Time limit options in Plan Builder [Feature Request]

There was me thinking a stupid looking grin might work!

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+1
I guess this feature hasn’t moved out of Beta although it was Jan when they released the YouTube video. What gives TR Team ?

I just edited a month of training to 45min weekdays and 1:15min Sat. because that works best for me.

  1. It was painful and I’m not looking forward to doing it each month
  2. The suggested alternates were often the same workout as the original with a shorter duration. Grrrrrrrrr. That’s annoying, presented with the same workout, shorter duration and 5 extra clicks and navigation to get it into the calendar and delete the original.

The time constrained workout is already there as an Alternate, it needs to be available up front as an option to build the plan instead of the broad “beginner 2-3hrs”, “intermediate 4-5hrs” etc.

You’re already really close !

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This Plan Builder feature is still on the roadmap, but is lower priority than some more urgent fixes and releases.
When using Alternates in the the mobile or desktop apps, there’s an easier option to ‘Replace’ the original workout with your chosen alternate instead of having to schedule+delete when choosing an alternate on the web. We do have plans to create more continuity between web and apps for scheduling alternates, but as a ‘snack’ issue for our developers between projects.
I’ll provide updates on this thread for those changes as they become available!

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Hi Ivy, thanks for the reply.

Can you walk me through the steps on the desktop, I don’t see this option when I try to replace/add an activity:
“…there’s an easier option to ‘Replace’ the original workout with your chosen alternate”

Wondering where this is on the roadmap?

Along the lines of the kids in the back seat of the car saying “are we there yet?”, have we just left home or at a service station a couple hours away or nearly there?

Somewhere between the service station and nearly there :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:

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Nice!

@IvyAudrain, once again asking the question (because I’m re-loading my calendar with a training plan for the next 6mths)

"Can you walk me through the steps on the desktop, I don’t see this option when I try to replace/add an activity:

Alternates are in the App. Not browser, as far as I know.

See the original response “When using Alternates in the the mobile or desktop apps”

Alternates isn’t the issue, managing the changes across a 6mth plan is the challenge.
At the moment it’s a tedious
1.) Open calendar entry
2.) Add item
3.) Search for alternate
4.) Choose alternate
5.) Save
6.) Delete original entry
7.) Confirm
…and then start again for the next entry, 3/wk for 6mths of training

What id like is to pick a 3mth plan, choose a time (30min or 45min) and a level and Poof! Populated. At the moment o get asked a few vague questions about time & level and I get 1hr & 1.5hr sessions. Which I don’t have time for weekday mornings.

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Perhaps I am confused, but you are outlining a process totally different from the actual “Alternates” process TR created and documented.

Have you tried that or found it not to work? You can alter Duration (time) through that process.


Your ideal (setting time limits) is something TR wants to do as mentioned in this Feature Request and the podcast via Nate. But it’s not part of the process now. So using the Duration side of the Alternates tool/process is the easiest option available at this time.

@mailman @Yo_Adrian

It looks like alternates are now available in the web browser version! I was pretty excited to find this since I’m just starting a LV plan but will likely move the 1 hr to 90 min workouts as my schedule allows.

I should add…the “replace” button is grayed out because I didn’t select one of the alternates. It works as expected once a selection is made.

tr alternates desktop

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Well fancy that! I’m sure that wasn’t there when I last looked a week ago lol. Maybe I wasn’t looking closely enough :joy:.

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@mailman yes, we just improved Workout Alternates on the website a couple of weeks ago! :dancer:

Sorry about the delay here, @Yo_Adrian! I’ll try to explain how you can use Workout Alternates from both the App and Website.

Workout Alternates from the Website ( TrainerRoad.com ):
You can now find Alternates directly from your Calendar.

  • When you go to schedule a new workout, or view an existing one from your Calendar, a new tab called Alternates shows up after Inside | Outside.
  • From here, you can choose a duration + difficulty to find Alternate Workouts.
  • After selecting an Alternate, hit Add or Save in the bottom right corner (depending on if you’re adding a new one vs. replacing an old one).

See the screen recording and screenshots below.

Animated GIF

Workout Alternates from the Apps:
As @mcneese.chad mentioned, to see step-by-step instructions on how to use Workout Alternates on the desktop and mobile Apps, check out this article here: How to use Workout Alternates in the Apps.

Good luck with your training! Let me know if you have questions about these steps.

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I’ve been on low volume plans for the past three years and it’s worked really well, I generally approach 300w FTP in the summer, and at about 70kg, that’s comfortably 4wkg.

However since my 3rd child arrived in December, my evenings have been constrained (this child screams when not being held). So I have maybe half an hour of riding I can do perhaps four times a week during my 1hr lunch break.

It’d be great to slot in my available time into the calendar, and for the programme to give me a plan built to make best use of it.

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Would be awesome.

Nate mentioned this in a podcast a few weeks back. Here is the thread with discussion.

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Yes please do this, as I can do a little more than the low volume plan but not always do a 1.5-hour ride on the weekend, would much prefer to set something like 5 hours and let Plan Builder do its thing as opposed to the 3.5 hours but then have 1-hour workouts instead.

I know I can use TrainNow or supplement workouts with this, but it is not as fluid for me. I just wish to have a plan and follow it as best I can.

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Nate mentioned on the podcast that this is on our roadmap!
Stoked to get this feature out, we’re just focusing on some higher priority releases first. :wink:

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Thankyou :clap::clap:

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