I’ve been riding/training for multiple years now and have previously used a Level 1 Elite Coach. I made a spontaneous decision to give TR a go, near the end of our season, and had it sync with TrainingPeaks to pull in all of my recent data. With that said, Over the past few months I’ve averaged 500-600 TSS with some weeks near 800TSS. My most recent VO2 work is 5x5 min or 5x4 min in the 300-320 range (148lbs). The first week that TR recommended was <400TSS and super short/easy workouts.
After doing all of the above and selected “aggressive” for the plan type, it gave me a 50sec Vo2 workout with significant time between reps. I swapped it over to an “overreach” Vo2 workout, labled Garraun, for a more appropriate workout for where I am in my calender. Even with this swap, I shortened the rest from 5 mins between reps to 2 mins between reps and then increased the power from a recommended ~280w/rep to 310-320/rep. AI based my FTP off a recent race effort, which was not a 20 min max but rather something I needed to be able to repeat. I made a manual adjustment.
So here’s my question… For those that have swapped to TR mid season, do you see the AI part of this pick up and make appropriate changes fast enough to catch up? Do you find yourself swapping all of the workouts for a few weeks to a more reasonable load?
It will catch up pretty fast. I think you are on the right track, replace workouts with harder ones as you are and then also rate them appropriately. If you replace a workout with a harder workout, and its still easy, make sure to code it that way in the end of ride survey.
One note thou, if you are shortening the intervals, riding harder than the workout prescribes and then coding the workout hard, it will not realize you are shortening or manually making the workout harder. Its better to do the workout as prescribed and coding it correctly, it will then catch you up faster.
That last part was my other question. With an extensive library to choose from, it only gave me a handful of “overreach” workouts to pick from. I don’t need a 5 min recovery between 2 min VO2 efforts so I shortened the recovery to ~ 2 minutes. I was hoping the AI would notice it and make the adjustments accordingly? I know there are seriously hard workouts in TR, I just can’t find one that first with what I was hoping to see. Make sense? Good to know that it should start making up for this.
AI doesn’t base of a single activity, it looks at all your recent training accross the zones, they don’t have to be maximal effort. Only the TR staff will know the precise factors. I don’t think I done a substantial flat out effort in the last year that is as high as AI calculates for me (not that it that high )
Regarding the issue that overreach workouts are too easy, you can also choose workouts that are above overreach. For example, your workout Garraun has a TR rating of 5.5. Dade 3 is a similar workout that has a rating of 6.5 and thus should be quite a bit tougher. This however cannot be done from the calender directly, you have to go to the TR workouts collection and select it there.
I don’t think you’ll find a classic 5x5min @120-125%+ in the TR library, though I haven’t searched recently (probably because most people hate this workout). You will have to find another option if you like that format.
Hah! That’s basically what I did (only 3 sets though). Equal recovery between efforts and 5 mins between sets, although not necessary. I’ll have to explore the catalog more and find these options. I just hit the lap button early and went from there.
There are multiple 5x5 VO2 workouts in the TR library. Here’s one that’s 5 on 5 off, but there are others with different rest periods. The key to find them is filtering on “Long Suprathreshold”.
You’re definitely not alone in wondering how TrainerRoad adjusts when you jump in mid-season, especially with a solid training background like yours!
The system will use your training history to create your custom plan; however, since you’re new to TR and our recommended workouts, the system will start with a bit of caution until you complete a few. This is why you may have seen easier workouts at the beginning. This helps bring you up to the correct intensity instead of the other way around. Think of it as an initial calibration.
You can, however, use Workout Alternates to find a harder workout. I like using the Workout Alternate tool because it will find a harder workout that is still working the correct energy systems meant for the day. When doing this, just keep an eye on signs of fatigue.
Regarding plan load, the weekly TSS target is one piece of the puzzle (as not all TSS is created equal), but what really matters is how your body is absorbing the work you’re being prescribed. TrainerRoad tracks your actual performance and recovery signals (via survey responses and compliance) to find the right balance of intensity and volume. So, @MikeMckinney, we do know if you’re shortening intervals or riding harder than the workout prescribes through your power data .
One question, though, when you reference that AI based my FTP off a recent race effort, which was not a 20 min max but rather something I needed to be able to repeat. I made a manual adjustment are you referring to AI FTP Detection or a different platform?
I can see that you received an Onboarding AI FTD Detection. This is not based on your 20 min max effort. We used Machine Learning (a subset of Artificial Intelligence) to analyze millions of rides, to understand how FTP changes over time and in response to training. Our system looks at your personal biometrics and the unique details of your recent and past cycling data to detect your FTP without the need for maximal efforts or specific workouts.
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