A Letter To A Client – Xert Progression
Dear James, I Just wanted to give you a heads up on what I’m looking at in terms of your Xert progression. First Things First – Xert Progression This is a NICE CHART OF XERT PROGRESSION. It’s safe, it’s consistent, and it’s predictive. The Form line is just a hunch right now. As long […]
Afraid to Suffer, Part One
“I’m not getting any better!” (You don’t know how to Suffer!) I HATE that statement. “Better” is a completely loaded term. It implies perception over analysis, and it’s my job as a coach to be a shrink, a cheerleader, a gentle critic, a cajoler, and an overall positive influence. But what is NOT my job, […]
Four Weeks
A NEW OPPORTUNITY TO APPLY XERT On April 25th, 2018, I received an email from a past client. Joe had mostly come to the Cycling Center Dallas Studio for weekend FLASH rides, when the weather was too poor to ride outdoors. He was always a good cyclist, but beyond the 2 hours here and there, […]
Updating the OLD Xert Garmin Fields With the NEW Xert Garmin Fields – A Video Tutorial.
Unfortunately, I’m posting this a few weeks late. Another update to Xert fields has already rendered this video somewhat obsolete. It’s still a great demonstration of how to get into the old Xert Garmin fields and update them. It also shows what the Garmin Xert Field displays now provide. In Summary: In early March, Xert […]
Xert Focus and WHERE You Should Train.
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This is a 37K Time Trial. What’s its FOCUS?[/caption]
Focus. Focus on your Strengths. Focus on your Weaknesses. Focus on the demands of the course. Focus on the demands of the race. WHERE should you FOCUS? Let me show you not just where to focus, but when and how.
Why We Still Look at Heart Rate
One of the old standards is Heart Rate. For decades, Heart Rate was a practical way to measure intensity. It could also be used to measure recovery, hydration, and fatigue.
We cannot look at wattage alone. We have to look at wattage as an extrinsic force. When we look at heart rate, this is an intrinsic force. Both bring value.
Here’s an example:
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Looking at Wattage and MPA only, this cyclist did not work too hard.[/caption]
This cyclist was given a workout of 60 minutes. The main set of intervals were 2 minutes long, with one at the end which was very intense and would hopefully yield a breakthrough per Xert.
If we look at the wattage chart alone, it shows a successful workout. MPA dropped, then rose, and the final interval yielded a CLOSE CALL, but not quite a breakthrough. Watts followed the load very closely.
However, when heart rate is revealed, it shows something more.
Five Stars On Xert: What It Takes To Get to Pro Level, Part Two
See Part One (Free) for the background on Dr. Keeter’s incredible progress.
BUILDING FITNESS AND CAPACITY TO GET TO FIVE STARS.
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Kyle Keeter Stress Progression Chart 5 Stars[/caption]
Let’s start with the “Stress” Chart in Xert.
Dr. Keeter basically began from scratch, with a low fitness level, and few hours per week in his legs. He was certainly not UNFIT, but he was far from TRULY FIT. Here’s how we got him to Five Star Performance.
Five Stars On Xert: What It Takes To Get to Pro Level, Part One
I’m excited to announce that my coached client, Dr. Kyle Keeter, has gotten to Five Stars Training Status on Xert! A Five Star Training Status is the result of A LOT of work on the bike! This means that his training volume, per his daily and accumulated “XSS” (Xert Strain Scores) values, has […]
Xert In a Crit: Prime Win and Victory!
Travis Pope is a big guy with a big engine. He loves to ride, loves to race, loves Xert, and he loves to train with it. He has been a client for years, but has suffered several crashes that left him on the sidelines. It also affected his training consistency.
But this year has been a different story. Travis has trained consistently. In early June, he bought a Garmin 1000 and began training with Xert Fields.
The Race According to Xert
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Xert Profile of Travis Pope’s Criterium Win. Note the severe drops in MPA in the middle and the end.[/caption]
Last night, it all paid off! Here’s how Travis used Xert training to turn his hard work into success on the podium.
“On The Fly” FTP: Using Xert’s What’s My FTP App On Your Garmin
Not even a month ago, Xert by Baron BioSystems, released What’s My FTP? on the Garmin Connect IQ ecosystem. The premise is simple: if you have a smart Garmin head unit (520, 820, 920, 735, 1000) and an on-bike power meter, you can determine your Functional Threshold Power (FTP) with just a few solid, hard efforts, over a period of time.
I’m always skeptical about new product claims, but given Xert’s incredibly short but solid track record of apps that are dead-nuts on, I decided to give What’s My FTP a try. I put it to work for two of my clients, and all I can say is Wow—the results are incredible!
Now let’s show you how to get the same results for yourself.