I have been using TrainNow exclusively to select my daily workouts. I ride in the evening each day. If I check TrainNow from my phone (logged in) in the afternoon it will frequently recommend and achievable Endurance. Two or three hours later when I fire up my computer to do the workout, it suggests something more difficult (which is probably correct).
My question is whether TrainNow is considering the number of hours between sessions and whether those hours need to be 24 before getting the appropriate recommendation. If I train 1 or 2 hours earlier that day (22 hours between sessions) will I not be getting the best recommendation?
Side note: I use TrainNow instead of a training plan because I want to control precisely how long my sessions are for each day. 90 minutes M-Th. 120 minutes Sat, Sun. It would be great if I could input up front how long I train each day and a proper plan was built around that.
As long as the cache is cleared and the app is synced after a workout (Quitting and restarting the app should do this, as will syncing via the refresh button in the app and hitting the shuffle button in TN a few times), TrainNow doesnât need any time delay when selecting workouts.
Theyâre based on progression levels, which update immediately after the workout is completed. For recommending the category itâs a similar story. There are a few cases we consider when recommending a category, and theyâll all consider your immediately completed workout:
If youâve done a hard workout since yesterday, weâll recommend endurance. So if youâre using TN for two-a-days, your second workout should be endurance.
*NOTE that We use calendar days for the recommended category calculations. So if you do a workout at 11:59 PM one day and then try TrainNow again at 12:01 AM, it considers those different days.
This could matter practically for the âyesterday was hardâ case, for example. If you do a hard workout at night, itâll recommend a more achievable workout the next day, and it may have been only 12 hours between workouts (8 PM yesterday to 8 AM today, for example). If you did that hard workout in the morning, it would still recommend an achievable workout the next day, even though it may have been 36 hours between workouts (8 AM yesterday to 8 PM today, for example).
If youâve done more than 3 hard workouts in the last 7 days, weâll recommend endurance. Same as above, this includes your recent workout.
If youâve done a climbing workout in the last 2 days, weâll recommend attacking. Again, this includes your recent workout.
I really like the Train Now feature and exclusively use this instead of a plan. You can vary the time based on how much you have or feel like itâŚbrilliant.
My question on this as well is if you have a race that you put in the calendar does train now take this into consideration and taper for you? Also does it take any periodization in account based on season or previous volume?
I like the OPâs suggestion but would also include maybe a toggle switch to indicate whether you are on a rest or taper week. But really this would just complicate an already beautifully simple feature.
Nope TN only takes account of your past history and what is best for you on the day it takes no account of forward planning, ie tapering for a race. Btw as folk have said above with an Adaptive Plan you can change any workout it comes up with for another workout of a different duration which will have the same affect on your training easily using the âAlternatesâ function.
Sorry to pick up an old thread but just a thought. Basically if you use TN for ALL of your workouts, its basically giving you the LV+ program. 3 days intensity, the rest endurance. Correct?
Just spitballinâ as I decided this summer to delete the plans and just us TN as Im mostly riding outside. But if I had say, a week or two of rain, then I might be using TN exclusively.
Iâve been using it to get somewhere between high and mid volume. It is working shockingly well. I have been trying to vary the training stimulus as much as possible while still staying in the desired training zone, i.e. doing sustained VO2 max intervals one week (Red Lake) then something with short/shorts the next week (Thimble) then the âspikeyâ ones the next week (Pierce). It is super fun and challenging. The plans seem to do just a single type and build on it, but with the Progression Levels you can change it up. Iâm seeing much better results than I was seeing with the plans. I think it has a lot to do with being able to modulate the volume to how Iâm feeling that week or day with other training stress (swimming and weights) and life stress.
@HMG, thatâs a great use of TrainNow, and I am so glad that is working well, fun, and challenging!!! What more could you ask for!?
@crownan, using TrainNow every day for a couple of weeks would give you a combination of harder interval Workouts and Endurance Workouts, but it would not be the same as following a Training Plan. That is because Training Plans also consider periodisation, fatigue, rest weeks, upcoming events, time off etc.
Check out this article to learn how TrainNow works and what is considered in the recommendations: TrainNow Overview.
Have you considered following a Training Plan with Outside TrainerRoad Workouts? If the weather changes, you can switch Workout within your Training Plan from Outside to Inside and vice versa. You can learn more here: Outside Workouts. Then, if you have more time, you could use TrainNow to add in extra workouts on top of your Training Plan, like @HMG does!
Hi, thanks, yes, periodisation etc, I just meant more loosely in the sense of 3 days intensity and the rest endurance. Not exactly like a plan
Thanks, no, I donât need a plan, I donât train outside, outside is for pure enjoyment. I go hard and chase my own Strava times, or I ride more gently depending upon how much time I have available etc. It 100% suits me down to the ground. I can use TN if the weather sucks and when the winter comes around Iâll stick a plan in then.
