XERT?
- Thread starter Norry1
- Start date
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T.M.H.N.E.T
Rainbows aren't just for world champions
- Location
- Northern Ireland
Never heard of it until now 
https://www.dcrainmaker.com/2017/03/xert-training-platform-in-depth-review.html
https://www.dcrainmaker.com/2017/03/xert-training-platform-in-depth-review.html
Looks like the answer is no
XERT looks like an interesting system and as my coach and I are "on a break", I thought it would be helpful as it provides real time recommendations for your workouts and takes all your activities into account. It also has some interesting concepts like Breakthroughs and MPA (Max Power Available). I've started a 4 week free trial and will update on here if people are interested.
I've used it for a year... and just renewed... so I guess I like it. Podcasts are useful https://soundcloud.com/baronbiosys
whadda ya wanna know?
whadda ya wanna know?
How effective do you find it?
Any tips for getting the most out of it?
Anything to watch out for?
Anything else you think might be useful/interesting?
Cheers
A few thoughts...
- Took me a while to learn the ropes, very technical sounding, lots of jargon but the podcasts helped with that, there is a FB group too
- During the trial the workout pool is pretty limited, you will get more variance if you sign up
- You really need a power meter you can use indoors and out to track things (I use pedal based)
- Though you don't need to do FTP tests you still need to ride hard occasionally to keep your signature right
- The SMART workouts are something I find cool, it adapts to how you ride and will increase or decrease the length of intervals on the trainer
- The training pacer is good, it will take a couple of weeks to learn your routine, if you train hard and frequently it will start pushing up the workout difficulty to match your ability. I'm on 3* just now and find these challenging workouts
- If you do something a wee bit different from the program and decide to do a Zwift race or go for a segment outdoors it will adjust the workouts it recommends
- Once my fitness signature was dialed in I can use MPA to pace for certain efforts / races pretty well BUT...
- As mainly a TT event rider, for events over 10m I don't find MPA to be that much use as I am generally just at or below threshold power the entire time
- Also I personally find that what I can do power wise on a TT bike vs a Road Bike has enough variance to ideally warrant two signature profiles, which it doesn't support. As a result I can for example get a breakthrough on a climb outdoors but then when I do indoor workouts in TT position I can't meet the new power targets
- The advice it gives is generally good but at the end of the day you have control and though IMO better than a 'dumb' plan it won't replace a coach
That was really helpful, thanks a lot.
I have Powertap Pedals so that sorts power inside and out, and I don't TT (although I recently bought a TT bike which I haven't ridden since buying it).
I'll lookup the FB site - and I had already downloaded a few of the podcasts but not listened to them yet.
OK, @viniga so here is a question, if you don't mind.
The chart below shows a Breakthrough Effort - which is good, as this was the first time I'd done 6 x 3 Mins at 300W, but I can't see from the chart WHY it is a Breakthrough or what the relevance is. Am I missing something or should I be looking somewhere else?
The chart below shows a Breakthrough Effort - which is good, as this was the first time I'd done 6 x 3 Mins at 300W, but I can't see from the chart WHY it is a Breakthrough or what the relevance is. Am I missing something or should I be looking somewhere else?
Hey @Norry1 good work but not a breakthrough I fear.
The green marker is indicating your best effort there - highest power at highest difficulty. To get a breakthrough you will need to draw down your MPA (Peak Power) the purple line until it crosses your your current power for at lest 5s. The harder you go above threshold the faster this will happen. On most workouts this isn't going to happen unless they are designed to do it, e.g. 'Hardness Tests'. The fact that it shows the green diamond instead of the circle is likely a bug. Below is my most recent BT effort on a local climb. At the end of an effort like this - and if it has a good idea of your signature you would be busted.
Have you imported a few months of power based activities already?
The green marker is indicating your best effort there - highest power at highest difficulty. To get a breakthrough you will need to draw down your MPA (Peak Power) the purple line until it crosses your your current power for at lest 5s. The harder you go above threshold the faster this will happen. On most workouts this isn't going to happen unless they are designed to do it, e.g. 'Hardness Tests'. The fact that it shows the green diamond instead of the circle is likely a bug. Below is my most recent BT effort on a local climb. At the end of an effort like this - and if it has a good idea of your signature you would be busted.
Have you imported a few months of power based activities already?
Thanks. Your explanation is what I thought - but the green diamond said it was a BT, so yes must have been a bug.
I've imported 3 months of activities as that is all you can do on the free trial.
I've now found a BT on the race I did in March and can see the lines cross. Cheers again
I've imported 3 months of activities as that is all you can do on the free trial.
I've now found a BT on the race I did in March and can see the lines cross. Cheers again