TR stated on their podcast at one point that 15 to 20% of their users are coached and just use their platform to complete their own non-TR workouts. They allow custom workouts to be pushed from Training Peaks.
Unfortunately they have allocated all of their resources to adaptive training and the current method of importing .mrc files is outdated and arduous.
TR customer support has also advised me that if there was an API made for them, pushing workouts from intervals would be possible just like it is from Training Peaks.
Thanks for your feedback “Big Boy”. I tried using your app as well but it is so primitive and frustrating to try to use. It forces users to watch 10 minutes worth of ads before you can even start a workout. No to mention the bugs and flaws which made it unusable.
I am simply exploring options for intervals to have better integration with other popular apps. Your condescending comments are not wanted or warranted.
I don’t. I don’t have administrator permissions on my laptop and I can’t use their workout creator because I can’t install it. TR doesn’t offer a web version either. Even if I could use their workout creator program the process is arduous to do every day. Export from intervals. Import to TR workout creator. Publish the workout. Then schedule the workout in TR.
I have been using trainer day’s app to push workouts but it is not as refined and polished as TRs app.
What head unit do you have?
Is it capable of controlling your trainer?
If you’re using custom workouts from outside TR, why do you need TR?
For the monthly/annual premium you have the option of other platforms with more to offer, even though you said the TR app is the most polished one.
All my athletes have their Garmin control their Trainer, from workouts in Intervals linked directly to their calendar. Occasionally they have to use resistance or slope to get a better real feel of the intervals.
Thanks for your reply. A couple things to unpack here.
Unfortunately my head unit is a Wahoo Element Roam. Now that wahoo bought out sufferfest, I doubt they will want integration with intervals or TR.
I have been using TR since before I got a coach. I think the way the app controls the intervals is superior to anything I have tried. I enjoy listening to the podcast. I occasionally chat with the TR team about cycling topics and I want to support the company.
I think you might of miss understood the comments being made. I believe big boy was referring to TP and little boy referring to intervals.icu (or any other small indie competitor)
TrainerRoads workout creator is not something that should be used. In fact I personally think they should remove it until they have completed their rewrite of the new version.
The best way is probably to use TrainingPeaks as a middle ground. TrainerRoad will load structured workouts from TrainingPeaks, so push from Intervals to a TrainingPeaks account and go from there.
Few people have pointed out that my comments are not directed at you but it’s ok.
Just FYI, both myself and Intervals have tried to get API access to TP but was told “no”.
For Garmin, they recently just re-opened their API access (last time i read that they wanted/were charging USD5000 for API Access) and now, similar to what other “big” companies are doing, they are restricting workout export to only data that was created using their devices. (eg: You can auto sync a TR completed workout to Garmin, but you cannot auto sync that completed workout OUT of garmin using their API)
Hope that clears things up.
As for my app, firstly, thanks for trying it out. It means a lot as I’m trying to get my user base up and getting some return on investment for the over 1000+hrs work I’ve put on it since being laid off (not to mention USD99/yr listing fee on the Apple App Store).
If there are bug (in any software), which I’m sure there are, It would be great to have you, the user inform the developer such that we/they can fix it ASAP. When TR came out, I’m fairly sure that they were also full of bugs and came to their current state after many fixes.
The Link to BreakAway: Indoor Training iOS App app is currently entirely Free for use (ad supported) and it appeals to some, I’m working on in-app-purchase such that for users that doesn’t prefer to watch Ads, can opt for in-app purchases.
Sorry about the trouble for missing in-app-purchase.
I’m not sure what the solution you are proposing is…
I don’t want to push workout files (.mrc) created on intervals to Training Peaks. I want to push them to TrainerRoad. Even if I wanted to use TP as a bridge, calendar sync and file uploads are a premium feature. I had a TP subscription in the past and it’s not worth the money IMO. Intervals is just as good if not better.
In your current scenario where you can’t install TR’s workout creator app, don’t want to spend additional money on TP or TD sub, still want to use the TR’s workout app.
Then, I, for one do not have a viable solution for you.
Maybe others who are more knowledgeable would be able to help.
Finally, thanks again for tryout the BreakAway app, please do let me know where the bugs are so that it can be squashed to make the app usable.
I emailed a potential new athlete the MRC file today. Took him less than a minute to drag and drop into the TR workout creator, and was able to view it in his custom workouts.
Perhaps not what you need, but it worked for him and he seemed happy.
Less than a minute is a big exaggeration. It’s more like 5 minutes. Doing that everyday adds up to 30 minutes a week I could add to my training volume instead.
I never stated it can’t be done. I said the current method is archaic and not practical for me and probably others. My goal outcome for starting this discussion is that @david and TR can work together and make the process automatic and seamless.
Hi Marek, I assumed you you tried our app https://trainerday.com? I know for sure TR has some features that are much more polished than ours but on the plus side we have direct Intervals.icu integration. Many self-coached athletes prefer our platform to TR for this reason that we designed it this way. If you need Ant+ support or a desktop app (other than M1 mac) then for sure TR is the way to go.
Your name looks Polish but here is a comment from one of our users. This English translation is not great I know but gets the point accross.
Thanks for your reply Alex. I disagree with the post below and I will explain why.
TR and TD apps both control the trainers resistance (ie., ERG mode); however, TR does it better because they anticipate the lag when the trainer has to make a big increase in resistance (ie., 150 watts to 350 watts). TR will start to increase resistance 3 seconds before the start of the interval so that when the timer hits 0 it is at target power. TD app does not have this feature. In a 30/30 anaerobic type workout, 3 seconds in a 30 second interval equates to 10% loss of time in zone.
Maybe something to think about to make your app better. One feature I really do like in the TD app is the ability to merge workouts and just keep going. Good job.
Hi Marek, I don’t disagree with you at all. TR is a 10+ year old app with big budgets and they have made lots of small adjustments to perfect their app and as you point out critical features for one user are different than another. Our app is basically 1-year old and we move as fast as we can to try to make a great experience for as many people as possible.
This is actually the first anyone has every said about this big power jump and starting the interval early. We just launched automated slope mode which I feel is better for very short intervals (4-7 seconds) than ERG but it requires more thought while training and designing your workouts, now it sounds like TR has perfected 10-second intervals so their ERG is much better than ours like you pointed out.
The nature of trainers we send power change 2-seconds early already both Wahoo and FTMS take about 2-seconds to change so making an adjustment for big intervals should not be too hard. I use Neo which is nearly instant. Thanks so much for giving clear feedback. This really helps us. We will test this and improve this.
I really like TR and I like the TR team and am not trying to be their competetion at least not for their core target audience but it sounds like you are a self-coached cyclist so you are more of our target audience and something that we will likely or at least I hope to provide a better experience for you at some point as our focus is different than TR’s. I fully feel your pain regarding loading workouts in TR. I was a TR user loading my own workouts. This is a big part of the reason I built TrainerDay as well as I didn’t feel the pricing was right in TR for the self-coached cyclist.
Thanks again for your feedback. Sorry David for taking up so much room here on your forum
I’m not going to disagree with your response about TR and Intervals not having automated integration, and how much better it could be with it. The two athletes the do use it could benefit, but it doesn’t stop them from getting a productive workout by being prepared.
Even if it takes 5 minutes to drop a workout into the workout creator, it’s part of being able to accommodate athletes with a diverse range of training needs. If you are losing 30mins training time per week, then it’s poor planning.
I insist that my athletes read the notes before the workout, so they know what is planned for the next day. Get all your gear ready the night before, make sure your computer is powered up before getting dressed, so that it’s ready to ride when dressed.
As for your subsequent question on the ERG mode not kicking in early enough, I would agree on @Sam_Bagley and suggest you do it in resistance/slope/incline mode; your training will benefit more by doing so. 30/30s are threshold workouts, not VO2, AC and NP where you need to be going full gas with lots of recovery inbetween.
