You are making loads of assumptions, which are simply not true.
- You can still browse the entire catalog manually, if you prefer. If you select a workout manually, TR AI won’t touch it (it is pinned/locked in), but TR AI will take it into account if you have other dynamic workouts in your calendar.
- You can easily create training plans with more or less volume, it isn’t limited to 5–6 hours per week. E. g. it is able to deal with including my commute (mostly done in Z2, unless I am running late
) and I am not doing anything to tell TR AI to adapt anything. I don’t even have a power meter on my commuter. - I have become very fit on fewer hours despite adding strength workouts, so perhaps you simply are doing more than ideal. I don’t know your calendar, but that’s just a thought. (For reference, I will turn 45 in a month (JFC where did time go!) and do 4 hours of intervals per week plus 2 strength workouts. Currently, I sit at 4.6 W/kg using the inflation-adjusted correct™ FTP instead of TR’s new AI FTP. Now that there is little ice on the road, I will add about 6 hours per week in Z2 to that.)
- If you prefer to cook up your own training plan, you can do that, too, while still having access to all of TR AI’s features. If you drop in specific workouts from the library, TR won’t touch them, but still give you yellow and red days if it thinks you are doing too much. Or you could drop in dynamic workouts (e. g. one endurance and one sweet spot workout) and TR AI will select suitable workouts for you. You can, at any point, override its choices and select, say, a workout it specifically does not recommend.
- Regarding the changes, I hope I am not revealing anything I shouldn’t, but the 4-week window wasn’t the only one considered. If you go for a shorter window, say, 2 weeks, “less workouts change“, but TR changed it after getting input from beta testers. I find a 4-week windows works very well, because it allows me to plan out an entire block.
I am not telling you to like it, but shouldn’t you at least give it a try (as in train with it) before arriving at that conclusion?