Of course there are many people that prefer to have a structured plan, like the majority of the people who want to improve. Hell, I’d prefer it, but its just not possible in many instances.
I say I have a desire to improve, yes I do, and doing it the way I am, since last January, has warranted a 40% increase in FTP. I’m not talking about missing weeks and weeks, but more like having to push workouts out by days, so sometimes you might only get 2 in a week, maybe some weeks 1, maybe some weeks I’ll ride outside twice and get no trainer time. But the current calendar functionality appears to make that more of a pain for a number of people. (Not myself, I quite like having to move things about and find it very simple to do so on Windows during my worktime procrastination )
It would be interesting to compare the difference between one way or the other. I bet there is very little in it for the average Joe.
If I had one primary beef with it I would say (from a triathlon perspective) I would like to be able to add my own run and swim workouts as I don’t use the ones in TrainerRoad plan.
I’m not gong to comment on whether I like the calendar function or not but will say…I didn’t have it before and can live without it now. In the end, if it ends up costing me more…I would bag it. Just my two cents…
The calendar is amazing – I absolutely love the functionality.
Performance analytics and calendaring pushed me over the edge to the annual subscription. They’re worth the price even with out the training and coaching to me.
No comment on when cancel auto-skip or move entire plan one-day or x days is coming. There have been a number of features released all around improving other things. No details yet on when\if TR will be restoring the old functionality for riders that preferred training in this manner.
I’m a bit late to comment I know, but for me, I don’t like the calendar. I’ve never mentioned it before until I saw this thread because I didn’t want to whinge because I love TrainerRoad! But I much preferred the old style of program, it was so straightforward. Just do the workouts when I wanted to and it was clear and simple. I’m a triathlete and I work sometimes up to 56hrs a week in a mine and I’m single, I have enough on my hands let alone mucking around on computers with calendars. The calendar is definately a good option for some ppl but not everybody. But TrainerRoad ftw!
Given all the hype on the Calendar and all the fan boys of it I’ve been starting to think that maybe I’m not actually the target market for TR. Up until now I’ve been a happy long term customer.
I’m so angry at what TR has done to completely ruin the experience of the app with this horrible calendar nonsense.
I’ve been a TR user for many years, it has been perfect. I love the training plans. That was my whole and sole reason for using TR!! Now with one calendar, it’s nearly impossible to follow the training plans anymore. The calendar goes out of its way to mess it up at every step. Every time I start the app it shows the wrong workout, it’s never in the correct order.
Just did a workout today, starting the app it claimed there was no workout. But of course there is, I’m following a plan! The app used to track that perfectly, now it doesn’t at all. So… I had to manually find the next one in the sequence by looking at the training plan list. If I have a chance to do a workout tomorrow, I already see it’s showing the wrong one.
(Specifically: I’m doing the Sweet Spot Base Mid Volume I plan. Today I did Tunemah. The app is showing me that tomorrow is Carter. Which is clearly wrong, because in this plan after Tunemah comes Leavitt+2.)
What’s so crazy about this is that the functionality to follow a training plan was working perfectly. And now it’s just gone. No way to do it anymore automatically.
In the very early days of TR it didn’t track plans progress, so I used to print out the plan on paper and tape it on the wall next to the trainer and check off each workout with a sharpie. And then they fixed that and ever since TR has been tracking plan progress and it’s been great.
Until now, it has regressed to the very early days. So I have to go back to keeping track on paper because the app can’t do it anymore?? That’s just not ok. Come on TR, come to your senses. Fix this already!!!
I want to turn off calendar and follow a training plan in order. Like before.
If you want to follow a plan in order (regardless of gaps in between) then you will have to copy the list of workouts and run them each time. You could do this on paper if you wanted.
I understand this is a loss of functionality for you and others but you should know that this is not the way TR intend you to use the plan. One of the major benefits of the calendar is that you can move and adapt the plan to better suit your circumstances. The flexibility of missing a workout or swapping in something else makes the calendar far superior imho.
I get that something has been taken away which is really frustrating but it is relatively easy to fix by copying the plan and ticking it off yourself if that’s how you want to use it. Loading a workout takes seconds.
You have to also recognise that this isn’t how TR envisage people using plans and that lots of people see the new functionality as a vast improvement on the bingo card system.
I must be missing something, but can you not just do the plan in order from the calendar?
On the calendar, they get an “x” in the corner but you can still select the workout from the calendar. You can also select a workout from the calendar from further on in the plan. You just scroll the calendar back or forward. So what functionality is lost, bar the visual change?
Okay. I just started using TR to do some of the intervals. I’ve been coached by 3 different coaches, all who are high level and coach professionals as well.
I’m not understanding what your issues are here. If you are following a training plan you can’t just decide not to ride for 4 days and then pick up where you left off on the training plan and do the next workout. That by definition isn’t following the training plan. If life happens or you get sick you need to modify plans, push weeks, start with a lower power workout etc. after taking days off and then get back into the plan.
The coaches I’ve had either change some of the workouts or you just keep moving through the plan if you have a day off, you don’t just push everything forward 3 days and keep going from there.
The old functionality was a linear setup that had a certain type of adaptability that worked for some people. I can see the reaction to the change as the Calendar is a massive shift in functionality. True, the calendar allows an incredible amount of control and adjustability, but that is also the very thing that makes it so different and cumbersome to those who like the old setup.
I love the new one, but fully appreciate the fact that the change does not satisfy everyone. Software changes like this are common. And if the developers don’t allow some form of legacy control or similar function to established practices, it can alienate users (as we see here).
I don’t think the “they are using the software wrong” comments or suggestions that people should change their training approach are helpful at all. If they are truly missing features that is one thing, and we can try to help them learn the ways to use them.
But most of what is suggested here is that the old method was terrible and the way people want to have it again is somehow wrong. That bingo card method can and did work for many people. It is reasonable for TR to consider the need and possibility of restoring it or making some new way that functions similar to the old way. But I see not point or benefit coming from criticizing those who want the old process back in use.
I’ve just looked at SSB MV1 and it sound to me like you swapped the Wed and Sun workouts around when adding your plan to the calendar.
What then appears to you as a flaw is actually one of the things most of us love about the new functionality, namely that we can automatically have shorter workouts on days we expect to have the least free time and vice-verca.
I’d recommend you delete the plan from your calendar and add it again without moving workouts around, this should then display as you are expecting. As for no workouts showing on a given day, this could be the same issue or I find, if I have a poor internet connection, it can sometimes take a while for the app to update - just give it 10-15s.
I think the argument is that they were using the product in a workflow that wasn’t considered valid. They depreciated the old workflow because it wasn’t even considered as a useful thing. The plans were always given days of the week to complete them on. Envisioning it as a list of things to do in order at your convenience is an imagined anti-workflow.
Training is always done in the context of timing. The plans were always presented in the context of timing. That people were able to use it as a list of workouts was a quirk of the UI that the implementors presented.
They have stated that they are going to give ‘something’ for people that don’t want to plan their plans and just be told what to do. Considering the way that it was being used was probably doing more harm then good (oh you haven’t ridden in a week? do pettit so that you can recover from that vo2 max session 7 days ago) I can see why their motivation for ‘making it work the old way’ would be low.
)