Beginner – Xert Breakthrough Training

Shoot For Your Stars

Armando Mastracci — Tue, 07 May 2019 20:17:44 +0000

Winning Comes in Many Forms

After seeing Xert grow over the past 2.5 years from a few keen and forward-thinking users to now thousands of athletes from all across the globe, I’ve started to learn what they all share in common: they are simply looking to understand how to reach new levels they’ve never been able to reach before. You notice this in the Facebook Xert Users Group where athletes post charts of their rides and races, showing how hard they worked for breakthroughs and how they’ve improved from using Xert. Some post their wins too, providing details on how they trained and what they did better than before. This is really the essence of what it means to be an Xerter. You’re in it for you and what you can become.

Athletes are shy about their own fitness numbers. “I could never win a race. My threshold power is only 190W.” But this is not how Xerters think about themselves. Every endurance athlete feels that way when they compare themselves with someone better than them. I’m sure professional racers in the peloton say the same about Peter Sagan or Mathieu van der Poel. It is true that all great racers had to work very hard to reach the pinnacle of the sport and should be praised for it. The training and commitment to win a professional cycling event cannot be underestimated. But there are many that have trained with the same if not greater commitment to their own improvement who have never won a professional event, or any event for that matter. What should their sense of achievement be?

Winning isn’t everything. It’s how you play the game. It’s a cliche we’ve heard over and over. In cycling, the “game” is more than what you do during the race. It is about how you prepare by setting goals, execute your own training and how manage your own strengths and weaknesses. Winning is about realizing your own personal potential. This is the game and how achievement is fulfilled. For some, this achievement unlocks the ability to win at the highest levels. For others, it may mean they’ve achieved a new personal best.

The Essence of Xert

For Xerters, they want to know who they are as athletes, what they can do to improve and understand how to become the best they can be. Xert shines a light inside every athlete to show them how they are uniquely different than everyone else and what it will take for them to improve. This level of transparency is unique to Xert and is what draws them to use it. There is sense of discovery when you first start using it as it processes your historical data, highlighting those times in the past where it was able to pinpoint when you were at your limit. “Yup. That’s where I was dropped. Wow.” It shows you what your fitness numbers were at that time – unique to you and the moment in history. It also shows you how these fitness numbers (i.e. Fitness Signature) have changed over time as your training and riding changed. “That was my best result and I can now see why.”

Our Motto: Discover. Improve. Perform.

The first step in using Xert is one of discovery. This is the same for everyone, including myself when I first discovered the principles behind Xert and what I found most fascinating. You begin to understand your own abilities and how and why you performed the way you did in the past. You also come to understand how the algorithms can explain this using the concept of MPA. Rather than simply training or riding and expecting to in general improve, you get to see with precision how you changed in the past. It may take you having to learn some new concepts to appreciate this too but those that get into using Xert have a deeper appreciation and understanding of themselves as athletes than ever before.

As you learn about the new concepts and examine your own data, you begin to understand what it takes to improve. It actually becomes very clear where your strengths and weaknesses are and what training you’ll need to do to improve your fitness. For Xerters, it’s not just about improving their FTP but about improving many aspects of their ability to perform – from increasing Peak Power or High Intensity Energy or focusing on your performance as a Breakaway Specialist. Sometimes it’s about being able to handle events of greater length by improving Lower Threshold Power. For others its about dealing with repeated hard efforts such as in a criterium by improving their ability to handle greater Difficulty Scores. As it was for me, seeing the relationship between my own training and the changes in fitness is a huge confidence boost and motivator for training. You know what’s going to happen. Xerters know that if they train in a certain way, their ability to perform will improve and they can track it.

Using these new concepts to help you perform in real-time is the remaining piece of the puzzle. In many ways, this is the fun part of Xert, I believe. You get to witness first hand your own body attempting to perform and watch things play out in front of you, either in a workout player or on your Garmin computer. You get positive reinforcement by using information like Focus and XSS that demonstrate how you well you are executing your training towards your goals. There is a sense of accomplishment when you managed to go beyond MPA and get a breakthrough during your ride (and sometimes the disappointment of seeing fakethrough after it’s analyzed – yeah I hate that too! ..but it’s all part of the discovery process). Performing smart workouts with Xert is different too. They are both harder and easier at the same time. You get a sense that you couldn’t have done any more but you managed to complete it. Training with the Xert means that you have greater awareness of the precise intervals you can perform and the degree to which you can withstand repeated efforts. This allows you to find or even create your own workouts that are ideal for your training and that you can complete – without the need for trial-and-error or complex/expensive testing protocols as was common in the past.

Thanks to all of you that are using Xert and I hope that it helps you shoot for the stars.

Armando Mastracci
Founder, Xert

Using The Xert EBC App for iOS

Armando Mastracci — Wed, 17 Apr 2019 16:10:19 +0000

The Xert app for iOS devices allows you to review & analyze your activities, and select & execute your workouts on your trainer. To help you use these features, here is a detailed explanation of what you see, and how to use its many features.

Login

Enter your Xert username & password to login to your Xert profile. You will only need to login the first time you open the app unless you log out using the button in the top right corner of the Settings page.

Activities

Activities: summary

In the summary view you’ll see your:

Training status & freshness (colour of stars),
Current Threshold Power,
Focus power, based on your chosen Athlete Type,
Complete Fitness Signature, including your Lower Threshold Power (LTP)
Summaries of your activities, listed in chronological order from most to least recent.

By tapping anywhere on an activity summary ‘card’ you’ll open an expanded view of the metrics from that activity. If you had a breakthrough during the activity, a banner will appear at the top (1) and you’ll be able to see how your breakthrough impacted your Fitness Signature (2). By scrolling down you’ll see an image of your MPA chart, a Google Street View from the location of your breakthrough, and the map of your activity (3).

Activities: expanded

Train

This is a powerful section of the app. It allows you to view the training recommendations of the Xert Adaptive Training Advisor (XATA) (1), and select a workout from a list (2) ranked by how closely they match the advice of XATA; they are listed in order of closest to farthest from the advice. Note that there is always a workout selected for your in the background (3) in case you need one.

If you’d like to do a different workout than the one recommended, you can either scroll down and select another by tapping it, or you can filter (4) the workout list and select from there.

Workout Filter Options

Workouts can be filtered in several ways depending on your needs. Most often, filtering by duration to find a workout that fits into your schedule and leaving XATA to do the rest, is the best option, but sometimes you may wish to select from a library of workouts created by your coach, or from your own list of custom-created workouts.

Here are the workout filters available:

Workout library;
- Standard – the library from Xert,
- Coach – workouts from your coach(es),
- Personal – workouts you created using the Xert Workout Designer.
Workout duration;
Workout Focus.

Tap the ‘Filter’ button (4) when you have made your selections to update the workout list. You can also tap ‘Clear’ (5) to remove all filters.

Settings

The settings page allows you to configure your Sensors (1), access information about Xert (2), or logout (3).

To configure your sensors on the Sensors page, be sure that your desired sensors are ‘awake’, then tap the desired category, and select the sensor. You may need to wait a few seconds for your trainer or other sensors to be found, but once listed, tap its name to select. The sensor category will change from grey to turquoise and the sensor will appear by name with its live data.

The Xert app allows you to configure the following sensors:

Power Source (e.g. on-bike power meter),
Trainer Control (if you have a ‘smart’ trainer),
Heart Rate,
Cadence (often, though not always, from your on-bike power meter), and
Speed (often, though not always, from your ‘smart’ trainer).

Powermatch can also be enabled in the Xert app. Powermatch typically means using your on-bike power meter to override the power from your smart trainer, thereby ensuring that your power data is consistently measured when riding indoors AND outdoors. To enable, simply select your on-bike power meter under Power Source, and select your trainer under Trainer Control. Powermatch has been enabled in the example above.

Workout Mode (under ‘Train’)

To do a workout, first ensure that your sensors are configured and awake, then tap any workout to select it, and then tap the play button.

The controls and views available during your workout are:

Controls

Skip to the next interval or return to the beginning of the current interval (if the current interval is < 10s, using the left facing arrows will return you back to the previous interval),
Increase or decrease the intensity of the entire workout,
Pause, stop, save, resume or discard your workout. When saved, activities will be uploaded automatically, but if no internet connection is available when saved, it will be uploaded when a ‘refresh’ is initiated (pull down on the screen to refresh).
Toggle between various resistance modes. Currently, FTMS supports ERG mode (i.e. allow Xert, Zwift or another connected third party to control the resistance), but not Resistance or Slope mode though these are available for future developments in FTMS. ERG mode can also be set to ‘Off’. When in ERG mode, the intensity of the entire workout can be adjusted by using the + or – buttons (2) in the bottom right and left corner, respectively,
Configure your sensors on-the-fly. Once configured, press the back button in the top left corner of the Sensors page to return to your workout.

Note that the Xert Remote Player is automatically enabled in the background without any need to change settings in the app.

Views (live workout)

Several views are available during your workout by swiping the two top sections to the left or right.

Top view

Top 1/1

The outer/pink dial is your Maximal Power Available (MPA) and it will ’empty’ from right to left as you draw it down during sustained efforts above your Threshold Power.

The inner dial shows current power (white needle) and target power (white triangle). The power ‘zones’ are colour-coded based on your Fitness Signature:

Colour,Definition
Blue,Lower Threshold Power (LTP)
Green,Threshold Power (TP)
Yellow,Above Threshold Power
Orange,5 minute power (based on fatigue)
Red,Maximal Power Available (MPA)
Purple,Above MPA

Colour	Definition
Blue	Below Lower Threshold Power (LTP)
Green	Above LTP and below Threshold Power (TP)
Yellow	Above TP and below 3 minute power
Orange	Above 3 minute power and below 30 second power
Red	Above 30s power and below maximal power
Purple	Above maximal power (MPA)

Top 1/2

Accumulated Strain by this point in the workout;
Xert Equivalent Power (XEP) by this point in the workout;
Focus & Athlete Type by this point in the workout;
Difficulty rating by this point in the workout.

Top 1/3

Workout profile of the entire workout with current and target power.

Top 1/4

Average power by this point in the workout;
XEP by this point in the workout;
Average cadence by this point in the workout (cadence sensor required);
Average heart rate by this point in the workout (heart rate sensor required).

Top 1/5

This section is vertically scrollable by swiping up and down. By doing so you’ll be able to view the following information:

Name of the current interval ‘set’ (top right);
Name of the current interval (top left);
Number of interval ‘repeats’ – and progress so far – in this set;
Duration, average power, and finishing MPA of the completed interval(s) – above highlighted row;
Duration, target power, and target finishing MPA of current interval – highlighted row;
Duration, target power, and target finishing MPA of next interval(s) – below highlighted row.

Middle view

Middle 2/1

Current power and target interval power.

Middle 2/2

Current power, target interval power.
Current heart rate (bpm)
Current power, target interval power, current MPA and target interval MPA.

Make 2019 a breakthrough year by avoiding these 5 mistakes when planning – and executing – your training plan

Armando Mastracci — Fri, 14 Dec 2018 16:38:06 +0000

Training isn’t easy, but choosing the right ‘training plan’ is even harder. Here are 5 rules you’ve probably broken, and what you can do now to be better next season.

#1 Don’t plan with hours, plan with Strain

Intuitively, we all know that every hour of training is NOT created equal. For example, if your training includes a lot of hard efforts one week, you could see a big spike in Strain even as your hours that week decline from the previous week. So why do so many athletes build, or follow, a plan based on hours?

The first step to getting this right is to understand ‘Strain’. At it’s most basic, it’s a measure of the work performed during an activity. The rate of Strain increases as you near your Maximum Power Available at any given moment, so harder work results in greater Strain (told ya, it’s intuitive!). Strain can be tracked over any length of time from one second, to many years.

When training, use a system like Xert than plans and tracks training based on Strain, and follow a ‘Ramp Rate’ (increasing or declining weekly Strain) that you can sustain. A progressive training plan will also help you avoid ‘overtraining’ and injury. Did you know you can track your Ramp Rate on your Fitness Planner > Weekly Stats page?

Tell me more about strain

#2 Don’t be a slave to your plan

Leave room for ‘unstructured’ training like group rides and runs, or risk burn-out. It’s a long season, and the motivation to continue training is fundamental to being able to progress.

Don’t be afraid to add ‘free rides’ to your schedule from time to time (at least once a week). If you don’t, you should be afraid of burn-out. Very afraid.

Most importantly, don’t forget that free rides are workouts & training too. Ignoring how much Strain they produce is a sure way to overtrain. With Xert, every activity is tracked, and better yet – it’s analyzed to understand how it fits into your progressive plan.

Find Out How Xert Uses Unstructured Training

#3 Understand the demands of your goal event/race

Is your goal to reach the top of your local climb first on your weekend club ride, complete your first Century, or just to get more fit? Each of these goals requires a different set of demands.

The 2 most important facts needed to understand the demands of an event are Strain (which accounts for time and intensity) and Focus. Discover these by looking at the same activity in a previous year, or a more recent similar activity, and then select an ‘Athlete Type’ with a similar Focus.

How to Choose Your Athlete Type

#4 Give yourself time

Don’t pick a plan 6 weeks from your goal, that’s a recipe for disaster. Your body needs time to adapt, and that means you need to progressively apply stress, and allow time for recovery. Some adaptations – like building endurance and your Threshold Power ‘from below’ – come slowly, but you recover from these activities quickly (which means that, done right, they can be done often). However, the body adapts to high intensity training very quickly, but you recover from them more slowly. All of these adaptations come when you add stress & strain progressively by choosing, and training according to, an Improvement Rate (rate of increase in strain each week).

When you choose an Improvement Rate you’re instantly told how many hours, on average, that you’ll need to train, and it will tell you how much you’ll improve by the time you reach your goal date. If you’d like to improve more, increase your improvement rate. If you don’t have that much time to train, decrease it. If anything changes mid-plan, you can change your Improvement rate at any time.

How to pick the right Improvement Rate

#5 Choose a plan adapts to you as much as you adapt to it

No one ever executes a training plan perfectly. No one ever has, because life happens. Sick days, snow days, work days…you name it, they can’t be avoided. Even professional athletes have to adapt their plans to fit around whatever life throws at them.

Your plan in Xert will adapt to missed days, double-days, new goals, and changing fitness on-the-fly to help you meet your goals, no matter what life does to get in the way. So don’t plan to far ahead; Xert has a macro plan in place for you and it’s updated every time you sync a new activity.

Training with the Xert Adaptive Training Advisor

How To: Play & Schedule Workouts

Armando Mastracci — Tue, 25 Sep 2018 18:46:08 +0000

To help you plan and execute your workouts, Xert has created Workout Player apps which allow you to complete your workouts on several different platforms:

Before you can do your workout, you first need to decide what workout you’re going to do! Some users prefer to let Xert choose a recommended workout for them, while others prefer to manually choose or schedule workouts for themselves – both options are available!

Note: The option to have Xert automatically recommend a workout has been replaced with the ‘Suggest’ option. Use the Suggest button if you’d like Xert to recommend a workout for you.

Here’s how to Play or Schedule any workout:

From the Recommended Training Tab

On the right-hand side of the Training tab, Xert will display all the recommended Workouts, Activities, and Sessions for you. If you wish to train right now, select the ‘Play Now’ button. When you select the ‘Play Now’ option, that workout (or session) will be automatically delivered to the Xert Workouts players for Android, iOS, or Garmin. The workout will be ready for you once you open your workout player of choice. If you wish to perform the workout at a later date/time, select the ‘Schedule’ button and enter a planned day/time for the workout. The workout will be automatically sent to the workout players when you’re within 30 minutes of it’s planned time.

Note: Recommended Activities cannot be ‘selected’ (e.g. there is no ‘Play Now’ option for them), since there are no structured intervals for those activities. However, they can still be scheduled as part of your weekly training and even recommended from the Xert Adaptive Training Advisor.

From the Workouts Page

You can view all workouts available to you by navigating to Training > Workouts. By default, the workouts will be sorted by their overall recommendation from the Adaptive Training Advisor. From the Workouts page, you’ll have access to several options listed below.

Search for a workout by name.
Sort the workouts by Recommended, Name, Focus, XSS, Duration, or Difficulty – and either in descending or ascending order.
If you have workouts from other platforms that you’d like to Import to Xert, you can use the Import Workouts feature, or even create your own custom workout using our workout designer.
In addition to sorting workouts by Recommendation, Name, Focus, etc., you can also filter workouts by a particular focus, duration, difficulty, etc.
Select the ‘Play Now’ option if you’d like to do the workout now, or use the schedule button to schedule the workout for a later time/day of the week.
You can download the workouts to be used on other platforms, like Zwift.
Use the ‘Star’ button to mark a workout as a favorite!

From the Fitness Planner

Lastly, you can also schedule workouts using the fitness planner. If you wish to let Xert recommend a workout automatically, click the Gauge icon for the day that you’d like to do a recommended workout. By default, the workout is scheduled just before your As Of time, so be sure to edit the planned time if you plan to do the workout at a specific time during the day. Alternatively, you can click on a particular day in the future to see the recommended workouts for that day. From there you can scroll & filter the recommended workouts. Click on the workout you’d like to schedule, enter the planned workout time, then click the ‘Save’ button in the bottom right to schedule your workout!

Time to Work Out!

The Training Tab will indicate when a workout is ready above the Recommended Training section, as well as specifying how the workout was selected – see the carousel below:

Workout/Session Ready: User Selected – You manually selected the workout or session
Workout/Session Ready: Planned – You manually planned the workout or session. Workout or session is ready 2 hours before it’s scheduled time.
Workout/Session Ready: Recommended – Xert recommended the workout or session.
Session In Progress – Indicates that a group session has already started. You will join the other members of the session mid-ride.
Next Workout/Session – Indicates the scheduled date and time of your next upcoming workout or session.

If you wish to select another workout, or simply remove the prepared workout, select the ‘Clear’ button (or ‘Delete’ button if the activity is a solo session). If the upcoming activity is a group session, you can select ‘Leave Session’ if you wish to leave an upcoming or in-progress group session.

If you’re ready to begin, you can click on the ‘Play Now’ button to launch the Xert Session Player. This will allow you to view the data being collected from the Xert EBC app (or Garmin Workout Player) on a larger display, such as a tablet, laptop, or desktop. You can also open the Xert Remote Player, if you prefer. You’ll find both these options under the Players menu in the left-hand menu.

Note: For tips on how to use the Remote Player, review this FAQ

Hunting Segments with Power

Armando Mastracci — Wed, 25 Jul 2018 12:02:54 +0000

Everyone can agree that achieving new personal records out on the road is one of the things that makes cycling so much fun. Seeing all the hard work you’ve put into improving and then to see it come together when you get your best time on your favourite stretch of road is just so satisfying.

Your friends at Xert know how great these achievements make you feel. To help you get more of them, we decided to put some of our mathematical magic to task and came up with just the right app to satisfy your urges: The Xert Segment Hunter.

The Xert Segment Hunter is the first ever dynamic power pacing app for your Garmin. The app can be used with Strava segments or on time-trial courses ranging anywhere from 10s or over an hour. It is based on Xert’s advanced, athlete specific algorithm that uses your unique Fitness Signature and determines the best power you should target, second-by-second from start to finish. Additionally, the algorithm dynamically adjusts power targets to help you optimize your results as you complete the segment. The app is available on Garmin’s Connect IQ App Store and can be used with a variety of wearables and bike computers including the Fenix 5, Fenix 5s, Edge 1030, 1000, 820, 520 as well as the new Edge 520 Plus and the Edge 130.

The Xert Segment Hunter runs as a Garmin datafield allowing it to be part of every activity you record. During activity recording, as you approach the start line, the app counts down and then provides power targets using helpful colors, to assist you in performing it with your highest paced power. During execution, the algorithm adjusts power targets using a feedback process, with the goal to get a breakthrough-on-the-line – a new concept in cycling, which means that a maximal effort is perfectly timed to occur as you cross the finish line.

What You Need

A power meter. Your power meter will tell you how hard you’re working. It must be connected to your Garmin Edge computer.
An Xert Premium Trial or Subscription. Your unique Fitness Signature from your Xert profile is used to calculate your fatigue and real-time power targets. In your Xert account, link your Strava account (under the ‘Sync’ menu)
A Strava account. You will need an account as well as ‘starred’ segments you’d like to have synced with the Segment Hunter app.
A compatible Connect IQ Garmin unit. Click for Compatible Devices.

If you have all of the above, watch this video that shows how to get everything up and running:

Also, checkout our Quick Start Guide.

Important Things to Know about the Xert Segment Hunter

Full Screen View vs. Field View

The app can run in one of two view modes:

Full Screen View* – This mode shows the Target Power, Colour Band, Current Power, Distance Elapsed Bar, Time Remaining and Distance Remaining.
Field View – This view mode shows only the Target Power, Colour Band and Distance Elapsed Bar. It is well-suited to be included on an Activity Display Screen with multiple fields.

* While we have tried to provide full support for all Edge units, the Edge 520, the new Edge 130 and the wearables have restricted functionality due to their limited memory. They currently do NOT fully-support Full Screen View. They do however support Field View and can be used together with other activity data on your device.

What is “Breakthrough-on-the-Line”?

Breakthrough-on-the-line is something all coaches and advanced athletes have intuitively understood for many years. It means that you reach exhaustion as you cross the finish line, ensuring you gave it everything you had and left nothing in the tank. A breakthrough-on-the-line means you “left it all out on the course” and is a sign that you couldn’t have gone any harder.

When this option is set for your segment, the Segment Hunter will pace you evenly such that you reach a breakthrough just as you cross the finish line. The ability to time this to occur on the finish line and to make it happen with evenly paced power leading up to it, is what makes the Segment Hunter such an impressive little app.

How should I set Target Time? What if it’s too short or too long?

The Segment Hunter doesn’t pace you to complete the segment in the set Target Time. Rather it uses this in order to determine your optimal power pacing. As you execute the segment, based on how much time is left and how much fatigue you have accumulated, the app adjusts your power target to reflect your highest power for the remaining time.

For example, if you set your Target Time to be time that may not be physically possible for you, this will still be ok since what will happen is that the segment hunter will start you out at a target power that is too high and as you execute, you’ll become more fatigued but with less of the segment completed. The algorithm detects this and adjusts your Target Power lower to allow you to complete the remainder of the segment. The app does this this second-by-second, making sure you reach your limit just as you cross the finish line. In effect, setting a Target Time that’s too short, will cause your pacing to be positively-split. This will still work well in pacing you to a great time.

On the other hand, if you set your Target Time to be much longer than what you are capable of, the algorithm will still pace you to get the most out of the segment. It will starti you off at a lower Target Power but, as time progresses, since you don’t fatigue as much, the app will begin to increase your Target Power such that, in the end, you still reach a breakthrough-on-the-line. You’ll have a time that is much less than your original Target Time. In effect, setting a Target Time that’s too long, will cause your pacing to be negatively-split but will still likely get you a great finishing time.

Getting the Target Time precisely right isn’t critical. This is what makes the Segment Hunter so adaptable and useful.

Pacing on Short Segments

On very short segments, it will be difficult to watch the screen to know your exact power and if you’re on target or not. Shorter segments will likely take a bit of practice to get the feel for how hard you’ll need to push to hit the power target shown. Generally speaking, look down at your target during the countdown before the segment starts and try and get a feel for how you can produce that power for the whole segment. Use 1s or 3s average power in order to get more timely feedback.

Before you hit the beginning of a short segment, it is important to go into it carrying a lot of momentum. Often this means going pretty hard before you reach the start of the segment, perhaps having some accumulated fatigue even before the segment has started. The Segment Hunter will recognize this fatigue as you start your segment and adjust the power target for you. Remember, that some of your available power should be used to make sure you hit the start with sufficient pace.

Using the Segment Hunter for Time Trials

Experienced time-trialists often say that a successfully executed time trial isn’t purely about maintaining a fixed power over the entire course. The goal is to complete the course as fast as possible and this can mean varying power when it is needed.

The Segment Hunter can help even the most experienced time-trialist recognize just how much power they should be able to hold for the remainder of the race and can use this knowledge to give them feedback, avoiding periods when they failed to push just a bit harder and to recognize if they may have gone a bit too hard over a previous section. Ultimately, the goal is to complete the course with a breakthrough-on-the-line and the Segment Hunter will help them achieve that.

For inexperienced time-trialists, the Segment Hunter acts like your real-time feedback coach, helping you learn how to pace your power on courses and get a feel for how to modulate your power and manage your fatigue.

How wind and hills will affect your power targets

The Xert Segment Hunter’s 5 colour screen together with it’s dynamic power target algorithm helps you better manage situations where the conditions may dictate that you should go harder/easier in order to get a better time.

For example, if the course/segment is entirely into the wind or up a climb, it will take longer to complete. If you didn’t increase your Target Time, it will be set to be too short. As described above, this is okay as the algorithm will adjust your power by decreasing it as you execute the course.

Similarly, if the course/segment is entirely downwind, it will take less time to complete. Your pacing will be increased by the algorithm as you execute this course.

As described in the video, when performing into the wind/climbing, you should aim to have your power higher than the green band (purple) and if you are going downhill/downwind, aiming for blue is more appropriate. An experienced time-trialist will have a good feel for how they can sustain their momentum over shorter hills and can often even ride in the red band for short durations. With the Segment Hunter, the time spent in the red means that they will need to take it easier and recover a bit more at some point later on. Often times, this comes on the subsequent downhill section that follows the previous hill which then brings them back to their original target power.

Doing Segments at the end of a Long Ride

You will find that if you plan on using the Segment Hunter at the end of a long ride or after a hard workout, the pacing may be too hard for you to sustain. You will have likely accumulated slow-recovery fatigue that will prevent you from doing your absolute best. The Segment Hunter expects you to be ready to do your best, especially if you are looking for a breakthrough-on-the-line on the segment. Hunting segments within the first 1 or 2 hours of your ride and when you are fresh, will give you best results.

Is it time for a mid-season break?

Armando Mastracci — Thu, 28 Jun 2018 19:46:08 +0000

Lately you haven’t had the ‘snap’ you had in the spring. Maybe you’re lacking the motivation to ride and it has gotten so bad that you haven’t even cleaned your chain (and people are starting to notice)! Does this sound like you? It may be time for a mid-season break…

If you’ve ever wondered if you need a mid-season break, how to take one, how to regain fitness after one, and how much fitness you’ll lose during a break, don’t despair – here is everything you need to know!

How to know if you need a mid-season break

If you live in the Northern Hemisphere, by July you’ve likely done a lot of riding or racing. You may have had goals in March and then tried to extend that fitness into June, or you simply took advantage of two or three months of warm weather. In training speak, you’ve accumulated a lot of Training Load (TL). Everyone’s ability to handle the volume differs, but even the pros reach a point where they need to take a physical and mental break from the bike. You know it’s probably time to take a break if:

You feel flat, are experiencing reduced motivation, or are lacking ‘snap’ in your legs. You may even exhibit symptoms of mild depression;
You have trouble falling asleep or staying asleep;
You have higher than normal cravings for carbs and simple sugars;
Your Training Load continues to rise but one or more of your Fitness Signature parameters (PP, HIE, TP) is declining. You may even feel like you’re putting in stronger and stronger efforts in training, but you’re not seeing any Breakthroughs;
The Xert Adaptive Training Advisor (XATA) indicates that you should feel fresh but you’re not feeling fresh at all! (This is a great time to check your Account Settings / Profile to make sure your Time Constants read 22/12, 22/12, 60/5, not 42/7 across the board – those are outdated.) In fact, if you’re using the XATA you may not even be able to complete the prescribed workouts;
Your family & friends are starting to complain that “you’re always on your bike”!

When this happens you may need a break…

Yellow and red stars for many days in a row could indicate you’re in need of a break.

What are the benefits of taking a mid-season break?

If you have late-season races like cyclocross, or you’d like to be ready for some long rides at Xert’s Breakthrough Camp in Mallorca, a return to riding and training after a break often results in a higher Fitness Signature. Truth: you don’t lose nearly as much fitness in a week or two as you think you do, especially if you remain active! In most cases, the fitness that takes a long time to gain also takes a long time to lose.

Here are is rough list of the changes you’re likely to see by week*:

1 week of no training: no change in muscle mass, muscle strength, or endurance capacity

2 weeks of no training: up to 7% decrease in VO2 Max but still no change in muscle mass or muscle strength.

3 weeks of no training: ~9% decrease in VO2 Max. Muscle mass and muscle strength begin to decline slightly in some individuals but testosterone and growth hormone levels increase creating an environment conducive to greater gains if you resume training at this time. You may look smaller because of the depletion of glycogen stores in your muscles.

4-8 weeks of no training: Decrease in strength and muscle mass in most individuals. VO2 Max losses by 4 weeks can be quickly reversed by beginners but highly trained athletes could see as much as a 20% reduction in VO2 Max and require more time to gain back.

The best thing an endurance athlete can do is to avoid breaks lasting longer than 2-3 weeks.

What are the risk of not taking a mid-season break?

Some riders can handle higher TL’s than others – they just recover faster. But this also depends on the ratio of Peak/High/Low stress. A high TL of nearly all low strain work can be easier to recover from than a high TL with > 25% of the strain at Peak or High strain levels. The bottom line is this: it doesn’t matter! What matters is you, and only you. If you’re tired & flat, don’t listen to your friends who say they are riding a lot more than you and feeling fresh! If you need a break but don’t take one, the repercussions can be mild to severe depending on how long you try to ride it out (pun intended!) and your own personal physiology.

This is a great time to talk about the fine line between overreaching and overtraining. Understanding the differences can mean taking a week or two of rest or losing more than a season’s worth of fitness, training and racing.

Overreaching is an accumulation of training and/or non-training stress resulting in a short-term decrease in performance sometimes accompanied by some physiological and psychological stress. Once an athlete is over trained, restoration of performance capacity may take several days to several weeks.

“Overtraining Syndrome” (OTS) as it is referred to in the medical literature, is a serious problem marked most noticeably by a decrease in performance (strength, speed, endurance, or other), increased fatigue, persistent muscle soreness, mood disturbances, and feeling “burnt out” or “stale.“

What to do during your mid-season break

The answer is simple: potentially nothing. It depends on how deep you’ve gone (again, think of overreaching vs overtraining). If the strain and fatigue has been deep, the mid-season break may be a passive week of complete rest. With recreational riders, lower category racers and new age groupers it may only be 3 days of zero activity followed by a couple days of cross training in the gym, followed by ‘free’ rides on the weekend. These free rides are done at low intensities and without any intervals.

‘Free’ rides are our favourite rides…

Ultimately, the relative inactivity is what makes a break so hard, especially for the first few days. If you lack the self-control need to put your feet up, lock up your bike and give the keys to someone else. Or deflate the tires and ‘lend’ your pump to someone who can’t be trusted to give it back promptly!

In your Xert account, set your Improvement Rate (IR) to ‘Off-Season’ to get the Adaptive Training Advisor to let you off the hook.

Besides not riding, you also shouldn’t be doing any other activities that produce a lot of strain. You can keep going to the gym if that’s your routine, but take a week off the leg-related exercises. Use this time to focus on your core strength and flexibility instead. This is a great time to head out for some hikes or walks, and if you must ride your bike, put on your platform pedals and use your bike to roll down to your favourite coffee shop.

NOT good ‘mid-season break’ nutrition. But, oh…do we want it to be!

Speaking of coffee shops, the biggest risk with a rest week is not a loss in fitness, it’s gaining weight. That’s because: a) you’re used to burning A LOT of calories, so you eat them too, and b) you’re bored. So load up on rice cakes, water, and most importantly – have something else to do. Take a vacation, make up time with a significant other, or complete a couple of jobs around the house. Take it easy – be a professional recovery artist.

“One of my favorite things to do with my athletes during a midseason break is to review the goals that were set at the beginning of the season and evaluate their progress. Quite often we find that performance-oriented goals have been met or exceeded. This means that we can work on other training factors in the second half of the season that can further improve the odds of reaching new performance goals or outcome-based goals. I also recommend cyclists who are contemplating making a category upgrade to do this in the second half of a season. This way the athlete can gain some great insights into what will be required in the upcoming off-season to be ready for next year.” says coach Rob Grissom, of Positive Performance Coaching.

Returning to training after your mid-season break

Depending on the demands of your later season priority race(s) it can take 6-8 weeks before seeing appreciable adaptations in power and anaerobic endurance.

First, set your next goal date in Xert. We recommend that you set it far enough out – temporarily – so that the Adaptive Training Advisor places you in the Base phase for at least a couple of weeks.

Second, dial your IR setting back up. But don’t take it all the way up to your previous setting for the first few days or you could be doing 2hr rides on your first day back.

In the first week, use the free ride workout idea for the first several days, then move to pure endurance riding for the rest of the week. For the second week add in some high cadence work in lighter gearing to keep the stress low, then add at least one workout by the second weekend that mimics the demands of racing. Coach Rob calls it the “breaking the legs lose” ride.

You may find you feel terrible on your first rides back. Your butt may hurt, your muscles may not respond, and your knees may even feel ‘twingy’. That will be short-lived; your body hasn’t forgotten how to ride, it’s just gotten out of the habit. You need to ease your way back into training and this starts with easy rides. This is the time to restore your endurance.

After a couple of weeks of endurance work, and of restoring your TL again, change your Target Event Date to the correct date and move into the training recommended by XATA.

Now you’re all set for a strong second half of the season, so enjoy your new-found motivation, form and snap!

Thanks to Coach Rob Grissom from Positive Performance Coaching for contributing to this post!

Adapted from:
http://naturallyintense.net/blog/exercise/what-happens-when-you-stop-training/#what-happens-when-you-stop-training8211-a-week-by-week-overview, and* https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3355468/

Beginner’s Guide: Improvement Rate

Armando Mastracci — Wed, 28 Feb 2018 15:00:51 +0000

This post is intended to help new users of Xert understand what Improvement Rate is and how to use it.

If you’re new to Xert, understanding the Improvement Rate (IR) is a key step in optimizing your training. Don’t worry if you’re unsure of the perfect IR for you—it’s adjustable and should be updated periodically based on your progress and goals.

What is Improvement Rate (IR)?

In simple terms, the Improvement Rate determines how quickly Xert increases your Training Load (TL). TL represents how much training you’re doing, factoring in both the duration and intensity of your workouts. It’s calculated based on your Xert Strain Score (XSS), which is a measure of both the time and difficulty of your training. XSS is based on your Fitness Signature and takes into account your training intensity and volume, helping you track your overall effort.

Unlike traditional cookie cutter training plans that follow a fixed structure, Xert’s IR adjusts your training dynamically, depending on your current fitness and how much training you’ve already accumulated. This flexibility allows Xert to fine-tune your training based on your progress, making your training more personalized and effective. So, rather than following a static plan that could even see you losing fitness at the start, Xert is dynamic and uses your IR to improve your fitness from where you are right now, something most other training plans are unable to do.

How to Change Your IR

To adjust your IR, go to the Program tab in your Xert account and select Modify Plan. In the Improvement Rate section, click the drop-down menu to choose from different options, ranging from Off-Season (-2 TL/week) to Extreme-2 (+7 TL/week). As you adjust your IR, you’ll also see your Achievability update. This rating indicates whether your selected IR is sustainable or if it may require adjustment after some time.

Tips for Using Improvement Rate Effectively

Set Your Weekly Training Hours: Use IR to align your training with the time you have available. If you’re limited on time, select an IR that fits within your schedule. You can increase it if you have more time or good weather for training, but avoid making drastic changes to prevent overstressing your body.
Increase IR for a “Training Camp”: Plan to ramp up your IR for big training weeks, like a riding trip, to increase the recommended XSS each day. After the camp, be sure to reduce your IR to prevent overtraining, allowing your body to recover and benefit from the extra load.
Taper Before Your Goal Event: Leading up to your goal event, reduce your IR to allow for proper recovery. This ensures your body is rested and ready to perform at its best. Xert gradually adjusts the Focus and Specificity of your training, so tapering ensures a smooth transition to event readiness.
Choosing the Right IR for You: Determining your ideal IR is personal. Look at the hours and workouts each IR recommends—if it feels like too much or too little compared to your usual training, adjust accordingly. Review the descriptions of each IR option to find the one that aligns best with your training needs.

Here are some tips to help you get the most out of Improvement Rate:

Use IR to set your training hours. We’d like to have endless training time but that’s not realistic. And it probably isn’t for you either. In Xert you can use the different IR’s to change the number of hours of training needed per week, and the number of days of training per week, to suit your available time. You can even increase your IR if you have a week of nice weather coming up and want to take advantage of it. Note that we don’t recommend you change it too often, or increase it by too much, so that you don’t put more strain on your body than you can handle with your current fitness.
Increase your IR for a ‘training camp’. If you plan to have a big week of rides, such as a trip to Majorca, you will want to dial up your IR. That will increase the recommended XSS each day. Don’t forget to dial your IR back down after your training camp so that you don’t over train. Once IR is reduced back down, Xert will guide you through the recovery you need to benefit from that extra Training Load.
Taper a week or two before your goal event by decreasing your IR. As you approach your goal event with the Base-Build-Peak training program (formerly 120 day Target Event Date program), your training will move the Focus & Specificity closer and closer to the Focus & Specificity selected for your event. This process is gradual and progressive. As you enter your taper phase you should decrease your IR to give your body some extra rest. It will put more rest at the beginning than at the end of your taper phase to make sure that you’re rested and sharp for your goal date.

Final Thoughts

Remember, your Improvement Rate is a tool that helps Xert adapt your training to your current fitness level. By adjusting it when needed, you can ensure that your training is always optimized for maximum progress. Happy training!

P.S. For more beginner-friendly posts, click the “Beginner” tag below.

Beginner’s Guide: Interpreting Your Data

Armando Mastracci — Thu, 01 Feb 2018 20:39:27 +0000

This post will help a new Xerter interpret their power data from each ride, run or activity. This can be a daunting task, given the constant increases in sophistication of training tools and new developments from training science every year. But it doesn’t need to be! Xert exists to deliver a system with the simplicity to be understood by everyone, yet still delivering the depth & sophistication to appeal to even the most well-read training science junky!

Before we get started, there may be a few new terms that you’re unfamiliar with throughout this post. At any point you can click on these highlighted terms to see the Glossary for a full definition.

Let’s get started analyzing an activity…

Having done the initial setup one of the first things you may want to do is to view and understand the many bits of information provided when Xert analyzes an Activity. On the left side menu bar click on Activities > Dashboard to see your activities. You can also access the dashboard by selecting the Activities tab from the My Fitness page.

You can open an activity by clicking on the name of the Activity you’d like to review. By default, Xert will title your rides based on the difficulty, specificity, and focus of the ride (e.g. Hard Mixed Rouleur Ride, Moderate Polar Time Trialist Ride, etc.). If you prefer, you can rename your activities and add descriptive notes by clicking on the pencil icon by the title and description, respectively.

Activity Details Header

To mark an activity as a favorite, which Xert can recommend as training in the future, click the ‘Star’ Icon by the title. If there was incorrect data, or if you wish to exclude a ride as a Breakthrough or Near-Breakthrough, click on the ‘Flag’ icon by the title.

In the top right-hand corner of the activity details page, you will find options to share the activity, download a copy of the original .fit file, or delete the activity. Along the activity header you will also see your weight – click the pencil icon to edit. You will also see your Training Status – the colored stars – at the start of the activity, the overall activity Focus, Maximal Effort Time, and the Difficulty Rating of your activity. These are briefly explained below, but click on the respective link to read more:

Training Status: Represents your Training Load & Form
Focus: Represents the intensity of your activity & correlates with the various Athlete Types. For example, a 5:00 activity focus corresponds with a Breakaway Specialist athlete type.

Easy/Endurance activities typically have relatively longer focus duration (>12:00).
Activities with hard efforts (group rides, races, etc.) typically shorter focus (3:00-12:00).
Activities with short, all-out sprints often have a very short focus duration (1:00-2:00).

Maximal Effort Time: represents how much time you spend at or near MPA
Difficulty Rating: As the name implies, this captures the difficulty of your activity

MPA Analytics

In the “MPA Analytics” section you can see the main descriptors of your activity in numbers. Along the top, you’ll see four bars that indicate your average & maximum Power, Speed, Cadence, & Heart Rate. The bar helps depict the range of the data, as well as how closely the average value was to the max.

Below that, you will see important Xert parameters such as Strain, Equivalent Power (XEP), and Strain Score (XSS). On the right is your GPS map, for outdoor activities.

Towards the bottom of the page, you will find the MPA chart. We have kept the chart as clean as possible for clarity by only showing power (multicolored line), Maximal Power Available (MPA) (magenta) and Difficulty (grey shaded area). To see other data, like HR, Speed, or Cadence, click on them in the legend at the bottom of the chart. You can move your graph over the MPA chart and the the map will display your location during that specific effort.

Curious what the different colors mean? Check out this blog post that explains our multi-colored charts!

You can zoom in on a particular interval or section by clicking & dragging on the MPA chart. If you’re using a tablet or mobile phone, tap the graph first, then tap-and-drag to zoom into the desired section or interval. As you zoom in & out of the data, the data in the Analytics section will automatically update to reflect the selected data. Tap the ‘-‘ button in the top right-hand corner of the MPA chart to reset the zoom.

Here we have zoomed in on a set of intervals done outdoors. This particular interval pattern involved approximately 30 minutes of :30 s all-out, with :30 s recovery between each effort… Let’s see what the MPA curve (purple line) is doing:

When fresh or fully recovered, MPA is equal to your Peak Power (PP), that is, your highest possible power output.
During each 30 s effort, MPA drops, slightly at first and then at a steeper rate as the athlete fatigues. This is because doing the same 30s effort is much harder and more fatiguing at the end of an interval set than at the start. Your MPA reflects the weakening of your body and its ability to produce power.
The green diamond represents your very best effort during the whole ride, where your current power is closest to your MPA. If MPA ever drops near or below current power for long enough Xert will see this as a Breakthrough Effort! When you achieve breakthroughs, Xert indicates that your fitness has improved and will automatically update your fitness signature for you. You will then see a bronze/silver/gold medal depending on how many of your 3 signature parameters increased.
The shaded grey section at the back of the chart represents how difficult your efforts were. As your Difficulty Score rises, the discomfort of your effort increases. Great athletes can generate great power but they can also withstand great discomfort too. Achieving very high difficulty scores is a sign of an athlete that’s trained, tough and ready to compete – a true beast.

If you’d like to know more about MPA you can check out this Pez Cycling News article.

Power Duration

From the ‘Power Duration’ Tab, you will be able to see the power-duration curve for your activity. In short, this shows your highest average power over time (5 s, 3 min, 10 min, etc.). It also shows the highest possible average power over time, given your fitness signature.

Advanced Stats

From this tab, you will have access to some more advanced features, such as Strava Segment Analysis, Lap Analysis, and even Group ride analysis. See the articles below to learn more!

Lastly, and for a little more insight into how Xert works, it’s interesting to note that how MPA responds is unique to you and your own unique abilities. The general pattern of how MPA behaves would likely be the same amongst track sprinters, Grand Tour riders, or Ironman triathletes. However, each of these athlete types would have significantly different values for their PP, HIE, & TP – this influences the rate at which each athlete’s MPA changes as they ride above & below Threshold. In this way, Xert’s analysis is automatically and completely customized to you.

If you’d like to know more about how this works there is a separate article on Pez Cycling News further analyzing how different athlete types respond to the same workout.

Happy Training!

P.S. For more posts for new users click the tag ‘Beginner’ tag below.

Beginner’s Guide: Using the Xert Adaptive Training Advisor

Armando Mastracci — Wed, 31 Jan 2018 03:58:57 +0000

Are you looking for a Training Plan, perhaps something with a set of predefined workouts on given days-of-the-week? Did you know that you don’t need a Training Plan to improve and achieve the best fitness you can achieve?

Xert’s Adaptive Training Advisor replaces your predefined, rigid Training Plan with a flexible, adaptable system that automatically adjusts based on you and the rides and activities you perform. It takes advantage of Xert’s deeper insights into you and your fitness and recommends training with the right focus and difficulty that you can do to improve towards your goals.

Read through this post to get an introduction to the Xert Adaptive Training Advisor. When you first set up your account and imported your activity history, you provided the information that Xert used to discover where you are in your training and what you need to do to improve. Now it’s time to use it! Once you’ve learned the basics, feel free to watch the videos, listen to out podcasts and read through other blog posts to get even more familiar.

First, a quick background

Every time you ride with your power meter, you produce data that tells Xert about your abilities as an athlete. When this data is uploaded to Xert, we are able to discover what we call your Fitness Signature. In its simplest form, this a picture of you as an athlete. Collectively, your fitness signature encompasses your strengths and weaknesses are. It includes your Threshold Power (also known as FTP), Peak Power (PP; the absolute max power you can produce), and High Intensity Energy (HIE; the amount of work you can do above your FTP), and Lower Threshold Power (LTP; loosely what power you can sustain for very long periods of time). How you use these energy levels, how often, how long, when, etc. all contribute, amongst other things, to the analysis that determines your training status, and allows Xert to recommend specific workouts tailored to you.

Xert helps answer the question “What should I do today?” Let’s break this down into a few easy steps:

Step 1: Log into Xert Online and Navigate to the ‘Training’ Tab

From there, look at the Xert Adaptive Training Advisor (XATA), including the Training Pacer & training recommendations. Xert will recommend a variety of structured workouts & sessions, as well as unstructured outdoor activities & virtual rides, based on your training goals!

Training Pacer

The training pacer is a visual representation to how your Training Load is changing relative to your selected Improvement Rate. You can think of this as being your daily guide to accomplishing your selected Improvement Rate, rather than calculating a weekly XSS value. Ideally, the training pacer need should stay close to the 12 o’clock position, but don’t fret too much if your deficit isn’t exactly 0 XSS each day!

If your training pacer is constantly pinned to the left, you may want to decrease your selected Improvement Rate. On the other hand, if the needle is pinned to the right, you may consider increasing your Improvement Rate!

Xert Adaptive Training Advisor

Each day, Xert looks at your Surplus or Deficit, your Program Type, and Training Phase (if applicable), to determine what training you should do.

The Focus Type indicates the type of training that should be completed. In the image above, the recommended Focus Type is GC Specialist, which is associated with 8 min power.
The Interval Target indicates your power for the recommended Focus type. For this athlete, their 8 min power is 303 W, so if they plan to free-style some intervals, they should aim to perform intervals near 303 W. Note: This does not mean to do 303 W for 8:00! Alternatively, they could just select one of the recommended training from XATA.
The Workout Goal is determined by how much you typically train on a particular day of the week, as well as your current surplus or deficit. Are you ahead of your program, or do you need to catch up?
Lastly, the Difficulty Rating indicates how challenging the recommended training should be. In general, you’ll notice that the difficulty rating (in diamonds) will often closely match your current training load (in stars). However, when your training status is tired, you’ll only be recommended up to 2.5 difficulty workouts.

Filtering Recommended Training

Many of us have limited training availability each day. By default, Xert will recommend trainings that are typical for a given day of the week (e.g. if you typically ride 3+ hours on Saturdays, Xert will recommend ~3 hour trainings). However, if you don’t have the usual amount of time to train, or if you have more time to train than usual, you should utilize the filter function. Most often you’ll want to filter by duration, but you can also filter by Focus Type, XSS, Difficulty Rating, or even by name! Once you apply your filter, Xert will provide an updated list of recommended trainings based on your filtering criteria!

Putting it all Together!

Using all the information outlined above, Xert will recommend Workouts, Favorited Activities, and Xert Sessions to you. The most optimal training recommendations will be presented at the top of the list. You can select the ‘Play Now’ button to perform a recommended workout or session in the next 30 minutes, or click ‘Schedule’ to the workout for later in the day.

Note: Read more about Playing & Scheduling workouts here!

Step 2: Go for a ride!

You can either perform one of the recommended workouts or sessions using your indoor trainer, or simply go out for a ride.

- If you prefer some structured training, you can select of the recommended workouts using Xert EBC for iOS, Android, or the Xert Workout Player for Garmin. Xert’s workout players allow you to take advantage of Xert’s SMART intervals which adapt in real-time.
- If you would rather just go for a ride (solo or group), go for it! Accumulate the XSS required and then head back home. If you ride shorter or longer than the recommendation, Xert will adjust your training recommendations tomorrow – you may even earn a day off if you accumulate enough of an XSS surplus!

Step 3: Upload your ride data to Xert!

Xert will analyze the data and when you are ready to ride the next day, log in and Xert will tell you precisely what you need to do next – it’s that simple! If you’d like to take it a few steps further here are a few other things you can do:

‘Favorite’ rides to build up a database of rides you do often – Xert will consider those activities when recommending training! Go to the Activities Dashboard and click the star next to an activity to Favorite it.
To help plan your training week, you can go to the Fitness Planner to drag & drop workouts or favorited activities into your calendar. Once that’s done, you can view your XPMC (Xert Performance Management Chart) on the Progression tab to see how your planned activities will impact your training status.
If you did a workout without your power meter, you can click on the date in the calendar in the Planner tab to manually update a workout. This FAQ will walk you through it. Note that the information you add won’t update your fitness signature but it will give you credit for the work when calculating your freshness for training and how far ahead or behind you are in your training.

If you have HR data for a ride without power data, consider using Xert’s Heart Rate Derived Metrics (HRDM) to estimate the Focus, XSS, etc. of your activity. Click here to learn more about HRDM.

As you grow more comfortable with the system you can start to do other things like viewing your Maximum Power Available (MPA) and Focus Duration in real time as you ride or race, analyze your data to learn more about yourself as an athlete, and build up your understanding of physiology and how the body adapts to certain training stimuli.

Happy Xerting!

P.S. For more posts for new users click the ‘Beginner’ tag below.