Browsing Tag

Training

Blog Featured November 30, 2021

Xert Take The Wheel

If you follow me on Strava, you probably saw this one coming. After thinking about it, and talking to a few people who use a coach, I decided to submit to Xert’s training guidance; at least for the most part. Just to clear some things up, I do think there is tangible value in having an IRL coach. A real person providing adaptive workouts, finding areas for fitness improvement, tips, nutritional direction,…

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Blog Featured November 17, 2021

Submitting to a Higher Power

I don’t like being told what to do. I also like to understand “the why” around pretty much everything I’m interested in. Combining those with my stubborn desire to want to manage things myself, I’ve been rolling my own training plan for the last few years. For the most part, it’s been going well; registering solid gains both in power, and ability to hurt my friends on a group ride. So what’s…

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Blog Featured August 13, 2021

To ERG, or not To ERG, that is the question

TIL – there is a diversity of opinion around whether using ERG mode when doing a structured workout is a good thing. Maybe because I’m biased, I wasn’t able to find much actual argument against it (best I found was this), and a whole lot for, in a nuanced way, (another Slowtwitcher), albeit mostly from companies who have made a business selling structure for the smart trainer. Personally, I have a really…

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Blog June 25, 2021

You’re just embarrassing yourself now, Strava

Please, just, stop, Strava. Those things you’re claiming that you can do with relative heart rate data, are exactly what you can’t do with relative heart rate data, and exactly why power meters exist. Heart rate is a great way to know how your body is doing on a given day (i.e. am I dehydrated, tired, under/over caffeinated, etc.), but you simply cannot use it to compare efforts for that reason. Too…

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Blog Featured April 8, 2021

Reconciling Garmin Training Status?

One of the reasons I bought a Garmin fēnix 6 was so I could more accurately track my activity levels, which I hoped would lead to better insight into my fitness level, workout recommendations, and a better handle on my training status. What I seem to be getting though is borderline useless… Below is a table indicating the last month of activity: what Garmin suggested, what I actually did, how it impacted…

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Blog Featured April 7, 2021

When Failure Nets Success

I failed my winter goals. Well, partially anyway. After hitting the first target, I set a new one, and that’s where I just couldn’t do it. Perhaps it was just too lofty, a technology barrier, or my fortitude too weak. Ultimately it doesn’t really matter, a fail is a fail. Right? Pessimistically; hell yes. Optimistically; that’s crazy talk. Setting hard to reach training goals is just a tool to motivate action towards…

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Blog January 29, 2021

Aiming for sub-4

Getting a fat bike has derailed my winter goals a bit, but that doesn’t mean I didn’t come up with a new target. Just took a break from pursuing it, and didn’t mention it to anyone ;). As should be obvious from the title, I’m going to try to do a [virtual] century in four hours, or less. This might seem like an impossible, or easy goal, depending on how you look…

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Blog Featured January 8, 2021

Hi Xert, I need to take back most of the nasty things I’ve said about you…

About a year ago, on the advice of several of my friends, I gave Baron Biosystem’s Xert platform a try. It was supposed to calculate my FTP, offer automated coaching (i.e. pick the best workout to keep me getting stronger), and provide insight into my fitness that I couldn’t get at the time (now I get some of that, poorly, from Garmin, but that’s the subject for another post). Long story short,…

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News December 22, 2020

Wait?! “Sweet Spot” isn’t Sweet?

I did not expect the conclusion that Dylan came to in this video. After all, we all know that the “sweet” in “Sweet Spot Training” (SST) means that it’s placed in the perfect location to push up the FTP over time. Right? Well, apparently that’s not the case because “science”. Sigh, going to have to get that name changed… One thing that Dylan states clearly, but is easy to miss on the…

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