparation for his target event. You can view a few of his key training session MPA charts below:

Nigel’s preparation turned out to be more than sufficient, as his maximum five-minute power during the race was actually lower than the 5-minute repeats he completed in training. Despite this, his power was more than enough to secure a strong first-place finish! As seen in the MPA analysis below, Nigel was able to clinch the victory without generating a lot of fatigue as shown by the magenta MPA line on the Xert chart. This demonstrates the effectiveness of his well-planned training.

Key Lessons Learned from Using Xert

Hard days were harder than they were in the past: Nigel discovered that his hard days were not originally challenging enough, and incorporated longer, high-intensity intervals like 10 x 6-minute efforts at 250-260 watts, pushing his limits to improve endurance and high-power output.

Endurance Days were also harder than they were in the past: Previously, easy endurance rides were done at a very comfortable 150 watts, but with Xert, Nigel had included more efforts just below his Lower Threshold Power (LTP) of ~200 W to make these sessions more potent in improving his endurance, yet still being low enough to be in the best Zone 2 range for him.

Final Thoughts: Xert as a Game-Changer for Goal-Driven Athletes

For self-coached, data-driven athletes like Nigel, Xert has proven to be an invaluable tool. With its Forecast AI race-specific training plans, Event Readiness metrics, and real-time feedback to guide training, Xert provides personalized support for achieving your goals, no matter your age or fitness level. Thanks for sharing your story, Nigel, and showing us that with the right tools, remarkable results are possible at any stage of life!

Xert Meets Zwift: A Path to Enhanced Training

Scott — Thu, 17 Oct 2024 15:09:50 +0000

Our Zwift integration allows you to seamlessly send workouts directly to Zwift that appear in the “For You” section of the app. You can also sync your Zwift activities back to Xert wthout having to send them through Strava. This integration is designed to enhance your training routine, making it easier than ever to utilize the power of Xert’s Race and Forecast AI as well as the Adaptive Trainer Advisor workout recommendations while enjoying the immersive & social experience of Zwift.

Check out the short video below to see how to set it up with a new Xert account:

Key Features of the Integration

Sending Workouts to Zwift: Xert users can now send their Xert workouts directly to Zwift, allowing for a seamless training experience. Train with the power of Xert’s adaptive training recommendations while enjoying Zwift’s immersive & social environment.
Automatically Sets your Workout FTP: Xert will automatically set the FTP for each workout using your Threshold Power from Xert. You will notice this when you preview the workout. No need to worry about keeping them aligned manually. Note that your FTP setting in Zwift is not affected.
Automatic Sync of Zwift Activities to Xert: Activities completed in Zwift will automatically sync back to Xert. Keep all training data consolidated in Xert for comprehensive analysis. Effortlessly track your progress and adjust your training based on your Zwift rides.

Setting up Xert + Zwift Integration – New Users

After signing up for Xert, you’ll be presented with the account set up screens:

Set up your Zwift account by clicking the Connect link:

From here you’ll be prompted to sign into your Zwift account:

Step 2 – Sign in with your Zwift credentials

Once connected, proceed to the final step and choose Strava as your preferred source for activities:

Setting up Xert + Zwift Integration – Existing Users

By default, Xert will automatically set your training program to Continuous and your daily workouts will be sent automatically to Zwift.To connect Zwift to your Xert account, first head to Sync > Zwift and click the ‘Connect to Zwift‘ button:

Step 1 – Head to Sync > Zwift

From there, you’ll be prompted to sign into your Zwift account:

Step 2 – Sign in with your Zwift credentials

Follow the prompts to link your accounts and grant the necessary permissions for data syncing. This allows Xert to automatically send scheduled trainings to Zwift and receive completed activities back from Zwift.

Step 3 – Chose to enable workout & activity syncing

Sending a Workout-of-the-Day to Zwift

You can have Xert automatically choose a workout-of-the-day (WOTD) for you. Based on the training that your training program recommends, Xert will schedule a workout that meets these requirements everyday. If you also have “Send Scheduled Workouts” enabled on your Zwift connection page, a workout will always be ready for you when you are in the game. This is enabled by default for all new users but existing users can enable the “Automatically schedule a recommended workout of the day” option under Calendar Settings. This can be accessed by clicking the gear icon in the top right corner of the fitness planner:

However, if you wish to do a different workout than you originally scheduled – no problem! You can re-schedule a new workout or use the ‘Send Workout‘ option on the workout you would like to do and select Zwift. Your workout will sync instantly to the For You section of Zwift, no restart needed!

You then find your scheduled workout waiting for you in the ‘For You’ section of Zwift:

Your scheduled workouts from Xert will appear at the top of the ‘For You’ section.

When you preview the workout, you should also notice that Xert automatically sets the FTP for the workout using your fitness signature in Xert. No need to worry about keeping them aligned manually!

Multiple Workouts

In addition to sending your Workout of the Day (WOTD) to Zwift, Xert will also push 4 additional workouts to your custom Xert workout folder. This gives you more options in case you prefer a different workout than the WOTD for the day. These workouts are updated daily, ensuring that you always have fresh, relevant training choices to match your fitness level and goals!

To find these additional workouts in Zwift, navigate to the Workouts tab and select the Xert folder:

Inside the folder, you will find several additional workouts that have been pushed there. All these workouts are suitable for your current fitness state:

You can choose any of these workouts to execute within Zwift, or stick with the WOTD if it aligns with your needs for the day. This flexibility allows you to tailor your training to how you feel each day, ensuring a more enjoyable and effective training experience.

Syncing Zwift Activities to Xert

After completing a ride in Zwift, your activity will be automatically synced to Xert! If you have enabled Xert > Strava sync, you will also get a neat training summary & Forecast AI training report as seen below, if you are using an XFAI training plan!

Click here for help on getting Strava training reports set up!

FAQs

Common Questions and Troubleshooting:

Q: What if my scheduled workout from Xert isn’t displayed in Zwift?

A: If enabled, your scheduled workouts should be sent automatically to Zwift and waiting in the ‘For You’ section of Zwift. If the workout is not there, you can try using the ‘Send Workout > Zwift‘ option and restarting Zwift.

Q: What should I do if my Zwift activity doesn’t sync to Xert?

A: Check your internet connection and ensure both accounts are properly linked. If you have your Zwift also connected to Strava, you may be able to sync the activity from Strava into Xert. If necessary, you can download .fit files from Zwift & manually upload to Xert.

Q: Are the Xert Smart workouts dynamic?

A: Workouts with intervals and have Xert’s Smart capability – dynamic duration or power – are not dynamic in the Zwift game. They are all fixed duration and power intervals. If you wish to take advantage of the Smart workouts, check out the Ultimate Guide to Using Xert with Zwift guide for help.

Q: What happens with Xert’s Mixed Mode workouts?

A: Workouts with intervals to be performed in SLOPE mode will be exported to Zwift as Free Ride intervals, so ERG mode will be disabled & there won’t be an interval target provided. You should use your gearing and cadence to control your efforts! For the best experience, we recommend using the Xert EBC app for Mixed Mode workouts.

Q: Can I customize my workouts in Xert before sending them to Zwift?

A: Of course, you can always choose to make a copy of a workout and edit it to your liking before sending it to Zwift! To do this, open the workout in the designer and Copy the workout to your personal folder. From there, you can customize it as you see fit!

Conclusion

We’re excited for you to explore these new integration features that Xert and Zwift offer together. This enhancement not only simplifies your training regimen but also allows you to maximize your potential by using Xert’s adaptive training methodologies in an engaging environment.

Additional Resources

For further assistance, visit our Support Page for detailed guides and FAQs.

Share your experiences with the integration in our Xert community forum. We’d love to hear how it’s enhancing your training!

Outcome-Driven Training Plans

Scott — Tue, 24 Sep 2024 16:27:11 +0000

Xert’s Forecast AI Looks Into the Future to Predict the Training You Will Need

In recent years, adaptive training has grown in prominence within training circles. Static training plans have become a thing of the past. Xert’s Adaptive Training Advisor was an early adaptive training platform, providing athletes day-to-day training advice that changed and adapted to each athlete over the course of their training. Almost a year ago, Xert announced the Forecast AI Beta Program. Forecast AI was a bold new initiative that raised the bar on how training could be prescribed. Before Forecast AI, athletes trained with the hopes of achieving the goals and outcomes they were looking for. With Xert’s Forecast AI, hopes have been upgraded to predictions. Outcome-driven training plans are now available for the first time.

In the past year, we’ve taken a lot of feedback from coaches and athletes and have made many improvements over this time. We’ve also added substantial new capabilities. At its core, Forecast AI (XFAI) generates training plans that are outcome-driven – goals, events, races, achievements – and have the following important features:

Optimized and Outcome-Driven – XFAI generates a training plan using a sophisticated outcome-driven algorithm that takes you from where you are today towards the outcome you are looking for, and generates a plan to reach it.
Personalized and Tailored to You – It uses a deep analysis of your training history and your preferences to create a training plan that’s unique to you.
Highly Flexible – It fits the training program into your day-to-day availability but also enables you to do the prescribed training following structured workout or unstructured rides, both indoor and outdoor, solo or with others.
Adaptable – Accommodates changes based on your availability or preference adjustments as well as adjustments needed to reach your desired outcome.

Next Level Personalized, Outcome-Driven Training Plans

We set out originally to simply take the Xert Adaptive Training Advisor and have it *forecast* the training you need to perform in the upcoming week. What would seem like a simple endeavour mushroomed into something far more complex but also far more capable and valuable to athletes. The team discovered many aspects of training that underlie successful training plans. It’s been an incredible learning experience and hopefully we’ve been successful in transferring what we’ve learned over to you and enabled you to reap the rewards of all of our efforts.

Is it really “AI”?

“AI” is being tossed around a lot these days since it’s such a hot topic. Some think of ChatGPT and Large Language Models as AI. But AI has been around a long time and doesn’t necessarily only mean having a chat with a computer that acts like a human. When computers are used to analyze lots of data and compute answers to hard problems, that too is AI. In creating Forecast AI, we tried many, many different computational methods used in the development of AI systems. We implemented, tested and tossed them out, learning more along the way about the problem space but also about the various methods we could employ. Sometimes the problem got harder because we needed more capability, or the solution became too complex, or it became too slow to be usable. After many attempts, we ended up finding some elegant solutions that were robust and highly-flexible, that generated training plans athletes can follow and benefit from in completely new ways. The method uses a 6 dimensional training load and recovery load space to map out functional progressive overload with multiple constraints and objectives. That’s technical jargon for “it was a very hard problem to solve”.

Fortunately, XFAI didn’t need to be an opaque AI black-box platform that works to provide a solution to a problem or generates an answer but there’s no understanding of the underlying method it used. XFAI isn’t such an AI system. XFAI simply does a lot of very complex calculations many, many thousands of times in finding a solution to a complex problem – generating a personalized, outcome-driven training plan. It presents a training plan that you can validate for yourself even. This should lend confidence that you will be on the right path, doing the right training towards the outcome you’re looking for.

Making it Personal

To say there is a “best” training plan that is suitable for everyone and we can use AI methods to find this training plan is a misunderstanding of how human physiology works. There is simply no “one size fits all” training plan. A good coach will go to great lengths to learn about their athlete. They need the specifics and the details in order to prescribe the training that is best suited to them. They recognize that everyone is different and the training that’s best for you may not be the training that’s best for another athlete. We believe to properly prescribe training requires a deep understanding of the athlete. It’s the most important step. Here’s how Xert characterizes each individual athlete:

Every athlete has a unique fitness signature – Your TP, HIE and PP reflect your specific strengths and weaknesses as an athlete.
Every athlete is at a unique point in their training – Low, High and Peak Training Loads and Recovery Loads are based on the training you’ve been doing and the unique mix of intensities that you have performed.
Every athlete responds to training differently – Low, High and Peak Training Responsiveness reflect how you have responded to training in the past.
Every athlete has a different pattern of training – The volume, durations, days-of-the-week you normally train form a baseline weekly training pattern.
Every athlete has other differences and preferences:
1. Recovery Demands – Do you prefer more or less recovery time between training sessions? Preference may be related to previous injuries or other personal factors.
2. Polarization Level – Do you dislike doing long endurance workouts or prefer stricter 80/20 polarized training?
3. Degree of difficulty – Can you handle a lot of suffering or prefer easier workouts?
And most importantly, every athlete has a desired outcome for the investment they expect to make in following a training plan.

All these are elements that will make the training plan generated by XFAI unique to you and unlike any other program. A great coach will spend a lot of time working with you to establish all of these elements in order to craft a training plan that is right for you. XFAI does the same.

Note: We’ve added some important features that help you better manage your data. Before you run the Forecast AI generator, be sure that your current fitness signature and training loads are accurate and up-to-date. XFAI requires this since it doesn’t know how to give you a generic plan. A plan must be based on your up-to-date signature and training load information. For example, if your current TP is stale and lower than it should be because you haven’t had a breakthrough in a while, you may end up reaching your targets far sooner after you get a breakthrough which will require that you update or create a new forecasted training plan.

Making it Flexible

Flexibility in a training program is key because people like to do things in different ways. A training plan has to be something you not only can follow but you want to follow. A training plan that might meet an outcome objective is nice but if you don’t want to do the training, then it’s not a great plan. We sought to use your historical data as the starting point for the training since this is the pattern of training you already do. It’s also very important to use your historical data since the principle of progressive overload depends on this historical knowledge.

Here, you can adjust your availability for any day of the week or even adjust individual days. Mark the day as Flex to instruct XFAI to add time in order to achieve Progressive Overload. Mark the day as Fixed if that’s all the time you have that day throughout the plan.

An important change we made over the course of developing XFAI was the change from prescribing workouts, to prescribing workouts and outdoor rides, to eventually landing on forecasting the training you’ll need to do. You’ll notice that every training day is either “Low Intensity” or “High Intensity”.

Low intensity training days are days where you will ride easy and avoid high intensity. XFAI will put these in your plan either because your status is projected to be yellow (“Tired” status) that day or it plans to hold back on intensity because you don’t have enough time that day to do what’s needed and a subsequent day is better for doing the high intensity training.

High intensity training days are days where your training status is expected to be blue (“Fresh” status) and you will be expected to be rested enough to handle a high intensity workout or ride. XFAI will show you how much intensity is needed on that day and defines this so that you can continue to progress your high and peak training loads towards the target fitness levels needed.

Recovery days are days where your training status is red (“Very tired” status) and you should be taking downtime for recovery. Rest days are simply days that you don’t need to be training and can focus on other activities but will not affect your ability to achieve the target fitness by the target date.

How the Training Plan Gets Generated

XFAI generates a training plan and displays progress on screen. You can watch it as it works. For many of you that were part of the original beta, XFAI rolled forwards and backwards generating and laying out a plan, rethinking decisions along the way. It took a long time to run. Since then, we found ways to improve the performance and improve how it lays out the training plan. What makes this really unique and valuable is that you can see the end result and understand how and why it made the decisions in the process of laying out the plan. Once this process is complete, you’ll see a plan that will make sense to you and you can even confirm for yourself that it’s indeed a plan that will achieve the outcome you requested.

Unlike other AI systems that may generate a training plan but won’t show their work, XFAI lays everything out for you, letting you see and appreciate how the outcome will be reached. This helps you have confidence in the program which in turn will provide greater motivation for you to follow and stick with it. You don’t have to place trust in the system. It’s all laid out and understandable.

Executing the Training Plan and Updating it Along the Way

We took flexibility and personalization one step further and made these a part of the process of following and updating the training plan as you execute the training. Next, next, next level stuff. Here’s what you can do on a day-to-day basis:

Choose your own workouts or activities

You can choose from a variety of workouts and activities for each foreacasted training activity.

You can even auto-generate a workout that will more precisely match the needs of the training for that day.

Recently, we published a new “XSS Buckets” Garmin datafield on the Connect IQ App Store. When you install and place this datafield on your Garmin activity profile, it logs into your Xert account and fetches the forecasted training XSS values (low, high and peak) that you need to fulfill for the current day. This provides yet another advancement in training where you can ride unstructured to achieve the same training benefit as compared to a completely structured workout – both low and high intensity workouts of any kind.

Perform the training needed and compare results

Once you upload your ride, you can compare the training XSS targets against what you achieved on your ride. Xert will conveniently post a chart to your Strava activity that’ll make it easy to check on progress right from Strava.

Plan your week of training if you prefer

Whether you have a rigid schedule and have to plan things out in advance or you have some flexibility and can easily handle training plan changes, XFAI will work with this. You choose when to re-analyze and re-run the Forecast AI process to update your training plan when you want, whether that’s immediately after every ride or once-a-week.

Pin your chosen workouts and activities

Workout pinning is a new concept in training and provides a way to have pre-scheduled rides as part of your training plan. Perhaps you prefer to do the high-intensity workout on a Thursday rather than the Friday or you always do a hard club ride on Saturdays. Simply assign the workout you wish to do on a given day or pick a similar activity to the one you plan on doing on the weekend and click the pin icon. This tells XFAI that you are planning to do these and to work the plan around them, using their XSS as part of the plan to achieve the target outcome.

Add in other rides and activities

Sometimes you have other rides planned but would still like to do an appropriate workout on the same day. A great example is when you commute with your bike to work. Click the + icon and add the ride to your calendar. Use this feature to add days you go to the gym or do other activities.

Note: Since the XSS you specify or choose on this planned activity gets included in reaching your goal, be sure to assign meaningful training values that represent the benefit this activity will have towards reaching your target outcome.

Once all this is done, click the Adapt button to take all this new information and XFAI will update and re-optimize the training plan for you:

How much flexibility can be accommodated?

One thing we learned in the process of developing Forecast AI is that the flexibility you have in a training plan is dependent on how tight you will be to reach the target fitness by the target date. A plan loses its flexibility when you miss too many days, for example, and a suitable training plan can no longer be forecasted. Simple example: if you have a week left in your plan and had targeted to reach a TP of 250 but it’s still at 230 because of all the training you’ve missed, no training plan exists that you can follow to reach your target. A plan can be flexible .. but at some point the flexibility goes away and if you miss the required training, the target outcome can’t be reached.

Forecast AI helps you see this happening when it highlights “magenta” days on your planner and chart. When a plan is created, future training days depend on you achieving a certain fitness level by that date. For example, as you build your fitness, your High Training Load may start very low, perhaps quite low after a period of Base training but as you progress in the training plan, High Training Load increases towards your target fitness. This in turn requires more High XSS to maintain the controlled, achievable progressive overload towards the target. If at some point XFAI expects your High Training Load (or Low or Peak) to be a certain value in order for you to complete the required training and your projected training load will be less such that you can’t complete the training on that day, it’ll be marked as magenta. Similarly, if XFAI had mapped out a high intensity day but due to the increases that are projected in high/peak training loads and recovery loads on that day, your status may be projected to go from blue to yellow or red. Again, these days will be marked as magenta on the plan, highlighting that the plan has an issue that may need to be addressed. Often, it may just be a matter of clicking the Adapt button. But if the plan has become super tight, the Adapt button might not succeed in finding a plan and you’ll need to consider either changing availability or perhaps modifying your targets.

Mouse over the magenta bar to see how the training has been affected.

Checking Progress

We’ve added a new page that provides feedback on the progress you have achieved as well as the progress you will make in the training plan. This provides a complete picture of changes to your fitness signature both past and future as well as the corresponding training loads. Use the slider to navigate through the past and future dates.

Conclusion

Xert’s Forecast AI has set a new high-bar when it comes to planning your training. Ultimately, the plan you will follow:

Has you reaching the fitness and performance you are looking for.
Is highly-personalized to you, your specific situation and your unique interests in training.
Allows you the greatest flexibility to train in ways you prefer. This is motivating and encourages you to stick to the training.
Continuously adapts to your changing schedule and the progress you have made, ensuring you can stay on track as life gets in the way.

New Concepts In Measuring Performance

Scott — Sat, 07 Sep 2024 21:18:07 +0000

An Introduction to Xert Relative Power

A Bit of Background on Power-to-Weight Ratio

For anyone that’s ever watched a professional cycling race or raced in Category-based races, you’re likely to be familiar with power-to-weight ratio or watts per kilogram (W/kg): take your power output and divide it by your weight in kilograms. This is the key metric that is used today when comparing one rider’s power vs. another rider’s:

Pogi rode this climb at 7 W/kg for 40 minutes.
The minimum FTP for this category race is 4.5 W/kg.
Xert Surplus Seekers Zwift Group Ride is a 2.0 – 2.5 W/kg event.

The higher W/kg you can sustain, means the stronger a rider you are. To get better, either you need to increase your power, decrease your weight, or both. Being lighter is said to improve your performance hence many cyclists go on weight-loss diets to try and improve this metric. If you can maintain your power but lose weight, your W/kg goes up making you a faster rider. At least that’s what most people think.

However, many sports scientists have argued that W/kg is a great way to compare climbing ability, but the metric isn’t as useful on flat terrain. Bigger riders have an advantage over smaller riders when it comes to riding on flat roads. In fact, on a downhill section of road being heavier is better than being lighter. Bigger riders descend faster than smaller riders. The notion that W/kg isn’t as effective for rider comparisons on flatter terrain has been well known for many years by those that have studied the sport. Raw power on flatter terrain is better than W/kg whereas W/kg is better than raw power on steeper gradients.

Recently Published Research

Recently, research was published on using a new formula to better assess athletes called Compound Score. The research paper can be found here. The formula is pretty simple as it takes an athlete’s W/kg and multiplies it by watts:

This simple formula is used to better compare the performance of one athlete vs. another over mixed terrain. The research shows that overall this does better than using W/kg in predicting which athletes will perform better. However, if the race is a mountain stage and the majority of the race is steep climbing, using W/kg is still better than using Compound Score.

Going One Step Further – Laying a New Foundation

What’s abundantly clear is that any real valuable comparison metric must take into account the gradient that will be used for the comparison and not just power and weight: the steeper it is, the more W/kg matters. The flatter it is, the more watts matters. To best illustrate this, we’re going to do a bit of math to help you understand what these all mean:

which is essentially

Note the exponent shown in the above formulas. We’ll call this exponent the Kilogram Exponent or KGE. It is the exponent that’s applied to the weight in the denominator. What’s clear is that KGE depends on the terrain and the gradient that is used for comparison. The steeper the gradient, the closer to 1 it should be and the flatter the terrain, the lower the number needs to be. At Xert, we went through the trouble to estimate the relationship between gradient and KGE using a physical model and generalized CdA and rolling resistance values based on weight:

Reading this graph, you’ll note some key points along the curve. On flat terrain, the KGE is 0.4. This means that weight has less than half the impact that it has at 10% where KGE is 1. At -2.2%, weight has no bearing at all and KGE is 0. Where KGE is 0.5, i.e. the Compound Score, is where terrain is mostly flat, averaging under 1%. At this gradient, the effect of your weight is 50% that of W/kg.

Ok. So what does this all have to do with the price of bananas?

Using Xert Relative Power we can now solve a series of problems that has faced the cycling community when comparing data from one cyclist to another:

Who’s likely to be faster for a given power output between Rider A at X kg and Rider B at Y kg? If we know the grade, we can estimate.
How much power does Rider A at X kg need to produce to keep up with Rider B at Y kg? Again, if we know the grade, we can estimate.
Who is the race course best suited for? If we take an average over time (not distance!) of the KGE, we can estimate what the requirement will be for the course and which athlete, A or B, is better suited. That’s pretty valuable for an athlete deciding on which event to target or for a team to select the appropriate riders for events.
If Rider A and B are riding side-by-side and A is having to put out more relative power than Rider B, then Rider B is more efficient. Relative power can help us assess which of the two is more efficient, either due to better drafting, riding position, clothing, rolling resistance, bike CdA, drivetrain efficiency or some combination. If we keep everything constant except for better drafting. for example, we can estimate the wattage differences due to how well a rider manages their power during a race. That’s a pretty valuable way to assess a rider’s racecraft in staying in the draft compared to another. You could do the same analysis looking for differences in bike aerodynamics or rolling resistance, for example. Anytime you need to compare power data from two or more riders and you want to extract something meaningful in the data, using relative power can help in that assessment whereas power or w/kg may give you misleading results.

How We Calculate Xert Relative Power

Applying relative power generally using the formulas above is quite tricky, however. As you’re probably already thinking, what does a KGE of 0.4 on flat terrain mean? That’s:

This is some number that is less than using just watts but more than using watts/kg: A 70kg rider doing 200 watts on flat ground has a value of 200 / 70^0.4 = 36.6. The value 36.6 isn’t at all intuitive. To solve this problem, we go another step to make Xert Relative Power (XRP) something more tangible: we use a 75 kg athlete as the base weight and use the following formula.

Xert Relative Power:

This value is always in watts and translates to the power a 75 kg rider would have to produce to ride beside another rider weighing X kgs. Here’s an example. For a 85 kg rider doing 300W on a 2.5% grade, where the KGE = 0.7, their Xert Relative Power is:

What this means is that when an 85 kg rider is doing 300 watts on a 2.5% gradient, a 75 kg rider would have to do 275 watts to ride with them, all else equal.

Evaluating A Course for Rider Suitability using XRP

You can compare athletes for suitability for a particular course by evaluating their signature, weight, the course Focus and the course overall KGE. Let’s use an example to illustrate.

Note: To determine an “average” grade, we don’t take the average by distance (average by distance is 0% for any loop) but the average by time. A course with a long steep climb and fast descent will end up with a positive average because it’ll take longer to ascend than to descend.

Here are two riders for a course that favours 4 minute power (Puncheur in Xert) with an overall average grade of 2.5%, i.e. average KGE = 0.7:

	Rider 1	Rider 2
Threshold Power	320 W	280 W
High Intensity Energy	28 kJ	22 kJ
Peak Power	1200 W	1000 W
4 Minute Power	429 W	366 W
Weight	78 kg	65 kg
FTP in W/kg	320 / 78 = 4.1 W/kg	280/65 = 4.3 W/kg
Grade	2.5%	2.5%
KGE	0.7	0.7
Xert Relative Power – 4 Minute Power	429 * (75/78)^0.7 = 417.4 W	366 * (75/65)^0.7 = 404.6 W
Xert Relative Power – FTP	320 * (75/78)^0.7 = 311.3 W	280 * (75/65)^0.7 = 309.5 W

In this example, the heavier rider with the higher 4 minute power has an advantage of about 13 watts over the lighter rider on this course as well as a small advantage in FTP, even though with average grade of 2.5 (KGE of 0.7), this is a fairly hilly course and would likely initially be perceived as favouring the lighter rider with the higher FTP in W/kg.

Where is Xert Relative Power Used on the Xert Platform?

There are three main applications of XRP in Xert:

XRP is used in Group Ride Analysis. You can compare the data between two riders of different weights that rode together on a group ride. Xert will take into account the gradient (thus the KGE) second-by-second in the ride to calculate the XRP for every rider in the group and allow you to compare them to one another.
XRP is used in Race AI to transform the power from a data file that another rider performed to what the power would need to be for you at X kilograms body weight. This enables you to understand what the demands are for the race or event at your given body weight.
XRP is displayed on our Xert Dashboard Garmin Datafield (coming soon!) as a rolling average. This allows you to compare your power data with another directly, accounting for differences in weight and gradient.

XRP in Group Ride Analysis

When you complete a group ride with other Xert users and your data is shared, you can compare your average XRP for any part of the ride where you rode together. This comparison can help you understand one or more of the following:

Who pulled more? XRP could be higher for those that pulled more and did more work at the front than other riders. Maybe point that out and offer a compliment.
Who didn’t pull enough? XRP could be lower for those that stayed in the pack more than others. In a race, this is a good thing.
Is my power meter acting up? If your power data is significantly different than others and you feel you rode no differently than they did, it could mean your power meter isn’t properly calibrated and/or could be inaccurate. If you get a breakthrough and didn’t feel like you worked that hard, a quick inspection of your XRP as compared to others might reveal that your power meter data isn’t accurate.
That new aero bike in the group is fast! If someone in the group has lower XRP data compared to you than they did before, it could be that new aero bike or wheels or kit they have. Maybe another in the group had a flappy jacket on and their numbers were considerably higher. (Keep that to yourself and just make sure to give them kudos and comment on how strong they rode.)

XRP in Race AI

XRP is a key component of the Race AI feature where you can use data from other riders to assess your ability to produce similar XRP based on a comparison of their weight and the course terrain and your goal weight. There are some key things to keep in mind when you consider what Xert is doing when computing your power requirements:

If the terrain is mountainous, a reduction in your target weight is going to have a significant impact on the power you will need to produce.
If the terrain is flat, a reduction in target weight will not affect the power requirements as much.
A reduction in body weight can impact your signature. Dieting can reduce muscle mass and thus lower your fitness signature. Depending on the course profile and how the race will be performed will provide feedback as to whether weight loss may or may not be advantageous.

Race AI Example 1	Race AI Example 2

The chart above shows the power requirements and associated MPA for the La Marmotte Alps for a cyclist that weighs 70kg. The signature needed to complete the race within the given constraints is almost exactly the same as their current fitness signature. The average power (under More Details button) is 222 watts for this event.	But with an increase in weight of 8kgs (18 lbs) to 78 kg, this has a significant increase in relative power and thus the raw power needed. The same goals become very challenging if not impossible given the weekly time commitment. The average power increased 21 watts to 243 watts.

XRP on the Xert Dashboard Garmin Datafield in Real-Time

Having XRP displayed in real-time is useful in enabling a variety of capabilities that are more difficult to do with power data alone:

If you’ve ever asked the person beside you how much power they are putting out in order to compare with your own, using XRP helps eliminate the differences due to weight and gradient. You can be more assured that you’re comparing “apples-to-apples” when they give you their XRP number rather than their power number.
You can agree on a more even pace for a group ride. Setting watts or W/kg targets for a group ride can lead to mismatched power on hills or flatter roads, respectively. Using XRP instead helps even things out.
You can target an intensity for team tactics during a race. This can be particularly useful on flatter ground where the larger/smaller individual team members may be required to hold an intensity for tactical purposes. XRP can be used more universally as a target for various members of the team independent of their size or the terrain.

Understanding Key Concepts – Less is More

Athletes and coaches all understand that if you can produce more power, that’s a good sign. More power = stronger rider, as we saw in the example above where we compared the values of two riders for a particular course. But when it comes to comparing XRP from a ride using data from two or more athletes, less power is better. This is because less XRP compared to another rider during a ride means you are using less energy to achieve the same pace and speed as another rider. The lower XRP means you have one or more of the following advantages:

You stay out of the wind better than others.
You have a better riding position on the bike.
You have a better fitting and aero kit.
You have a bike that’s more aero.
Your drive-train is more efficient.
You have tires with better rolling resistance.
You have better racing/riding skills and need less energy to maintain your speed.

If you compare raw power data, you’ll miss the impact of weight and gradient in the calculations and can misinterpret the results. With XRP, you can examine the data more readily and infer which of these might explain the differences in power between two riders. You can then look to address these differences.

What does it mean if my XRP is Too Low or Too High as Compared to Others?

It’s important that you gather and compare quality and accurate data first and foremost. In addition, you should ensure that each person that’s being compared has a proper weight associated with their corresponding activity. If your data appears to be too low compared to other riders:

Your weight might be set too high. Maybe the diet has kicked in?
Their weight might be set too low. They don’t realize the treats at the coffee stop are having an effect? (Sshh.. don’t tell them.)
Maybe your power meter might be reading too low. Check calibration, battery levels, L/R balance changes if using a single-side power meter.
Their power meter might be reading too high.
You spent more time at the front of the group than others.

Vice versa, if your XRP is much higher than the other riders:

Your weight might be set too low. Time to lay off the pizza?
Their weight might be set too high. They’re keeping secrets from you.
Maybe your power meter might be reading too high. Check calibration, battery levels, L/R balance changes if using a single-side power meter.
Their power meters might be reading too low.
You spent very little time at the front of the group compared to others.

Understanding XRP in Virtual Cycling

Platforms like Zwift and Rouvy, have their own weight, gravity, aero, rolling resistance and drafting physics models and are likely to resemble the XRP modeling that we use in Xert when riders are riding in the virtual world. You can compare a group virtual ride in Xert and you can draw similar conclusions about your racing abilities and/or equipment choices, but importantly your data won’t be skewed high or low or will have power meters errors that are detectable. This is because they are using your power data and your weight setting to adjust your speed at every point in the ride. It’s presumed to be accurate.

Xert Magic Buckets For Garmin Watches

Scott — Sun, 24 Dec 2023 20:00:29 +0000

Xert Magic Buckets (XMB) is now supported on over 100 Garmin watches, bringing adaptive training insights to both cycling and running activities. Whether you’re outdoors or on a treadmill/trainer, you’ll be able to see your training targets, get instant feedback on your effort levels, as well as breakthrough alerts right on your wrist.

Setup Instructions

1. Install the Data Field

Xert Magic Buckets (XMB): Download from Garmin Connect IQ

Use the Garmin Connect IQ app (mobile) or Garmin Express (desktop) to install the data field to your Garmin watch.

2. Add to an Activity Profile

On your Garmin watch, go to Settings > Activities & Apps & choose an activity profile (e.g., Run, Bike).
Select Data Screens > Add New (or modify an existing screen). Use a single data field.
Choose Field Type: Connect IQ > Select Xert Magic Buckets. Save and exit.

You can add this data field to any cycling or running profile on compatible watches. XMB now supports running power, giving runners structured guidance based on Xert’s Low, High, and Peak strain targets.

3. Register the Data Field

To activate the data field:

Record a short activity using the profile with XMB installed.
Save the activity and ensure it syncs to Xert via Garmin Connect.
Once synced, you’ll see a confirmation in Xert Online that your device is registered.

If the file syncs through Strava, registration will fail. Upload the .FIT file manually at XertOnline.com if needed. Reach out to our support team if you need assistance with registering the data field.

How to Use XMB on Your Watch

XMB shows you how you’re progressing toward your Low, High, and Peak XSS targets for the day, based on your current plan from Forecast AI or XATA. It’s perfect for loosely structured training days, runs, or rides where you want to hit your distribution goals without doing a full workout.

UI Overview:

Pop-up message at ride start confirms your signature & training targets are synced.
Status Dot: Located above the interval state & indicates the fetch of your fitness signature & training targets from Xert.
- Upon successful fetch of your signature & training targets
- Expired targets or settings changed. Press stop/start to re-fetch targets.
- Phone disconnected to device or Garmin Connect mobile app isn’t running.
Ride States: as you progress through your ride, you will see different states
- Warmup
- Ready
- Interval
- Recovery
- Easy
- Cooldown
XSS Buckets: along the outer edges of the watch face, there are three colour-coded bars. Each bar fills up as you accumulate strain (XSS) on that energy system.
- Low
- High
- Peak
Breakthrough Alert: when you’re getting close to a breakthrough, XMB will give you a notification!
Challenge Level indicator: specifies your current challenge level. Moves counter-clockwise as challenge level increases during intervals & moves clockwise as challenge level decreases during recovery intervals. Reach Challenge Level 10 for a Breakthrough!
Current Power & Target Power: the power reading in the center of the watch face indicates your current power output. The target power for your current interval state is shown directly beneath.
Interval Timer: Below your current & target power, the interval timer will be displayed.
- For Warmup, Ready, Recovery, Endurance, & Cooldown states the timer will count down.
- For Intervals, the timer will count up as you hold the effort.
- Before you start your activity, the data field will display an estimated duration of the training based on your Low, High, & Peak XSS targets.

Running Power Support:

XMB also supports running activities with power. If you use Garmin’s native Running Power, XMB will track your strain across energy systems – giving runners access to the same tool that cyclists have enjoyed.

Note: Stryd running power meters aren’t currently supported for XMB, but it is something we are looking into.

Tips for Use on Garmin Watches

Use STOP > START mid-activity to refresh your training targets from Xert. Helpful if you started with stale targets or if you wish to change your training targets from the Xert web app mid-ride.
You can customize data field preferences (e.g., power smoothing) using Garmin Connect IQ mobile or Garmin Express desktop.
Both fields support indoor and outdoor use – great for outdoors or indoors on treadmills and trainers.
Using Forecast AI? XMB will automatically fetch today’s targets, even if you didn’t schedule a workout.

Device Compatibility

These data fields are supported on most Garmin watches that feature power meter support and include Connect IQ version 3.0+. This includes:

Forerunner 255/265/570/745/955/965/970
Fenix 5 Plus, 6, 7, and Epix series
Enduro 2/3, Tactix, Instinct, & MARQ series
Descent/D2 series
Venu X1, and many more

Check full compatibility on the Connect IQ Store before installing.

Troubleshooting

If the data field is not fetching your targets:

Ensure Bluetooth is enabled and your phone has internet access (WiFi or Mobile Data).
Check that Garmin Connect is open on your phone in the background.
Reinstall the data field and re-register if needed.
Manually upload the .FIT file to XertOnline.com if Garmin fails to sync.

Need more help? Reach out to support@xertonline.com or visit the Xert Forum.

Boosting Your Cycling Fitness Without Structured Training

Scott — Thu, 29 Jun 2023 20:15:40 +0000

Cycling is a fantastic way to improve cardiovascular health, build endurance, and strengthen muscles. Whether you’re a casual rider or a seasoned cyclist, the pursuit of improved fitness is a constant endeavor. For many athletes, the winter months provide a time for athletes to follow a methodological, structured training program, typically leveraging the usefulness of direct drive smart trainers. However, as warmer weather returns, many athletes are eager to ditch the turbo and enjoy the fresh air & sunshine.

While structured workouts on the turbo can provide a focused approach to fitness improvement, not everyone has the time or inclination to follow a strict regimen. The good news is that rigid training programs are not the only path to enhancing your cycling fitness – you can continue enhancing your cycling fitness without structured training by incorporating several strategies into your routine. In this blog post, we’ll explore how Xert can help you continue improving your fitness on the bike, even without a strict regimen. Let’s explore some key strategies below!

Progressive Overload

Perhaps the most fundamental rule to fitness is progressive overload, or the gradual increase in training duration and/or intensity. By progressively increasing the demands placed on the body, such as cycling longer distances or riding at higher intensities, you force your muscles, cardiovascular system, and other physiological systems to adapt and become stronger, more efficient, and better equipped to handle the increased workload. Lastly, progressive overload is the key to preventing fitness plateaus. Whether you’re a relatively new athlete, or have years of riding experience, incorporating progressive overload into your routine is key to increasing your cycling strength & endurance. Riders should be aware that as your training volume increases, like moving from 2-stars to 4+ stars, progressive overload becomes more challenging, as your required training time will continue to increase.

Consistency is key to progressive overload. Make a commitment to regularly get on your bike and maintain a consistent riding schedule. Whether it’s a few times a week or daily, staying in the saddle keeps your body engaged and accustomed to the demands of cycling. Xert keeps users accountable via the Adaptive Training Advisor (XATA). It uses your own training history plus your selected Improvement Rate to recommend training that progressively improves your fitness.

Balance Training & Recovery

While it’s true that progressive overload is the fundamental basis for fitness improvement, rest and recovery are vital for avoiding burnout and facilitate adaptations and improvement. Balancing progressive overload with recovery is a dynamic process that requires attentiveness and flexibility. Fortunately, Xert is a handy tool for athletes looking to optimize that balance!

By tracking your fitness & recovery demands across all your body’s energy systems, Xert can provide improved insight into the training you should consider each day. Adding too much training in a short period of time will likely result in a Very Tired (Red Star) status, indicating that you should consider a recovery day. After a hard group ride or race, your training status is likely Tired (Yellow Star), indicating that your high-intensity and/or sprint systems need recovery, but that your low-intensity system is still ready to handle more training. On these days, Xert will recommend low-intensity endurance training for you. Lastly, on days when you are fresh & ready to go, Xert will recommend harder training!

Varied Routes

Exploring different routes and terrains not only adds excitement to your rides but also challenges your body in new ways. Seek out hills or gravel roads – if you have a gravel bike – to engage different muscle groups and improve overall strength and endurance. Embrace the diversity that cycling offers!

Not all routes are created equal – some routes might be beneficial for an endurance/recovery ride, while other routes might be useful for pushing yourself! Further, riding the same route repeatedly can become monotonous and lead to a decline in motivation. Exploring new routes brings a sense of adventure and excitement to your cycling experience. Discovering new roads, scenic views, and interesting landmarks not only keeps your mind engaged but also boosts your overall enjoyment of cycling. A positive mindset and increased motivation contribute to better fitness gains as you’re more likely to push yourself and stay consistent with your training.

By varying your cycling routes, you keep your workouts fresh, engaging, and challenging. The combination of different terrains, intensity levels, and mental stimulation contributes to improved fitness gains, skill development, and overall enjoyment of cycling. So, explore new routes, embrace the adventure, and let your cycling journey take you to new heights of fitness and accomplishment.

Did you know? Xert will recommend your unstructured rides as part of your dynamic training program. This means you can progress towards your training goals even if you prefer riding outdoors over doing intervals on the turbo!

Read more about Recommended XSS, here.

Group Rides

Joining local cycling groups or clubs can provide motivation, camaraderie, and a chance to ride with more experienced cyclists. Group rides often involve higher speeds or longer distances, pushing you to new limits. These types of hard group rides are an excellent way to add additional strain (XSS) to maintain progressive overload. Riding alongside others can inspire friendly competition and drive you to achieve more.

To learn more about Group Ride Analytics featuring fly-by’s check out this article, here.

Intervals and Sprints

Interval training and sprints are excellent tools for improving fitness. Incorporate short bursts of high-intensity efforts during your rides. Choose specific landmarks or time intervals and push yourself to higher intensities. This simulates the benefits of structured interval training and enhances your cardiovascular capacity. For many athletes, hill repeats are a common outdoor workout.

One of the many features that Xerters love having on-board their head unit is Maximal Power Available (MPA) data. Xerters can know in real-time exactly how hard they need to work to generate a Breakthrough, whether that involves a townsign sprint, a hard effort up a punchy climb, or a longer, drawn-out effort, such as a Time Trial.

Xert’s Recommended Training

While many athletes might not think that unstructured rides are training, Xert might say that’s actually not the case! Oftentimes unstructured workouts, like hill repeats, or hard efforts during group rides can provide an excellent training stimulus! Using your second-by-second MPA, Xert can accurately quantify the training strain accumulated during unstructured rides, which allows us to easily compare them to structured workouts.

Consider the activity shown below – a simulated race – which features approximately 120 XSS at a Puncheur (4 min power) focus:

This activity provides similar training strain (XSS) at a particular focus to some of the SMART workouts in the Xert library, such as SMART – One Step Closer and SMART – Headstrong – 90, both shown below:

SMART – One Step Closer

SMART – Headstrong – 90

Using that information, one could argue that this group simulated race provides the same training benefit as the workouts listed above, but provides an athlete the opportunity to work on other skills, like riding in a group or holding a wheel, while also providing a great training session!

Many times, group rides or unstructured rides provide opportunities to train more or train harder than you might consider when grinding intervals on the turbo or doing solo workouts outdoors! Remembering that progressive overload is the foundation for improvements in fitness, rides that push you outside your comfort zone can be highly beneficial for your fitness – when paired with adequate recovery, of course!

Goal Setting

Establishing realistic goals for yourself provides a sense of purpose and motivation. It can be as simple as completing a certain distance, conquering a challenging climb, or participating in a cycling event. Setting and working toward goals gives structure to your cycling endeavors and keeps you focused and driven.

Xerters with a compatible Garmin Edge device can also leverage the power of the Xert Segment Hunter (XSH) data field to ‘hunt’ their favourite segments, aiming for a Personal Record (PR) or King/Queen of the Mountain (KOM/QOM). XSH uses your unique fitness signature & your real-time MPA to pace your power effort across a Strava segment at your maximum potential.

For more information see the XSH quick start guide, read our support article, here.

Conclusion

Structured training programs may not be suitable or appealing to all cyclists. Fortunately, there are several effective strategies to continue improving your cycling fitness without formal training. By incorporating consistent riding, adequate recovery, varied routes, intervals, group rides, and goal setting into your routine, you can keep pedaling forward and reap the benefits of an active cycling lifestyle. Remember to listen to your body, embrace the joy of cycling, and adapt your approach as needed. Enjoy the journey, and let the wheels keep spinning you toward greater fitness!

Returning to Training after a Break

Scott — Thu, 15 Sep 2022 14:29:43 +0000

Introduction

If you’ve trained for any amount of time, you have likely experienced some interruption to your training routine – whether that’s a family vacation, an unforeseen business trip, or a unexpected injury, or just taking some downtime after a long riding season. While being away from your bike may cause some slight separation anxiety, it does not mean that your hard-earned fitness is going to just dissappear and it’s going to take forever to get back to where you were before.

If you’re one to follow a training plan, it can often be difficult to know what to do. Whether to just resume where you left off or start a new plan or whether you might need another FTP test or not are not simple questions to answer. If you’re following Xert, you’re likely to see a big XSS deficit and may think you’re never going to close it.

In this blog post, we will discuss how you can use Xert to get back into training after taking some time off the bike, whether that’s due to traveling, sickness, injury, or simply a lack of motivation.

Cycling has Ups and Downs

From the amateur level all the way up to the professional levels, there are always peaks & valleys in your fitness journey. This may include making the podium at an important race, beating some of your mates on the local climb or even hitting a new all-time high Threshold Power. Sometimes, it also means some down-time at the end of a long season, or recovering from illness or injury.

Keep in mind that these highs and lows are completely normal (and even desirable). Even athletes at the professional level take time at the end of the season to rest their bodies and reset their minds. Using that same focus and commitment they had to reach the levels of fitness before the break, Xerters confidently know they will be able to return to those same levels of fitness after the break. Occasionally, athletes may reach even higher levels of fitness as they continue learning about themselves and what it takes to get better and better. Ultimately, enjoying your fitness journey – including the temporary ups & downs – is a fundamental part of cycling.

If you been away for more than just a few weeks, whether that’s from having other priorities in life or an injury that has taken time to heal, and have seen your fitness reach new lows, now’s the time to get back into it. Don’t delegate the return to fitness to your future self. Just start the process again of riding, improving, a bit at a time and tracking your gains. Being as good as you can be, within the constraints your life gives you, is the goal and should be the benchmark of personal achievement.

Why Is My Deficit So Large?

If you’ve had a break from cycling, you might be frightened by a large XSS deficit and intimidated by the training pacer being pinned to the left-hand side of the dial. You might be asking yourself, why is my XSS deficit so large? Below, we’ll briefly explain how the training pacer works and why the deficit increases so much when you take a break from training.

In short, the Training Pacer needle looks at your last 7 days of training, your Training Status (overall Training Load) as well as your currently selected Improvement Rate (IR) and it calculates how much training needs to be done each day to maintain your selected IR. Generally you’ll see that the total amount of training that needs to be done will run in patterns – e.g. if you ride longer on Saturdays, your XSS deficit will increase relatively more on Saturdays. On the other hand, if you typically take Monday’s off, your XSS deficit will increase relatively less on Mondays. As you’re off the bike longer & longer, you continue to fall further below the training required to meet your selected Improvement Rate, and the Training Pacer needle will continue to shift further and further to the left-hand side.

Generally speaking, the higher your training status was before your break from training, the larger your XSS deficit will be when you return to training. For example, a 4-star athlete needs to be doing approximately 770 XSS per week just to maintain their training load, while a 2-star athlete only needs about 350 XSS per week. So… if both athletes were to take a week off, the 4-star athlete will see a larger XSS deficit than the 2-star athlete. This is simply a reflection of a higher training load before the break.

Overall, the Xert Adaptive Training Advisor (XATA) understands how much training you do and works to close the total XSS deficit over the course of the next 7 days. As a result, the recommended workouts from XATA will have relatively high XSS amounts. Don’t fret, we will provide more detailed instructions on how to resume your training in the guide found at the bottom of this blog post – or click here to jump ahead!

Track your Progress!

Xert helps you keep track of progress in terms of the training investments you make to build the stars in your Training Status as well as the resulting breakthrough performances – identifying when your fitness improves and you’re seeing the gains get realized.

Fitness Testing

One problem that athletes might have when resuming their training after taking a long break is understanding where their current level of fitness truly is. Xert has fitness decay built into the model – when you aren’t training, your FTP, HIE, and Peak Power will slowly decay downward. This helps ensure that workouts are achievable when you do return to train.

If you’ve only been off the bike for a week or two, the signature decay is probably negligible, and you can resume training – whether you’re just riding or doing workouts – until you feel ready to push for a breakthrough. If you’ve been off the bike for a longer period of time, say 6 weeks or more, it’s possible that your signature may decay lower than your fitness truly is, so you may want to consider resetting your signature with a Breakthrough effort before you resume training with structured workouts.

If you’re recovering from an injury and are not able to push for a breakthrough, you may consider using the No Decay setting. Review this blog post for information on setting that up.

Remember that you will likely feel relatively fresh during your first couple of activities because of your time off the bike. Be careful not to over-do it at this point…there’s no need to regain all your fitness in just a few days!

Restarting Your Training with Xert

If you’ve been away from training for a while, you may have see your training pacer look something like this:

As we highlighted previously, the training pacer works on a rolling 7 day window, so you will need approximately 7 days of training to get the Training Pacer back on track. To make the deficit a bit more manageable, you may even consider changing your Improvement Rate to ‘Maintenance’ or ‘Off-Season’ – this will make it easier to close your XSS deficit in the first week of your return to training. If you have it set to ‘Extreme-2’, the deficit might be almost comical. There are a couple different ways you can handle your first week back into training after a break:

Option 1: Structured Training Using the Fitness Planner

Many athletes have some sort of weekly routine in their training – i.e. Monday is an easy/recovery day, Tuesday & Thursday are high-intensity days, etc. When you initially return to cycling, you can get a sense of what it will take to get back on track again by using the Fitness Planner and manually scheduling your rides and workouts on particular days of the week. The primary benefit to restarting your training this way is that you can see how XATA responds to each planned activity or workout in advance and you’ll get a sense of when you’ll be back on par with your training. Once you’re back into your regular routine, you can start using XATA to help you track your deficits and use the Training Pacer and keep the needle pointing up. You can also switch to another Improvement Rate the matches your time availability to train.

For example, if you want to start a new week with your endurance or recovery ride, click the ‘+’ button an use the workout filters to find a suitable endurance or recovery workout and schedule it for Monday:

From there, you can consider scheduling some High-Intensity days. If you plan to do HIIT on Tuesday & Thursday, you could click the “+” button on those days in the planner and set the planned time – this will ensure your workouts are ready in the Xert EBC app or Garmin Workout Player when it’s time to train. The apps will automatically select your scheduled workout approximately 2 hours before it’s planned time.

From the ‘Plan an Activity’ menu, you can quickly find your liked workouts & favourite activities by clicking the ‘star’ icon; alternatively you can use the text search to find other workouts. Once you’re happy with your selection, click the ‘Save’ button to save your changes to planner.

Alternatively, you could also click on a particular day of the week to view the training recommendations from Xert for that specific day. If desired, use the filters to narrow the recommendations by duration, focus, difficulty, etc:

You can continue using the planner to lay out your plans for the week ahead. If you schedule your weekly training, you will likely notice the training pacer slowly move from the left-hand side towards the 12 o’clock position. By the start of the second week, XATA and your Training Pacer should be back on track and you can resume using Xert’s Adaptive recommendations on a day-to-day basis!

Option 2: Unstructured Riding

While many people do enjoy having a set schedule, there are many Xerters who aren’t able to have a set weekly routine. You may also not be training for anything in particular and/or generally prefer to ride for fun. In this case, you may choose to just ride as you expect to be riding in the coming weeks. You don’t need to follow XATA and the training pacer for the first week or two as you ease back into training.

You might choose to free-ride outdoors (or free-ride indoors on your favorite virtual training program), manually select one of your favorite Xert SMART workouts, or even join a group ride/group workout.

Despite an overall lack of structure, free-riding is an excellent way to ease back into your training routine. In fact, you should notice that the training pacer will slowly transition from “Falling Behind” on the left-hand side, up towards the 12 o’clock position – just as if you had performed structured training for your return to training!

Note: If you previously lowered your Improvement Rate to decrease the deficit, you can consider adjusting your IR back up as the deficit becomes more manageable. After about 7 days of training, your training pacer will be completely reset.

Ultimately, you should feel confident that after about a week of riding – structured or unstructured – you will be able to resume your adaptive training with Xert!

Conclusion

In this blog post, we covered some general tips on how you can return to training after a break. We provided some general principles of returning to training, as well as explaining how you can jump-start your return to training with Xert! As always, we hope this blog post was interesting & that you learned something!

Training Right For Your Event

Scott — Fri, 19 Aug 2022 17:08:31 +0000

Introduction

With the creation of the Adaptive Training Advisor, Xert has radically changed the way in which we train & prepare for events. Rather than prescribing workouts weeks & months in advance, Xert takes a day-to-day approach for workout recommendations. Xert’s recommendations are based on a variety of factors that you have control over, including your Athlete Type & Improvement Rate. In this blog post, we will discuss how you can utilize Xert to help you prepare for your Target Event and what to do leading up to the day of the event itself.

Understanding the Demands of your Event

The first step to arriving ready to rock on your event day is having a good understanding of what it will take to succeed in the event. Will your event require high-power sprints out of corners at a crit? Short, hard efforts up key hills in a road race? Perhaps there will be plenty of longer climbs. Ask yourself these questions so you can select the appropriate athlete type. Your athlete type is an important aspect of your training program, since it influences the overall periodization of your training program, which we will cover in detail in the next section.

In general, the Athlete Types can be roughly divided into four main groups:

Sprinters: Power Sprinter, Road Sprinter, Pursuiter
Attackers: Puncheur, Breakaway Specialist
All-Rounders: Rouleur, GC Specialist, Climber
Endurance: Sprint Time-Trialist,Time-Trialist, Century Rider, Triathlete

For most athletes, selecting an athlete type from the Attacker group will be sufficient. However, you should review activities that are similar to your target event and look at their Focus Duration – select the matching athlete type.

To learn more about this, read our related blog post here

Another aspect to consider is the amount of training load that is required for your event. The longer or harder your event is, the higher the training load will be required to effectively compete. Ideally, your training load should be at least 1/3 the amount of XSS you might expect to do on event day. For example, if the event will generate 300 XSS, you should ideally be at 100TL just prior to the event and fresh for best results.

Periodization and Xert

Periodization refers to the systematic planning of training into discrete training periods. Your training program with Xert is divided into four phases: Base, Build, Peak, & Taper. As discussed above, your adaptive training is periodized according to your athlete type.

Those of you who are training for a particular event, you will notice that the focus type of recommended workouts will change as you progress through the Xert Adaptive Training Program. This generally involves more low-intensity & endurance early in your training program and transitioning into highly specialized workouts later in the program. You can visualize this as a pyramid, where the base of the pyramid is a strong base period, and the top of the pyramid is highly specialized training:

This concept of increasing intensity is often referred to as increasing specificity, meaning that the closer you are to your event, the more your training should mimic the demands of your event. Intuitively, this makes sense – the final weeks of your training should be focused on improving the fitness demands of your event. For example, if your event requires top end sprint power, the final weeks of training should include activities & workouts with a Road Sprinter focus type. Those final weeks are not the time to be focused on Threshold Power or 5 minute power – those areas of fitness should have already been developed earlier in the training program. Next up, we’ll discuss the various training phases that Xert will lead you through on the way to your target event, and what you can expect out of each phase of your training.

Pro Tip: Training phases are unique to the Target Event Date program type. Xerters who have selected Continuous Improvement or Challenge will not progress through different training phases.

How Xert Periodizes your Training Phases

Xert’s Adaptive Training Program for a Target Event begins 120 days prior to your goal event. Over those ~4 months, Xert will move you through Base, Build, Peak, and Taper phases. If your target event is more than 120 days away, you’ll begin your training program in the Pre-Base phase. You can view your current position in your training program by heading to the “Training” tab of XertOnline.com and scrolling down:

Your current training phase and estimated weekly volume of training for your current Improvement Rate is displayed below. You can click & drag the slider to view how your recommended training & weekly volume will change as you progress through your program. Also note how your weekly Focus changes through the build & peak phases.

Pre-Base Phase (If Applicable)

Xert will place you in the pre-base phase if your target event is more than 120 days away. In this training phase, you still have plenty of time until your event day, so the exact workout that you choose will not have a material difference to your target event. When your training status is Fresh or Very Fresh (Blue/Green Stars), Xert will recommend a high-intensity workout that aligns with your selected athlete type – e.g. a Puncheur will be recommended Puncheur focus workouts. When your training status is Tired (Yellow stars), Xert will recommend endurance focused workouts with a 2.5 diamond difficulty or less.

Base Phase

The primary focus of the base phase is to develop your low-intensity training load, which helps your Threshold Power . This becomes important, since having a deep aerobic base will allow you to recover faster from high-intensity training later in the program. In this phase, Xert will always recommend endurance-focused workouts. If you would like to include some high intensity training into your base phase, feel free to filter for higher intensity workouts when your training status is Fresh/Very Fresh (Blue/Green stars). When yellow, Xert will still recommend endurance workouts with a 2.5 diamond difficulty or less.

Build Phase

In the build phase, Xert continues to build your endurance while beginning to develop your high & peak intensity systems. If you’re looking at the Adaptive Training Program and move the slider forward through the build phase, you should notice that the weekly training recommendations will change.

Early in the build phase, Xert will still recommend endurance-focused workouts, even when your training status is Fresh. Your selected athlete type will make a larger influence in the mid-build phase. Endurance oriented athlete types (GC Specialist, Climber, Sprint Time-Trailist, Time-Trialist, Century Rider, & Triathlete) will see harder endurance workouts recommended, while attackers (Puncheur, Breakaway Specialist, & Rouleur) and sprinters (Power Sprinter, Road Sprinter, & Pursuiter) will start to see more intense workouts recommended. These differences between different athlete types are highlighted in the image below:

Longer focus duration athlete types (Time Trialist, Century Rider, and Triathlete) will be recommended athlete specific workouts, but those workouts will appear as “endurance” in the Xert system. This is demonstrated on the right-hand side of the image above. On the other hand, attackers & sprinters will experience a greater progression as the weekly focus shifts from endurance towards their selected athlete type. This is demonstrated on the left-hand side of the image above.

Pro Tip: The average athlete should avoid choosing longer duration athlete types, such as Time Trialist, Century Rider, or Triathlete unless they are aiming to only compete in these events.

Peak Phase

In the Peak Phase, Xert works to increase the specificity of your training, meaning that the workouts that are recommended will closely align with your selected athlete type. You should notice in this phase of training that, when your training status is Fresh, the HIIT workout recommendations should generally match your selected Athlete Type. For example, a puncheur athlete will receive recommendations to help improve their 4 min power (Puncheur athlete type), while a Road Sprinter will be recommended workouts to help improve their 2 min power (Road Sprinter athlete type).

Taper Phase

The taper period is your final training phase before your target event. During the taper period, the goal is to reduce your overall weekly XSS & hourly training, whilst maintaining peak intensity. In Xert terms, this means reducing your Improvement Rate to “Taper” or even “Off-Season”, while still completing high-intensity workouts with a focus that aligns with selected Athlete Type. This process will be outlined in detail in the next section.

Perfecting Your Taper

There are two important things to understand about a taper period:

There are no specific steps & workouts leading up to your event. Every taper should be different, depending on a variety of factors.
The Taper period requires flexibility! Your training plan should change on a daily basis depending on how you’re feeling, while being aware of your training status leading into your event.

Although every taper is slightly different (depending on the athlete & target event), the ultimate goal is to arrive on the day of your event fresh & ready to perform! Xert’s Fitness Planner is an indispensable tool for helping you perfect your taper, since you can experiment with different workouts & days in the taper period and see its effect on your Target Event Day readiness without actually doing them! Follow these general guidelines to experiment & plan your taper:

Step 1. Start by reducing your Improvement Rate to Taper. This reduces the total amount of training that Xert will recommend, allowing you to freshen up for your target event.

Step 2. Next, place one of the SMART - Opener workouts a day or two before your target event. Choose the Opener workout that suits your Athlete Type (Sprinter, Attacker, etc).

Step 3. Once that’s done, start working from today’s date forward, select a HIIT workout when your training status is Fresh. You can either drag & drop easier endurance workouts (e.g. SMART - Lucy In the Sky With Diamonds) when your training status is tired, or click on the date to view the recommended workouts. In general, we recommend against letting Xert automatically select your workouts during the taper period. You will have an increased awareness of how you feel in preparation for your event by manually planning & selecting workouts based on how you're feeling each and every day.

Step 4. As you start placing workouts in the fitness planner, pay special attention to your expected training status just before your target event. You can even change your As Of time for - ideally your training status should be Fresh (blue stars) on your target event date. Continue to experiment with your taper by repositioning HIIT workouts and endurance rides by clicking & dragging them in the planner:

Step 5. You can also use the same method to determine how much training you should be doing for an event. By reviewing your training status after the event and inspecting how fatigued you will be, you can help gauge whether you are trained enough for the event. As a rule of thumb, most shorter (~2 hour) events should leave you yellow afterwards. A red status after the event indicates you may not be adequately trained for the event. This rule of thumb does not apply to ultra (160+ km) or multi-day events.

Conclusion

In this blog post, we covered many of the essential aspects to help you train right up to your event. Your selected Athlete Type influences the overall periodization of training as progress from Build through Peak phase. Your training status, as well as your training phase, will determine the recommended workouts on a daily basis. The final taper helps you freshen up for your event, so you feel ready to go for your target event. Use some of the information we have provided to help plan & prepare for your next event. There is nothing quite like lining up at the start line feeling as prepared as you can be! Happy Xerting!

Assessing Readiness to Train

Scott — Thu, 28 Jul 2022 17:40:46 +0000

An important part of all Training Programs is the need to incorporate day-to-day readiness into the program to guide what type of training should be performed on that day. In Xert, we look to model that readiness using your Training Status which uses your historical power data to estimate what level of freshness you’ll have on that day. But with other stressors playing a role in your readiness – work stress, sleep, alcohol – changes in your training may be needed in order to avoid problems such as missing workouts or even overtraining.

In this blog post, we get into more detail on how to assess your readiness to train and how to incorporate this into your training program.

Traditional Training Plans versus Adaptive Training Advisor

Traditionally, cyclists have prepared for the physiological demands of their events through predefined training plans. Athletes would work with a coach directly, or purchase a training program from a coach that they would follow over the next several weeks (or months). These training plans are carefully designed and work well when athletes stick to plan. However, they generally lack flexibility to adapt when life interrupts – vacations, sicknesses, or simply other life stressors. A good coach would continue to meet with their athlete and adapt the training plan, not every athlete has the luxury of working 1 on 1 with a coach.

In 2018, Xert took a radical approach to training plans with the creation of the Xert Adaptive Training Advisor, which recommends workouts on a day-to-day basis. This offers several advantages over a traditional training plan, most notably the ability to adjust each day’s training based on your personal training goals, as well as your readiness to train each day in particular. In this blog post, we will talk about different tools & methods that you can utilize to assess your readiness to train, and how that information can be used to enhance your training with Xert!

Subjective Feelings

Perhaps the most important and simplest method of assessing your readiness is by asking yourself “how do I feel today?”, or “Do I feel ready to train hard today?” This simple line of questioning is important to consider in addition to Xert’s calculated training status or any of the other readiness metrics that we will be discussed below.

Keep in mind that regardless of how you feel or what training you have recently completed, Xert will always display recommended workouts. These recommendations are always just that – a recommendation. If you are feeling too fatigued from a long/hard weekend of riding, then taking a rest day is certainly okay! On the other hand, if you’re feeling fresher than Xert indicates, you have the ability to filter or override the recommendations and select a longer or harder workout. Following the Xert Adaptive Training Advisor you can catch up on missed or modified workouts or take advantage of available training time easily. This is what makes training with a program and not a plan so advantageous.

Resting Heart Rate

Another rough estimate of daily readiness to train is your resting heart rate. There are plenty of 24/7 heart rate tracking devices which can calculate RHR (Apple, Fitbit, Garmin, etc.) or you can even just take your own pulse in the morning when you wake up. As your fitness level increases (or as you accumulate more stars in your Xert profile), you may see a reduction in your Resting Heart Rate (RHR). On the other hand, an elevated heart rate (anywhere between 2-10 bpm higher than usual) often indicates a state of stress and lower readiness for high intensity exercise. Indeed, a chronic higher resting heart rate can be a sign of overtraining or the result of illness.

Xert’s Training Status

At a basic level, Xert helps athletes understand their readiness to train via their training status. Xert calculates your training status each day by looking at the strain (XSS) placed on each of your energy systems: low energy (associated with Threshold Power), high energy system (associated with HIE), and peak energy (associated with Peak Power). From there, Xert compares the recent strain on each system against its respective training load, which guides Xert’s training recommendations via your training status. We’ll briefly outline the various training statuses below.

If all of your energy systems are ready to train, Xert assigns a ‘Fresh’ training status (blue/green stars). Since your high-intensity systems are ready to go, Xert will recommend high-intensity training. The Focus of the recommended high intensity training will depend on your selected Athlete Type as well as your Program Type.

If your high-intensity systems are too tired to train, but your low intensity system is still fresh, Xert assigns a ‘Tired’ training status (yellow stars) and endurance training will be recommended, or you can choose to free-ride and aim to limit the intensity below Lower Threshold Power (LTP).

Lastly, if your high-intensity systems and low intensity systems are too tired to train, Xert assigns a ‘Very Tired’ status (red stars), where active recovery workouts are recommended. When your training status is ‘very tired’, you may even consider taking a day off of training.

Heart Rate Variability

Our hearts do not beat perfectly like a metronome. Rather, each heartbeat is either slightly faster or slower than the preceding beat. These differences between successive beats are known as Heart Rate Variability (HRV). HRV is controlled by the body’s autonomic nervous system (ANS), which is further subdivided by the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system. These two systems control your ‘fight or flight’ response, as well as ‘rest and digest’.

Most often these two systems are balanced, but HRV can be used to determine when there are imbalances. If the body is in a fight or flight response, the variation between successive beats typically decreases, resulting in a lower HRV. And when the body is in an overly relaxed state, the variation between successive beats is larger (higher HRV).

Fortunately, there are several apps, such as HRV4Training and Elite HRV, that have been developed to measure and interpret your HRV, presenting it as a daily readiness score. These apps can be used to help fine tune your training recommendations from Xert by considering additional non-training stress.

Recovery Products

Some health wearables have taken physiological monitoring a step farther by performing continuous monitoring. These products track sleep quality, respiratory rate, and HRV around the clock in an attempt to better quantify your stress and recovery. The largest players in this area are the Whoop armband and Oura ring. Similar to a daily HRV reading, these wearable products can provide a readiness score which you can use to fine tune the XATA workout recommendations. This will be discussed at the end of the blog post.

Other Stressors

However, as you might have guessed, there are other non-training stressors that can impact your readiness to train. This could include workplace or lifestyle stress, traveling, alcohol, and more. Excess alcohol consumption is known to increase RHR and decrease HRV, typically indicators of decreased readiness to train. Similarly, long days of traveling (driving, flying, etc.) also negatively impact readiness to train. These stressors should also be considered when determining your readiness to train.

Overreaching vs. Overtraining

So why is the concept of daily readiness important? Building fitness is based upon the principle of Progressive Overload – in order to gain fitness, you need to push your body beyond what it is used to. This principle is universal across different sports, from 100m sprinters to power-lifting athletes to amateur cyclists. The idea is that after training, your body is temporarily weaker than before training – this is a direct result of applying strain (XSS) to your various energy systems. With sufficient recovery between training sessions, your body will adapt and strengthen.

However, more is not always better. If you continue to push yourself hard without sufficient recovery, especially when you’re feeling tired, you risk reaching a point of non-functional overreaching – more commonly referred to as overtraining. Overtraining is associated with a myriad of symptoms ranging from mood swings, to general fatigue, and poor quality of sleep. You might see signs of overreaching if your training status is consistently red, i.e. very tired, for many days or consistently yellow, i.e. tired, weeks on end.

It’s worth pointing out that you can – and should – still train when you are not feeling 100% fresh. In fact, Xert’s Adaptive Training Advisor was built upon this principle! However, it’s important to point out that you must avoid riding hard when your training status is Tired, or if you are feeling tired. In these situations, you can continue functional overreaching by riding at an endurance pace – limit the intensity to no more then your Lower Threshold Power. By riding easy, you can still progressively overload your low energy system (Threshold Power) while also allowing your high intensity systems (High Intensity & Peak Intensity) to recover.

Incorporating Daily Readiness with Xert Adaptive Training Advisor

Now that we’ve discussed various tools that are available to you, how can you use these tools in combination with Xert? We’ll discuss some general rules of thumb below. These rules can be summarized using the flowchart below:

Start by looking at your training status in Xert. Are you considered fresh, tired, or very tired? Secondly, what is your subjective feeling? Does your gut feeling align with Xert’s calculated training status? Also consider your physiological measures – how is your resting heart rate, daily HRV, and/or readiness score? This is where you can truly start to take even more control over your training with Xert!

The next step is to use that physiological feedback to fine tune Xert’s recommendations

If you’re feeling more fresh than Xert indicates, move the Freshness Feedback slider to the right. This will let Xert know that you can train more and/or harder.
If you’re feeling more tired than Xert indicates, move the Freshness Feedback slider to the left. This will let Xert know that you need to train less or easier. Alternatively, you can consider taking a rest day if needed.

Wrap Up

One of Xert’s most powerful features is the ability to adapt your training program on a day-by-day basis. In today’s blog post, we discussed a variety of methods & tools that you can utilize in addition to the Xert Adaptive Training Advisor and the Freshness Feedback Slider to take even greater control of your training.