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Iāve watched a few of his videos and it seems like he just wants to be an antagonist for the sake of being controversial.
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A cycling coach here. This video pretty much sums up what a lot of athletes appear to be missing.
A training app, whether it is Trainer Road or others are not a substitute for a coach. They are designed to make self-coached athletesā lives easier as they donāt have to think about creating their own workouts. And then it is up the the athlete to manage her/his own life around it.
A coachās job on the other hand, is to help an athlete, particularly a professional in areas other than sport, with navigating their training in the sea of life. From my experience, putting together a plan and workouts is the easiest part.
The real job begins when said athleteās life starts interfering in a form of illness, injuries, work and family commitments. Some athletes like to chat about their their training, how they feel, life etc. With others, you really have to squeeze them to get any information at all. Some call you in a middle of the night to advise that they canāt train tomorrow because theyāre stuck in a pub (true story). With others, you only find out that they are sick after they donāt update their workouts for several days.
All in all, I truly believe that folks at TrainerRoad have created the best application one can possibly get without resorting to coaching services. Iād give it 10 stars if I could.
33 Likes
Was there any truth to the comment about TR using a study based on was it 6 untrained cyclists to prove performance gain claims?
If so ā¦ might need to update the website - Iām sure thereās plenty of evidence supporting.
TRās biggest pros to me are the outdoor workouts and customizable training plans and calendar. Plan builder is also awesome. No other software does training as well as TR.
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Those studies were not about āprovingā TR works. They were from a long time ago and were supposed to be a comparison between ājust riding outsideā and āinterval trainingā. We think that most people believe in interval training at this point in time, and those studies are being removed today.
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I assumed it must have been out of context
I didnāt want to click on the video and add to the views but was curious how blatant the bias would be. Then, boom, a code for a competing product from a guy who also ācompetesā with TR. As Nate said, it felt like a takedown piece. In an early stage growth industry, competitors should not try to cannibalize each otherās revenue. I have never heard Chad, Nate or Jonathan trash anyone elseās product offering.
I also want to say that I appreciate the continual investment in TR and product improvements. My subscription fee is well spent.
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There are so many things wrong with this comment I donāt even know where to begin.
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Nothing against TR specifically (or any of the other options), but the idea of:
- Doing a ātestā to determine your FTP
- Basing your training entirely around that number
ā¦ is simply old and outdated.
IMO any platform that doesnāt get smart with its plans and deliver adaptive workouts, is going to die a long, slow death.
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Examples?
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Love some TR and the team does an excellent job. The product, calendar, podcast, forum, interface, outdoor workouts are top notch to name a few. I donāt see myself letting my subscription lapse unless Nate and team leaves for some reason.
That being said Zwift does have its place and use it for group rides and a distraction for my TR workouts as I run both at the same time with 2 ant+ sticks. If I had to choose TR all the way.
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Trainerroad is not just FTP + workouts anymore.
Itās a powerful calendar, itās soon to be an adaptive plan builder and it has performance metrics. Not to mention the real value is the science backed approach they use especially in the formulation of their training plans. If the science says that training could be done better a certain way then Coach Chad will adapt workouts and plans to reflect it. Trainerroad could charge just for their podcast even - it has that much information in it.
Compared to all other platforms, I think TR is the best value.
1 Like
Well said.
If we asked @Jonathan what the most asked questions were I would bet that it revolves around adapting the training schedule to take into account life outside of the bike - sickness, familiy, job.
Trainerroad does an admirable job giving volumes and volumes of information on this topic each week on the podcast but this can only go so far.
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This is the key TR selling point for me. I donāt feel like thereās a load of smoke and mirrors or an attempt to blind me with the science. Yeah, you can drill down if thatās your thing but I donāt personally feel youāre missing out, if you choose not to.
End of the day, what you choose to use doesnāt have to be the ābestā product on the market, it simply has to work for you. Come race/event day, is that person with their opinion going to come and put the hard work in for you to? If not, Iāve got zero interest in an opinion.
7 Likes
Something TR gets right that the rest of them donāt is user experience and confidence. The user experience of TR is amazing: iPad, web browser: it just works and it intuitive. It also looks nice and polished. You donāt get that in Zwift. I hate their UI. Itās inconsistent, itās busy, itās crowded. The HUD in Zwift always looks appalling to me.
Another very important part for me in TR is the confidence it gives me. I know I should be able to finish the trainings, assuming my FTP is set correctly. So I grow a lot mentally in terms of perceived exertion and push through, because Chad designed the trainings such that they are hard but doable. You donāt get that with Zwift. I really feel Zwiftās structured workouts are justā¦ garbage.
Suffertest looks fun, but I rather have the āseriousness approachā of TR.
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A USP of TrainerRoad that this guy misses and is rarely mentioned even amongst us (the TR Family) is its simplicity and portability, the fact that all you need is a smart phone.
This is a big one for me as I train in a small brick shed with little technology, no internet or wifi, no big screen, just me, my bike, smart trainer, big fan and an android phone.
It works brilliantly. All I need is what I get: the blue blocks of doom and a few numbers. Spotify and ear buds do the rest for me. I sync the workouts when I get back in the house.
It also means I can chuck the whole set up in the van for sneaky workouts when away visiting family or whatever.
I love TrainerRoad for many reasons. Keep doing what youāre doing, guys!
Oh, and it made me faster. Obviously!
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What a ridiculous statement.
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The low technical barrier to entry is what brought me to the platform. When I decided to try structured training, I signed up for Sufferfest (and TP) because Sufferfest looked fun, did whatever the plan import thing was, started setting up my gearāand then realized Sufferfest doesnāt have an Android app. Swapped to TR, found the podcast and the forums, havenāt looked back.
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Didnāt see the video and read comments here just up to the 45th or so and in some comments I got confused. Some say TR costs more than Zwift. And even some say if TR is payed by full year it gets the same monthly price as Zwift. This is not correct.
I payed one year of TR and dividing by 12 months it gets 9.5 euro a month while Zwift is 15 euros a month with no year subscription discount.
Inspite of this even if TR costed the same I would still preferer TR once my objectives are clear, getting faster and not playing video games once Iām not on my twenties anymore 