So, autumn seems to be arriving - I wanted to start a training plan in Systm again, but I would like it to only include some types of videos, I thought I had seen this choice before but cannot find it again?
What I want to do is make a training plan, but only include Sufferfest, On Location and Pro Rides in the plan. Partly because I don’t find inspiration-videos very inspirational but also because I have already done most of the videos in those other categories, and they’re not really interesting to do more than once to me.
Am I wrong in remembering, that I used to be able to select which types of videos would be used for the plan? Is there no way of doing this?
I thought there was an “official” list somewhere. I tagged you because you seem to be good at rooting through the historical interwebs and dragging the information out
True. But in this case I don’t recall any official list. List of new names for old GCN vids, yep. List of new names for Yoga vids, yep. List of vids that have gradient encoded for the Kickr Climb, yep. List of “equivalent” workouts, nope
Anyway, @cjensen it should be possible to swap out any workouts that don’t fit your eye to 4DP equivalents by going through the library. Not the most elegant solution but usable.
Yeah, I thought about just replacing them, but most of the workouts for the first couple of weeks are something I don’t really want to watch, so at that point, i might as well just sit down and do my own plan instead…
@cjensen I swap inspiration videos all of the time. There are a few that are good for repeating - eg. the new Serbia series is pretty good and mostly scenery. You should be able to find something that is equivalent in length and IF and of you can’t there is either the option of riding in RGT or just watching a race or show or listening to music. There are also a few Endurance videos of different lengths that have racing footage but no sound that can also be used.
When it comes to Inspiration videos I often replace them with some more recent YouTube videos. Just start the workout in No-Vid mode and run YT in your browser. On a PC that works like a charm. The latest GCN show always works as a replacement, especially for the shorter recovery-type inspiration videos. Longer documentaries are harder to replace, but on the other hand, there are plenty of these in the library. And in the end, when you can’t find any suitable replacement for a given video, you can always jump over to RGT and work out there.
It’s not that I can’t find something else to watch. But one thing I like about Systm is the simplicity - workout, music, video all packaged together. It’s such a hassle to have to find music, start Youtube or whatever compared to just starting a Workout. I wasn’t really looking for work-arounds, there’s plenty of those.
I guess I’ll just do my own training plan, more or less, with the plan supplied just being an inspiration for what to do. It’s just not really what I expected when coming back to Systm. What really bothers me is that I just tried to create a plan and for the first many weeks there are 3 workouts a week that are either Inspiration or Novids. I’d really like to be able to create an actual Sufferfest-plan again. Seems like a downgrade in functionality since I did these plans last…
Me too. I turn off the vid, use the workout “Mini Player” and watch something else. I tend to watch mtb XC race vids. They’re long enough and I find them much more interesting than road riding vids. Search on You Tube. There are certainly plenty of road riding vids too.
Let me just repeat before this turns into a thread about what people watch while doing workouts: I am not looking for a work-around or suggestions for what to watch instead of the planned workouts.
I just wanted to know if I couldn’t control which types of workouts are used for a plan. It seems that’s not possible, so i will choose workouts manually instead of a plan.
@cjensen Understood - your idea of only incorporating workouts from certain channels is an interesting suggestion and perhaps something to include in the features category. I get the impression that the SYSTM plans are static - they were set by the coaches for specific goals and there isn’t any adaptive programming behind them like with a few other platforms other than the change to individual 4DP metrics. Ideally it would be nice to just push a button and get some alternative workouts for the day. I bet that is probably on their radar since others have been doing it.
However, what I like about the platform is that there are lots of options - Sufferfest, NoVid, RGT, ProRide, On Location - so lots of ways to flog yourself with some options that include some entertainment and motivation as well.
Generally when I need something different I just go into the cycling category and use the filters to find something that is equivalent based on duration, 4DP focus, category and I double check the IF as well. It seems to work and I don’t usually go off the rails with added fatigue.
Also while I understand your aversion to NoVids (I had a similar mindset) there are some really good workouts in there that I would encourage you to try at some point. The FTP progression series is excellent and helped me make some gains and I am gradually working through the other progressions as well.
Note that some of the NoVids are also the legacy GCN videos which previously were a separate channel.
The 10 minute Warm-Up NoVid workout is my go to before almost any tough workout - especially the Sufferfest ones where often the warm-ups are short.
Whatever gets you to do the work to meet your goals is the best approach. Good luck with your training!
As I started doing more Zone 2 training I’ve been doing this more and more. I’ll ride the recommended video when I want to or it fits my workout plan, then swap out other rides when I need more Z2 work or am too fatigued, etc.
It’s important to note that the Inspiration videos are generally put on recovery days. There are very few “Recovery” or Z2 workouts in the library that are not Inspiration videos. Generally that would only include: Recovery Spin (no-vid), the Endurance (no-vid) series, and the Open (SUF) series.
The only other way to get a recovery/Z2 ride is to queue up a SUF or any other video and dial all the numbers down to 55-70% (depending on the video and the workout targets). This is what the app used to do, but so many riders complained about the strange disconnectedness of riding a hard workout like Power Stations with all the efforts lowered to low Zone 2. So, the Inspiration category was introduced to give you videos that were actually Zone 2-worthy.
I tend to ride the Open 15, 30, 40, 60, 120 videos when I want to zone out on race footage. Otherwise I ride the Endurance (no-vid) series and either stare at the black screen or watch actual races. I won’t go into the other things I watch since that’s not the point.
And that really brings my question. If you don’t want to ride the Inspiration videos (which I totally understand why you don’t want to ride too many of them over and over again and often feel the same way), what other videos do you think could be swapped in from the library instead? Would you do dialed-down On Location rides? I’ve done that a few times. You could alsl do the A Week With videos - tho they can also get repetitive after riding them a couple of times, too. I just don’t see many videos (other than those I mentioned) that you could straight swap for Inspiration videos without modifying the target intensities.
I think in the end, the library does limit the choices of alternatives to the Inspiration videos which is why the training plans really wouldn’t have many alternatives to replace them with unless you heavily modify the workout targets of AWW and OL videos - which you could do.
As I have said on several occasions, as an older athlete I do not find the plans of much use. First, I have to focus on things that severely decline over age (i.e. neuromuscular abilities, strength, flexibility). Second, fatigue comes on faster than when you were younger. I do not find a 2:1 plan of much use. I have to watch my fatigue when I schedule exercises.
So what I do is pick workouts based on my goals and weaknesses. I plan about 2 weeks at a time, and I adjust as I go. I test from time to time with HM, and FF.
The problem with that, IMO, is, unless you are well qualified to correctly build a plan with a goal in mind, you’ll end up training ineffectively (overtraining with a risk of injury or undertraining with no noticeable results). Sufferfest videos were specifically created to provide high intensity workouts - you can’t do these all of the time.
The plans are the plans because they have been designed to correctly stimulate you while providing adequate recovery at the right times.
I would recommend selecting a plan to suit your goals and then swap out the workouts you don’t want for something with a similar 4DP profile.
What you are remembering is the times before Inspo vids even existed. The Suf videos were dialed down on rest and endurance days automatically. And it was SOOOOOOOO wierd riding 9 Hammers at 60% and all.of us whinged about how wierd it was and all starred using the Mini Player and THUS the Inspiration category was born.
Also, the Sports Science team re worked a lot of the original Suf workouts to be more sensible because some of them were set way way above even what Rohan Dennis could cope with. Hellooo Red-S in my case.
Also the first block in most plans tends to have more of an endurance focus.
So this is why you can’t control the workouts in a plan and why you’re getting so much Inspo.
IF you have a nice solid base, then instead of setting a plan to “Start” from this Monday, set it to “End” a block earlier the you skip the first block of endurance work. Obviously check the plan first though. You can then extend it by adding building blocks
But yes, there are only few Suf Vids in the plans these days. Mostly because they are pretty intense I think. Most of the high intensity No Vids seem to have a Suf alternative though, I switch those for Suf vids just by looking at the focus, IF, duration etc and fins something reasonably in that ballpark.
Or I have all the original plans in Training Peaks and go thrash myself on those, with caution.
I do remember the times, where recovery days could be Team Scream at 50%. That’s definitely not what I want…
But I have been shopping around all of the alternatives for the last year, so maybe the function I’m dreaming of and that I thought I had seen is something I remember from somewhere else.
I’ll see what I do - I’m not worried about overtraining myself by making my own plans, I’m a bit obsessive with tracking data, so if I don’t feel ahead of time, that it’s too much, I’m sure some red numbers will alert me to it.
I guess an option would be to just do these in RGT if I don’t find a good alternative - I haven’t tried using RGT with workouts yet, I assume all of these workouts are available there? Is there a way to see what the workout of the day is from RGT?
Put the workout in the SYSTM calender and I THINK it shows in RGT under Workouts>Scheduled or else just search for it. All the System workouts are available in RGT
