Like in every other performance driven sport really. SAID & progressive overload are the fundamental principles to drive improvements. I always find it astonishing how many trainees are not aware of that or sometimes even deny it.
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I’m not familiar with the SAID acronym. Can you explain it?
Specific Adaptation to Imposed Demand
LMGTFY SAID principle - Wikipedia
“specific adaptation to imposed demands”.
E.g., If you want to become a better climber, while running, sprinting, hill riding or weight training might do something as well, best is to climb more.
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Join app had an update today, it now syncs workouts straight to zwift like the xert app does
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Wow, another competitor that has got there before TR.
I am starting to train for L’Etape Du Tour and The Marmotte Valais (so 2 big days of climbing). I’ve heard about Join through the LRCP podcast and their constant ads. It seems to be working on me 
. So far I’ve downloaded the app and started a new plan for the first event. I am bit surprised by the low number of hours compared to my availability (I’m getting >6h with 13h available with the profile set as advanced) and my training in the last month…
Did someone followed a plan for a granfondo with lots of elevation on Join and how was it? I am hesitating to do my own program instead…
What was the response from the join forum?
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I posted the same question on their sub-reddit as well but I am probably reach more people here…
Well yes, the TR forum - hosted etc. on TR’s bill - is indeed a broad church.
Even allowing first time posters that use a competitor product to ask about that competitor!
Very generous.
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Afaik, it’ll ramp your hours up. Have you looked at the plan overview?
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Chill, I have been using TR for 2 years I loved the product and the podcast but it doesn’t really align with my goal and what I am looking for on the bike right now, I am looking for something new, sorry to ask a question on a thread with 2k other messages…
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Yes, but the ramp feels a bit slow, only reaching the full availability in the last month before the event
Interesting you’re having issues with not enough hours. Most people complain that it asks for too many hours. Is it because you’re offering most of the hours on only 1 or 2 days?
No I set 2 hours Sunday Through Thursday, rest on Friday and 6h Saturday
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Which plan are you following? Some plans build up more gradually than others. Join advises to start training for an event no earlier than 5 months in advance.
I used join last year for the marmotte granfondo des Alpes, my first event and first time climbing ever. 8h31min which I think was great. The climbs went very well thanks to join but I lost a lot of time descending (I
suck at descending),refuelling and wasted way too much energy going fast and solo between Glandon and Telegraphe I’m pretty sure I could have been sub 8 with
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If you do additional hours outside the plan, does it recognise that and start adding in planned volume more quickly?
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I’ve used both TR and Join to train for the Marmotte.
TR got me in fantastic shape 2023 albeit I didn’t strictly follow the plans as I would substitute weekend intensity for long road spin. Hours were generally 8-10 hours.
I used Join for 2024 event and was pretty dissapointed.
I had the opposite experience to you following thd marmotte plan.
Pushed me to increase hours constantly, randomness of workouts became infuriating, no progression, no specifity and very little in the way of rest weeks or tapering.
In the final weeks I was doing 14-15 hours. The training was never really easy or hard.
Overall experience not enjoyable and I won’t be back. Still on an annual plan i think but wouldnt use it.
Back on TR now, finally doing some good efforts and feeling like I have my power back.
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With Join’s 3 on, 1 off schedule, you effectively have 11 hours per week as Friday AND Tuesday will always be off. Even when I was doing high volume this summer, I would rarely get a workout longer than 4 hours and Join probably wants to ramp up the volume somewhat slowly, so volume would probably be closer to max of 10 hours (5 days x 2 hrs/day). You can look at the hours in the plan and see the hours forecasted. I would expect it to rise from 6 to 10-12 fairly quickly.
Yup, this is pretty much the program. There is an underlying TSS/Fitness progression. 3 days on, 1 day off… rest weeks rare (but also not needed, in my experience). I did get a taper in my plan.
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