Every athlete and their circumstances are different. The Freshness Feedback slider reflects this by enabling you to fine-tune Xert’s algorithm to better reflect how you are feeling. This, in turn, is used by the Adaptive Training Advisor to establish if, and when, you’re ready for high-intensity training, and at what difficulty.

Note: Freshness Feedback only impacts today’s training recommendations. To manage how the system calculates day-to-day freshness, use the Recovery Demands slider.

You can access the freshness feedback slider by going to ‘Goals‘ and then clicking the ‘Settings‘ tab. Freshness Feedback slider will be at the top of the list:

The slider’s range is from -60 and +60 and it works by adjusting your current overall Form. For example, if you slide your Freshness Feedback to +10, Form will be increased by +10, and more freshness will be added to your Training Status data. Additionally, the Difficulty Score used by XATA to recommend workouts will also be increased by 10.

Similarly, if you slide your Freshness Feedback to -10,  Form will be decreased by 10, indicating to the system that you are less fresh than previously thought. The Difficulty Score used by XATA to recommend workouts will be decreased by 10.

When You Should Change Freshness Feedback

Most of the day-to-day recovery demands can be accounted for using the Recovery Demands slider, found at the bottom of the Goals > Settings page. Most often the value should be left unchanged, but you could use Freshness Feedback more for issues that might not be recorded in your activity data, such as:

  • Nutrition: Proper nutrition is crucial for recovery.
  • Sleep: Sleep is a critical factor in recovery. During sleep, the body undergoes repair processes that are essential for muscle recovery and overall well-being. Individuals who get sufficient and quality sleep often recover faster.
  • Hydration: Staying hydrated before, during, and after exercise is important for maintaining performance and supporting recovery. Dehydration can slow down recovery processes.
  • Injury: When returning from injury, it’s best to exercise cation. Move the slider left to make the return to riding a bit easier.

WARNING: Setting Freshness Feedback too high and maintaining it for an extended period of time will exacerbate potential overtraining problems. You should only increase this value temporarily and with full understanding of the impact it may have on you and the time you need to recover.