Yes I usually mean an indoor workout to control my trainer with the Roam but yes, also outside, from time to time.
For indoor workouts, this leaves my iPad available for watching Netflix, YouTube or whatever.
For outdoor workouts, it allows us to take The Sufferfest outdoors on the road, gravel, or trails, and it more competitively positions The Sufferfest against a notable competitor who already supports this feature and allows the platform to truly cover all training scenarios. Indoor, outdoor, yoga, strength, mental, and possibly even running power outdoors.
I am living proof that you should trust the plans. Recovery is an essential part of any training plan - when I had coaching for a marathon I had 4 easy runs a week and 2 high intensity workouts.
Having just completed 2 intermediate training plans trusting the plans has worked beyond all belief. I am now pushing out 20% more watts than previously and this is despite losing 13 pounds in weight.
I also feel some of the video workouts at reduced intensity don;t have the same feel to them but this is when I have my own playlist and/or put something on to watch while doing the workout.
@washsaint I definitely trust the SUF Science/Coaching team. Thereās no question about that in what Iāve raised above. Itās more a question of how the plans are integrated into The Sufferfest software and the Wahoo ecosystem.
BTW - Great job on your own improvements! Solid increases! I just happened to have tested yesterday with HM and improved on what were already pretty strong numbers in May by my standards. FTP was up by 15% and MAP by 10%. These are my highest ever numbers, too. Iām feeling really strong but looking to make a good training plan choice headed into Canadian winter.
The exporting of outside workouts to bike computer requests seem to be popping up more and more now, usually followed by āitās on the radarā. Surely now with SUF and Wahoo working in close harmony this really is not that difficult to implement! Especially to Wahoo head units, and heck wouldnāt that even persuade some Garmin users to switch over to Wahoo Roam/Bolt etc.
Is that not a Win-Win for the shareholders?
ā¦ and given the integration of the Wahoo Elemnt line and all Garmin units with TrainingPeaks, it would just be a matter of adding the structured workout for the NoVids in The Sufferfest workout library on TrainingPeaks.
A bit of grunt work for sure, but doable as a short-term hack before this stuff is able to be done āproperlyā for Wahoo ecosystem users (i.e., fully integrated by making The Sufferfest have a rich API connection with Elemnt head units, at least equivalent to what TrainingPeaks has today to supply head units with planned workouts).
When I have an outdoor workout, I just go to TrainingPeaks and create it manually on their (miserable) website. it would be so much easier (And should be since the Wahoo exit) to have it synced automagically to my Bolt/Roam .
Common Wahoo/SUF product guys - you can do it - like Britney Spears said - work it out!
The fact that TP can push workouts to Wahoo devices and SUF canāt is (and that it is somehow on the āroadmapā) is not credible.
Obviously there are some other elements impeding the feature, as the pipeline is in place.
TrainingPeaks doesnāt support 4DP so couldnāt do exactly what the app does but on your Wahoo headunit. Youād need to build the workouts with all metrics linked to FTP instead.
Interesting topic; so far I also really like the plans and then especially the high intensity workouts. However, for example today, there is āThe Huntedā scheduled BUT at reduced intensity. Difficult to see the overall impact of the % (AC 55%, MAP 60% and FTP 80%), but my experience with reduced intensity workouts is that they can be a bit boring/ unfulfilling.
Today it seems to be beautiful sunny weather, so I would also love to go for a 1.5-2 hour outdoor ride; I am not using a power meter though, and knowing myself, not always good at pacing my rides.
I would say you can easily replace a reduced intensity workout for an easy spin outdoors. The trick is to keep it easy, though.
Generally I skip a lot of the reduced intensity stuff. I probably shouldnāt, but it just seems like a bit of a waste of time. And the fact that the video storylines and even the workout structure no longer add up is just really immersion breaking for me. It happens that the MAP targets are reduced much more than the FTP to the point where they become easier than the actual FTP parts.
I have found that turning the video & storyline off and putting something else on (Mike Cotty on YouTube or The Other Indoor Cycling App) letās me get the benefit of the reduced intensity without spoiling the video.
Looks like Iām about the only one who doesnāt mind watching the videos with low intensity workouts. It gives me a chance to actually watch the video action more closely instead of everything being a blur while Iām chewing stem!
Alternatively I will just ride outdoors or on Zwift at a comparable intensity. Export to Garmin head unit would be nice for this purpose as it would take the guesswork out of pacing.
I would agree with this. Really just need maybe a handful of simple recovery videos with footage like Open 30 where you leisurely ride along behind Mike Cotty for 30 minutes to some fun, but low-key, music. Or maybe some footage from some pro pelotons where riders like Sagan and Alaphilippe make faces and clown for the camera.
I think the plans are designed well in this regard. Iāve done Sufferfest for a long time doing my own thing but lost a lot of fitness after pulling my hamstring badly a few months ago. Now Iām in week 2 of my first ever training plan getting myself back into condition, and Iām really glad the videos are at reduced intensity. Iām 60 and Iād end up hurting myself if I was pushing at 100% at this stage. I think the coaches know what they are doing here.
My issue with the training plans are that as a parent of 2 young kids, my ability to train fits into discrete time blocks which rarely align against whatās in the plan.
This works in 2 directions. Plans for a specific race generally start at a lower volume and then end at a higher volume. If I pick a plan based on starting volume, I max out on time near the end of the plan; if I pick a plan based on max weekly volume, I spend most of the plan operating at lower volume than my usual training load. (I do keep a rolling 3 weeks on, 1 week off recovery cycle).
For athletes like myself, I would find it much better to have a āsuggested workoutā option, based on how much time I have to train that day, what my previous load looks like, my 4dp profile, and my goal. I realize this is pretty much what a dedicated coach would be dynamically, or what a sufferfest custom plan would doing statically, but one can hope, right?
I disagree, yes itās a bit strange doing the video with adjusted numbers when you are used to the normal one but training plans are intended to work towards a goal. Doing the session at 100% is simply counterproductive then.
Doing them at 100% would simply make certain combinations or successions of training sets impossible which kind of defeats the purpose of using the training plan.
Thereās no question about that in what Iāve raised above. Itās more a question of how the plans are integrated into The Sufferfest software and the Wahoo ecosystem.
I just happened to have tested yesterday with HM and improved on what were already pretty strong numbers in May by my standards. FTP was up by 15% and MAP by 10%. These are my highest ever numbers, too. Iām feeling really strong but looking to make a good training plan choice headed into Canadian winter. 