I have been using TR the past year and a half or so and this month I splurged a bit for coaching. The coaching is being done through TrainingPeaks, however I was still hoping to use TrainerRoad for turbo rides as I prefer the interface over other platforms or using my tamagotchi (Garmin 530).
Many of the workouts have ranges though, e.g., 190-220w but when I import these workouts to TR it just sets the interval to the high end of that (so a block of 220w). Is there a way to change this so a range can be ridden in TR, or do I just need to keep ERG mode off and keep the notes handy beforehand to know what my range is.
This. When using the actual TR app, there is a singular power target (not a range).
Additionally, even if there was a range, allowing ERG to āfloatā between a spread of numbers would likely create more problems than it would solve. Just a mess to try and tell the trainer to be close to a set number without more specific info.
So, if you aim to use the TR app and work in a range, you need to use the non-ERG mode. This could be Resistance or Standard depending on your trainer and connection method.
Other than that, the alternate suggestion is to push your workouts to a head unit (Garmin / Wahoo / etc.) which seems to give a power range rather than a discrete value. You will still not be using ERG mode in that case, but it is a way to get a direct device interaction rather than TR app + notes.
Thank you for the quick reply, I think this confirms what I was reading I just wanted to make sure I wasnāt missing something in specific. I wasnāt expecting the ERG would float between the range, just seeing what options might be out there.
I used the Garmin my last two indoor rides and it does provide that range from the training plan which is nice. This works well for me for longer intervals (like 20 minutes of Z2 or 6 minute blocks) but I worry itās going to get clunky with higher power, shorter duration intervals to change the resistance in time. I think Iāll need to experiment a bit and see how it best works.
To add to @mcneese.chad post, you can build workouts based on a range, but weāll create the power target based on the midpoint of the range. Itās recommended to use an exact power target when building workouts.
Here is a nice article that explains how to properly build TP workouts for TR:
What does your coach say about power ranges? Personally Iām a big fan of ranges, and using them to increase my performance. Hoping you have a coach that will explain that to you.
I guess Iām confused by this because the TP workouts are with a range and rather than coming in at the midpoint, they come in at the highest power value in that interval. If they came in at the midpoint I think it would actually work fine for me.
Yeah generally he advises keeping erg mode off because it helps you pace better and is more realistic to outside riding.
I live in Sweden part time of the year and do a lot of training on a WattBike that does not have erg mode, and adjusting the intensity is very quick / easy. Iāve learned to prefer this. At home I have a KICKR and adjusting the intensity is just not as quick, so was wondering if when the training plan came in it could come in at the midpoint and in could set and forget it.
You could try going into the workout in TP and changing the ārangeā to ātargetā setting and then setting the target watts you want for each interval. Thatās not as hard as it sounds as for most intervals are usually sets with a single entry that then repeat. That is in the workout creator which you get to by clicking on the graph of the workout. You can also just adjust the intensity in TR on the fly until you get the target you want.
ERG canāt do ranges, it needs a hard target. If TR defaults to the top of the range you need to trick it into using a different valueā¦
Iām going thru JoinBaseCamp winter group coaching, and for those on the trainer the workout in TrainingPeaks has suggestions to optimize indoor training. For example sim vs incline vs free, and flywheel speed. I train outside, however my understanding is that in Zwift you can see the TP range and of course its a single target power while in Erg. Iāve watched some post-workout reviews and have seen where an athlete slowly increased power in Zwift, while in Erg, while staying within the range.
Correct. On the Zwift companion app the workout screen has a dial graphic which shows your current power and the current interval range is highlighted. When in Erg mode you still see the range graphic but Zwift also gives you a specific watt target which is around the middle of the range but generally rounded to the nearest 5. When ERG is off, its on you to keep the watts within the highlighted range.
Zwift workout mode pegs you to a specific watt target in ERG mode just like TR (I donāt think ERG mode by its nature can work any other way). But, Zwiftās ERG mode algorithm feels to me like its a bit less aggressive than TR with the corrections so it feels like your not quite as rigidly locked in.