I’ve been an on-and-off TR user for a few years, and I’ve been using the new AI features for a little over a month now. With the “balanced” training approach, AI FTP detection initially set my FTP at 181, which made sense after months of very low cycling volume. The workouts felt mostly moderate at first, with a few hard ones like Venado +1 and a float set workout called Miletto.
After about a month, AI FTP detection bumped me up to 229, which is right around where I was last year. Since then, most workouts have felt pretty tough (especially on-offs and hard starts). The float set workout Katahdin +2 was really tough and I actually had to take a longer rest before the last set because I wasn’t sure I could finish it.
Then last night I did Glassy Ridge +4 (another float set), and that one completely wrecked me. I technically finished the workout, but not as prescribed. I got through the first two sets, but on the last set (9 hard intervals), I could only complete 6 at target power before dropping it about 16% (286 to 240). I marked it as max effort.
So now I’m wondering: has anyone seen AI FTP detection overshoot their FTP? Or maybe it’s just giving me workouts that are a bit too aggressive? Could it also be that I’m not doing enough strength training during the build phase, and maybe that’s affecting things? Does the AI even factor that in?
I know TR AI is still pretty new, and to be fair, most workouts have felt appropriately challenging. But after last night’s float set, I’m definitely starting to question things a bit.
I attached screenshots of the “failed” workout, and my calendar leading up to it.
Same experience. I hit PRs this year that I was not able to do last year so I have definitely improved.
I find the system giving me workouts that are too hard too quickly. At some point they wear me out and I am not recovering. I know that I need lower intensity workouts for a longer duration to work on the duration I can ride at a set power level.
I am at that point where I tried the last two plus months to follow the plan. I still had to reduce the FTP number as what was suggested was too much. It also pushed me to short hard intervals as a result. It worked well the first month. Second month of harder workouts just became too much and I was going sideways. I feel I need to take over now and adjust the workouts to slow down what it is giving me. I need to work on my weaknesses which is not really the type of workout that I am seeing from what AI is giving me.
As in any plan I feel you still need to know your body and what works for you. I wouldnt hesitate to adjust which workouts you do if you find it too aggresive.
Yes, I had similar experience. My first month with the new system was pretty rough. Most forum members will just point blame at you and tell you it’s due to you not categorizing all of your prior workouts correctly. (Don’t @ me)
Hopefully yours will adjust accordingly based upon your survey feedback. It kind of sucks that this AI is so survey driven. It doesn’t seem nearly as complex and intelligent as it is touted. It’s basically a giant beta test. Some of us are ramping up for a season of racing while serving as test subjects for their machine learning. I don’t fancy being their test dummy.
With all that said, focus on feeding properly for the workout, and being aware of other life stress that could have affected the workout. Good luck.
The way I see it you’re doing fine with the AIFTP you have been given. Maybe float set style workouts just isn’t your thing? The fact that you are suggested to increase the length of your workouts to give sufficient stimulus shows that if anything your AIFTP could be higher, not lower.
That being said, I do agree that the jump from a 5.7 float set workout that you rated very hard to a 7.5 workout seems way to aggressive. Granted you did successfully complete a 6.6 on off in between, but still.
Hey everyone, thanks so much for weighing in! It’s honestly a relief to hear I’m not the only one who felt like the AI was throwing me into the deep end a bit too fast.
Reading through your comments, I think I realized where I went wrong. I definitely didn’t fully grasp the effort rating system. Looking back, when I was marking things as “Hard,” they probably should have been “Very Hard” or “Max Effort.” Since I marked the last two workouts honestly, I think it seems to be leveling out.
I actually just finished Sleeping Beauty +8 and it felt adequately challenging, right on the edge, but doable. If it had been even a hair tougher, it probably would’ve been another fail, so I think the adjustments are starting to kick in.
Quick update after a pretty humbling workout. I did Kamakou and honestly I have never felt that gassed during intervals before. I thought the longer rests would make it doable, but towards the last set, the longer 1.5 to 2 minute efforts had me breathing like crazy and my brain was basically screaming to stop. Marked it as Max Effort.
What is interesting is TR is estimating a jump from 229 to 252 FTP this Sunday, which was initially estimated around 270 at the beginning of the block, and I am starting to feel that tension. On one hand it is motivating seeing the number go up, but on the other hand the workouts are starting to feel really taxing.
Looking ahead at my week, it is stacking another VO2 workout (Numburnholme) on Thursday and then an Anaerobic 10.0 (Cornaget) on Saturday, which feels like a lot considering how close to the limit Kamakou felt.
I am starting to wonder if I should hold off on accepting the new FTP right away, or slightly dial things back so the workouts stay repeatable.
Curious if others have run into this where AI FTP bumps things up, but the feel of the workouts suddenly jumps a lot too. Trying to balance trusting the system versus listening to my body.
Overall still really liking the direction of AI FTP, just trying to find that sweet spot where it is pushing me without sending me over the edge.
Kamakou is pretty hard, it’s understandable to mark that as a max effort. If you do accept the new higher FTP, your future workout levels will decrease slightly so that the watts you’re actually training at won’t change that much. IE your workouts after an increased FTP will go from a level 8 to a level 5 (for example, not actual numbers).
I think it works regardless of how your personal rating system is, but works better with rating closer to the TR RPE text as it is trying to give you hard workouts.
