I am probably in the minority here, but I would like outside workouts to be dead simple. So much so that I don’t even need a special screen or setup if I didn’t want to.
I would prefer that I could do any warm up I wanted for however long I wanted.
Would then need a lap button to get to working sets. And then I just want them to be simple to execute. Not cute tricks or distractions that you include for indoor. Just 5 x 3 min at X watts. 3 minutes rest. 4 x 10 min at Y watts, 4 minutes rest.
I then I would like to ride as long as I want after working sets.
Basically, let me train outside how I have done for the last 25 years, and then accurately score it towards what was on my training plan.
It’s a different approach. You can collect what people think they want and build that - I want it in blue, you want it with bells on, she wants it silent, they want it in red and you can end up with a Frankenstein product, works for some but not great for anyone. Or you can gather the wider context of the problem space and figure out the best set of features for delivering a great product.
Thanks and I thought of another thing: rest intervals should be slightly longer than work intervals so you have time to back up to your starting point. Not absolutely necessary but having alternatives that do would make outside workouts easier to. (I use join and they tell you to just make rest intervals slightly longeren unless they are very short)
My only addition would be to not use complicated workouts outside for threshold, which was stated above.
Workouts like this one below were possible outside but had to keep and eye on the computer the whole workout. Simple under and over would make it easier, or something else. It would make it safer so rider isn’t staring at the computer for the whole set/ workout.
Also having a warmup that is easier to follow and not 3 different small intervals, for me it’s a 15-20 minute ride to the spot and I don’t pay attention to the mini intervals.
Every now and then, I’ll write down the workout on post-it or piece of tape and have it on my stem and simply use the lap button. I have lap time, 3s power, lap avg power, and lap time of course. I find that taking some liberties with the workouts depending on where I’m riding makes for a less stressful and more enjoyable session. Sounds like you do something similar.
The first two zero-level dropouts before the peak were traffic lights & the shorter one in the endurance interval was navigating a pathway feature.
I see benefit in keeping them compliant because it’s an extra check, as Chad Timmerman wrote on a now-deprecated article about the LSCT-like warmups that appear on most workouts above Z3:
With this tip I have on couple of occasions done the 20-minute commute to the track (easy!), done the warmup, & realised nope it’s not happening today. Then gone out the following day & passed.
Internally, the warmup is probably considered part of the workout itself, so fudging the warmup may possibly be a black mark on overall workout compliance internally, but in ~18 months of doing indoor-trainer workouts outside, I’ve never been failed for fudging or skipping a warmup.
That was a long-winded way of saying “don’t worry about the warmup structure, just make sure you’re warmed up”. Though I feel, for vanity’s sake, it does look nicer if it’s compliant.
Outdoor workouts should be this easy. I like TR a lot, but Smart trainers and blue bars and even much of the discussion on the podcast makes it all seem more complicated. I think people miscontrue complication and a false sense of precision with more effective training, but I certainly don’t believe that to be true. If you look at most pros files, they still train this way.
Extending on what people have said above, How about an “Outdoor Alternate” feature, where you can select a workout of the exact same PL, but simplify the ramps, number of intervals, etc. - Prioritizing simplicity and not small variations throughout. E.g. 3x20 @ 90%. You could tag the more simple or straightforward workouts with that tag and offer the simplified workouts when someone selects outside?
Gives the option of doing any workout in the catalog, or selecting some specifically designed for a better outdoor experience.
I should’ve re worded what I meant. When riding to my spot for intervals I do an effort at ftp for 2-3 mins too see how my legs are that day.
I do agree they help gauge freshness before the real work begins.
I 100% second this. The fact that average lap power is used makes the default workout screen a throw away.
3 second power would ideal. Current power would even be better than the average that is presently used.
This is a high priority in my eyes!
The AI should learn from the execution. It scheduled 10 min warm up, 5 x 5 min, 10 min cool-down. You do 20 min warm up, 5 x 4.5 min, 15 min cool-down. Maybe that’s dictated by where your best place is to execute it, and length of safe roads for interval execution. Use that pattern next time, so 20 min warm up, 6 x 4.5 min, 15 min cool-down etc.
I still haven’t seen what I’d classify as truly simple workouts that are really the “best fit” for outdoors, but maybe I haven’t been looking close enough lately.
