Many of us track our power numbers with an interest in achieving max power output and hitting the #BOOM of a breakthrough effort. Tracking these max efforts is indeed important, and it is true that ultimately we are aiming to get Peak Power (PP), High Intensity Energy (HIE), or Threshold Power (TP) as high as possible. However, when and how often you can hit these efforts is equally important.

For example, consider:

• Can you hit those values at the end of a 3 hr hilly ride?
• Can you hit those values over and over again, over the course of a ride?

Key to being able to achieve the above is to be repeatable with your efforts. It’s great if you can hang with the main group after the first selection. However, if you’re so gassed that the next surge spits you out the back, you’re not going to be there fighting at the finish. And that’s exactly how many races – and even aggressive club rides – play out, with repeated attacks throughout the entire race or ride.

The demands of repeatability also play out in a typical pro race, where there is often a very hard initial 30-60 min as the main breakaway fights to become established. Then there comes a long period of several hours where everybody gets progressively more tired, but it’s more steady. Then the final hour comes and the decisive hammer gets dropped on the very tired riders. What separates the winners, like Valverde, Bardet, and Woods at the recent World Champs in Innsbruck, is the incredible effort that they can still sustain after >6 h of hard racing, on that final “hell” climb. Elite amateurs “might” be able to come near those power numbers when completely fresh at the start of a ride, but it’s another thing to hit them repeatedly or at the end of a race.

My Personal Hell

Personally, I hate time trialing, and have a really hard time getting motivated for regular 20 min, 5 min TTs for testing. It’s also not the kind of effort that I really do in my cyclocross and gravel races. One of the big advantages of Xert is that it removes the need for traditional testing, like a 20 min TT, to estimate a Functional Threshold Power as a fitness parameter. Ride hard enough to drain your MPA, and the algorithms will automatically recalculate PP, HIE, or TP as appropriate. This can be done during solo rides, group rides, club races, or specific workouts that are relevant to your own riding goals.

In addition to everyday breakthroughs, I like to supplement these with a specific test effort that is more relevant to my own riding goals. I like to test my ‘repeatability’ using a workout first designed by Norwegian scientist Bent Rønnestad as a test effort. This consists of 3 sets, each one comprising 13 repetitions of 30 s max effort with 15 s recovery at about 50% of threshold power. Try it – it’s hellish.

Analyzing the workout (you can find under “Cheung CX – Ronnestad”) you will see that it has a “Breakaway Specialist” (5 min) focus, which is right in the range of ~4:30 focus of my typical CX or gravel races. It also has a Pure specificity for very concentrated emphasis on this focus. You will also see that it is incredibly intense, with a Difficulty Score of 168 leading to a 5-star rating. You definitely need to be mentally ready and physically rested for this workout.

I do this workout regularly throughout the year indoors and outdoors, but I especially like to ensure that I do it indoors at least several times throughout a season. I do it with the ergometer on free mode (i.e. I determine intensity rather than the trainer requiring a specific wattage). Or, I do them riding in Zwift on the flattest course possible so that I don’t suddenly get slammed by a 10% wall or spinning out downhill. I do NOT recommend doing them under ‘trainer control’ on Xert or Zwift, because you want to do them as best efforts rather than have the wattage controlled for you.

Let’s take a look at the three indoor Rønnestad rides I did this year on Zwift and see what patterns and insights we can gain.

My main goal of the season were the spring gravel races in upstate NY and Ontario, culminating with Paris-Ancaster at the end of April. Therefore, this effort February 17 was right about middle of my long build from early December. All of my training was indoors thanks to the Canadian winter. From an initial December starting Training Load (TL) of 47, I had systematically built TL up to 85.

Beyond the raw numbers, look at each of the three sets themselves. They were extremely repeatable and similar in how much I could drain my fatigue (Maximum Power Available – blue line). Each set drained my MPA fully to the point where it matched my actual current power (red line), forcing the Xert model to repeatedly update my signature. The wattage for each set, whether a pure average or normalized, were very similar at 256 – 259 W.

The similarity of the three sets tells me that I am already developing a very deep base of aerobic fitness, such that I can recover and drain myself multiple times. This bodes very well for being able to perform hard efforts towards the latter end of rides or races, which is usually where the winning moves are made.

My test mid-April was in the final phase before my peak event on April 29. Training remained very consistent and I had built up my Training Load to 96. I had done three gravel races by this point and performed well in all of them.

As in February, my three sets were a bit higher in terms of wattage (260-270 W) and similar in terms of the level at which they drained my MPA. So I’ve managed to increase my intensity of effort while maintaining my repeatability. Perfect! And it resulted in my performance in Paris-Ancaster (70 km of road, double/singletrack, and MUD) well exceeding my ideal target of top 200 overall (ended up 177^th) when my previous best had been 263^rd.

Now, to a test effort in the fall. My training had been quite sporadic over the late summer and into fall, with lots of weeks off due to moving across Canada for my sabbatical, getting sick for a couple of weeks, etc. My TL had dropped to 70-75 from September.

The file from this day starkly contrasts with the two earlier tests. The first set maxed out at 254 W average, then the wheels fell off in the latter two sets, with wattages of only 228 and 225 W. As plainly visible, despite my high perceived effort, MPA was minimally drained in those two latter sets. Overall, intensity dropped dramatically compared to Feb/April, and repeatability was non-existent.

Another interesting thing to note. I had set my Decay setting to “No Decay” since September, and my Fitness Signature was PP 1006W, HIE 16.2kJ, TP 238W. I have not achieved any actual breakthrough efforts since early August. How well does this No Decay estimate my signature?

Well, I ended up with a Bronze breakthrough, with HIE the only component changing, and that was only from 16.2 kJ to 16.4 kJ. Pretty bang-on for two months of tracking!

Lessons Learned

What this October tests tells us is the importance of sustaining training. Even though Threshold Power in February and October were similar (240 and 238 W), the drop in Training Load just did not permit hard efforts to be repeated. So, overall I was much more fit in February than October.

You often hear the phrase “matches to burn” when it comes to racing. The more repeatable your fitness, the more matches you can burn. Back in February and April, I could race knowing that I could dig deep multiple times and late into a race. By October, I would have to race completely differently, knowing my box of matches was running much lower.

Note that this pattern of decreased fitness often occurs during CX season. You often hear of the pros skipping a week of racing in favour of going south for a dedicated training block. That’s because, with double races each weekend from October – February, the high intensity racing forces multiple days of recovery, such that minimal actual training is possible in-season and deep aerobic fitness disappears.

Summary

The big takeaway here is that fitness is more than just raw test numbers. Arguably even more important is repeatability.

Ride fast, repeatably, and have fun!

Xert continues to roll out a wide range of innovations to make it a comprehensive fitness monitoring, tracking, and planning ecosystem. Our latest roll-out is the Training Advisor, an adaptive technology that can guide you day to day with your training leading up to a target date and Focus.

As the Sports Scientist for Baron Biosystems, I will be putting my legs where my words are, and will predominantly use our new Training Advisor over this winter for my training. Let’s go through some of the main parts of the Training Advisor screen to get ourselves familiar with its options and with how to use it.

The upper left of the main page should be familiar to everyone. There are basic data of your age and weight, along with your desired Athlete Type that you can change in your Account settings. In my case, with my focus on cyclocross and early season gravel races, I know from past races that the dominant focus is Breakaway Specialist. There is the familiar coloured stars system. The Training Status of 1-5 stars is based on your Training Load, while the colours (from purple = detraining to red = very tired are based on your Training Status & Form. In my case, my final CX race was at the end of October, and I’ve taken 4 out of the 5 weeks afterwards completely off due to conferences. Therefore, my TL has dropped from 4 stars down to 2 at the start of this off-season.

On the lower left of the main page is where you can set your target event date. In my case, I’ve set it for April 8, 2018 to coincide with the start of a month of gravel racing. The Training Advisor works backwards 120 days from this event date to build a periodized program, consisting of 45 days of Base, 45 days of Build, and 30 days of Peak. As you progress to Build and Peak, the Training Advisor will recommend workouts more targeted towards your selected Athlete Type.

You can choose to base Training Advisor on a targeted buildup of Training Load by adjusting the Improvement Rate, ranging from a weekly XSS Ramp Rate of -2 (Off-season) to +7 (Extreme). In my case, I’m starting with a ramp rate of +3 (Moderate-2).

Note that the estimate weekly training will change depending on what Improvement Rate you have chosen. For example, by choosing a Maintenance (0 ramp rate), training reduces to 5.8 h/wk, while an Extreme-2 (7 ramp rate) would require 10.8 h/wk of training. This can help you adjust training week-to-week based on your own time available. Your projected fitness will also change based on which Improvement Rate you choose.

Based on these values and your current Fitness Signature, the Training Advisor will estimate the weekly training you need to perform, along with the 6 week and target event Threshold Power and Focus values. You will see that my TP/Focus is projected from a current 234/283 W to 248/298W by April 8.

Today’s Advice is the heart and primary summary view of Training Advisor. It tells you what phase (Base, Build, Peak) of training you are in currently, your Improvement Rate, how much XSS you have left to accumulate this week (20 XSS in my case left to do Sunday) to maintain your desired Improvement Rate, your hours of training in the coming week (8 in my case) to maintain this Improvement Rate.

The second paragraph suggests a broad category of workouts for you to consider, both in terms of Focus (Endurance in my case) and Hardness (1 star or easy, 20 XSS).

The bottom right is where the Training Advisor’s adaptive technology really comes into play. Based on a number of important considerations, the  Training Advisor ranks all the workouts in your library to find those that best match what your current training needs are.  When auto-select is enabled, the advisor will randomly choose from the top 4 recommended. The data used in scoring is continuously updated throughout the day, every day, ensuring that when you decide you train, you’ll get the most up-to-date recommendation available.

Hovering on a workout gives you the general power profile, and clicking on a workout selects it. That workout is then automatically uploaded to Xert’s Remote Player, along with the Android and new iOS app. It can also be transferred to your Garmin the usual way via Bluetooth.

The “Load More” button opens up further possible workout options that roughly fit the recommended training suggested by the system.

You are of course free to select any workout from the Xert library, or do any other ride that you desire.  Sometimes, just riding to reduce your XSS deficit at the recommended Focus can be quite effective.

Summary

I hope that you see the power and adaptability of Xert’s Training Advisor. Day to day, it will adapt to your training history and your desired target, recommending training that will put you on that idea path to a peak performance!

In the northern hemisphere, most of us have been putting in lots of time on the bike throughout the spring and summer. Therefore, in general our overall fitness and aerobic capacity is already at a high level. Long rides of 4 to 5 hours are not uncommon, and our Threshold Power (TP) is likely also fairly high and stable.

This all changes with the requirements of CX season. Besides the obvious differences in technical demands (barriers, varied terrain, very low pressure tires, cornering, etc.) and in the need to dismount and run, the physical requirements for success also contrast sharply with many forms of road racing and especially time trialing.

The biggest physical demands of CX includes:

• The massive surge off the line from a standing start, with power outputs that nearly rival that of a road race sprint finish.
• The ability to repeatedly surge from an already-high sustained power output and fatigue buildup.
• Surges are generally extremely short – 3-6 s in duration.
• Neuromuscular differences in accelerating from low speed/cadence and in a relatively high gear.
• Usually accelerating while seated to maintain traction and a lower centre of gravity.

The Cheung CX Series

Xert’s Workouts, featuring both traditional and Smart workouts, already offer a comprehensive library of workouts catering to cyclists of all interests. But to celebrate all things CX, we are proud to introduce a CX Workout Series designed by Dr. Stephen Cheung, Baron Biosystem’s Chief Sport Scientist. These are all available easily in Xert Workouts by searching “Cheung CX.”

“CX season is my favourite time of the cycling year, and I’m very pleased to share some of my favourite workouts with the Xert community. I’ve designed them to replicate the challenges that are highly specific to CX, notably the sustained fatigue and repeated surges. Xert’s unique workout capabilities allowed a high level of specificity that really enhances the ability to customize training.”

Hot Laps

As an example, “Hot Laps” concentrate on that intense first ½ to ¾ lap of a CX race. “This is my own personal weakness,” confesses Cheung, “so I had high motivation to develop this workout.”

Each interval starts with an intensely fatiguing sprint off the line, with a Xert Stress Score Rate (XSSR) of 300 lasting until Maximal Power Available (MPA) drops to 85% of max. Only a very slight recovery in MPA is permitted before 6×20 s surges with 20 s of recovery still at high effort.

Immediately upon full MPA recovery, another starting sprint is thrown in. This entire pattern is repeated three times, for a total of 3 hot laps and 3 additional starting sprints. “It’s hard to overstate the importance of a fast start in CX, and that is what this workout is all about,” notes Cheung.

Breakaway Specialists and Rouleurs

The new Cheung CX Series are not the only Xert Workouts with relevance to CX. “In analysing prior race data, the Focus for my races is typically towards those of the Breakaway Specialist (5 min power) and Rouleur (6 min) profiles. The specific nature of the course (weather, the number of dismounts, etc.) can of course greatly vary the specific profile,” says Cheung “so the existing Workouts with this focus targets many of the same demands for me.”

As an example, the “Positive Split Micros” with repeated efforts to drop MPA to 80-89% can be a great way to get a large dose of High Intensity strain. “To make things even more specific to CX, do this workout seated and in a gear or two harder than you typically might during road training,” suggests Cheung. “This replicates the challenge of accelerating that is a staple of CX.”

How to Use the Workouts

With CX season approaching, there are a lot of things to consider and plan, and Xert can be the partner to your best muddy season yet! It is important to set aside days specifically for technical practice and running. But August and September is when you should be converting all of that endurance, aerobic capacity and threshold power into High Intensity Energy that is sustained and repeatable.

Here is the Cheung CX – Stomping Tom, another example of a workout that replicates the repeated high surges, sustained fatigue, and then more surges inherent to CX. “For this workout, the emphasis – besides survival – should also be on using a harder gear than normal and staying seated to really stomp and drive the pedals,” notes Cheung.

Look back through your own prior CX race data to see what Focus they tend towards, then gear your training appropriately. At the same time, do not completely neglect your Threshold Power and endurance ability. That is where workouts like the 2×30 and 3×30 Over Unders in the Cheung CX Series, done 1-2x/week, can be highly effective, providing lots of Low Intensity strain but still forcing you to react to changes in power output.

Six workouts are currently in the series, with more to come as the inspiration hits us. Let us know on Facebook how these workouts are treating you and to recommend other CX workout possibilities!

Free 30-day trials are available when you register.  The company has published a number of blogs, videos and FAQs on their website to help athletes, coaches and sport scientists become familiar with the new concepts.