Hi, I think it would be beneficial if you were told why the TrainNow Recommended workout is in fact Recommended. I think it would help choose the right workout and allow the user to balance recently completed outside rides which I suspect TR TrainNow doesn’t consider when recommending.
In absence of this I wounded what is the rules TR use to define the Recommended TrainNow workout.
Thank you.
Train now seems to be the hot topic of late. If they said “why” I am guessing it wouldn’t be long before threads would pop up arguing a counter point. Probably not worth it.
I’m almost positive that Train Now DOES factor in outside rides when recommending a workout. Reason I say this is two-fold…
I could be wrong, but those are my observations.
That said, I do agree with you that it may be nice to hear the WHY they recommend what they do, if for nothing more than to see if my reasons line up with theirs.
What type of activity does TrainNow consider when making a recommendation, and how far does it look back?
TrainNow will recommend workouts based on your recent TrainerRoad workouts and non-structured indoor/outdoor riding. It’s important to note that while TrainNow will look at your most recent workouts when making a recommendation, it does not consider periodization, fatigue, or other factors. For instance, it will not recognize if you need a recovery week. If you are looking for that type of structure and periodization, we recommend using a training plan. TrainNow is primarily intended for athletes who aren’t on a training plan, or for those who like to supplement unstructured riding with occasional structured workouts.
Probably depends on how specific that ‘why’ is. Garmin’s workout of the day has a brief note on why that workout (or rest) is being recommended, but it’s usually pretty generic (‘due to recent hard efforts’, ‘to build your ability to work at higher intensities’, etc.). How useful that is is probably questionable, but it might be enough to assuage some who don’t like the ‘black box’, without opening it up to endless dissection.
My only question is why TN often serves up different recommendations on my different devices.
It gives me different recommendations on my iPad than what I see on my iPhone (always the same training zones). That, or I’m just going crazy.
Think of it like a “random workout picker” within a range. It uses your recent history to offer 3 choices of workouts. Also note there is a “refresh” option on the screen that you hit and it will make a new set of offerings from the library.
This means you will get a few workouts within training zones and your range from dozens of possible ones that fill that need. As such, you can get different ones on each device. But if you cycle that refresh enough times, you will likely see repeats between the two devices.
I assumed that the TN recommendation when I open the screen is TR’s “best” answer - versus the alternatives.
Not necessarily the case?
No “best” at all, really. Just more than one option that fits “between the lines” of stuff like your Progression Levels and recent training history.
There is no way for TN to pick with that level of discretion from all I know because it’s a simple rules based tool and not some minute level review.
TrainNow, not TrainPerfect 
I have been using TrainNow for a couple of years. If I use it consistently it seems to work well but if I is do a bunch of outside rides for a few weeks and then schedule a train now ride, I find all my levels have been dropped way down as if my outside rides don’t count. I find myself searching the calendar for previous rides to figure out the proper level.
I would love to be able to set an option so this does not happen. No recalibration of levels unless I fail a workout is desirable for people who do not follow a training plan and do a mix of inside and outside rides.
Your outside rides do count but unstructured/ non- TrainerRoad rides influence TrainNow recccomendations less than structured, TrainerRoad rides.
This is because TrainNow utilises your Progression Levels when suggesting Workouts. Unstructured rides don’t impact your Progression Levels so they are weighed less heavily in the TrainNow reccomendations.
If you are primarily training outside, it might be helpful to mix in some structured TrainerRoad outside workouts more often so that your TrainNow reccomendations are more in line with the work recorded during TrainerRoad’s precise training efforts.
