TrainingPeaks.com
Discussion
I've been exercising to lose weight and get fit with no other real purpose. I have dabbled in running races and now in Triathlons and have found to really enjoy competitive sport in that way and now have another reason to train other than health.
Anyway I want to focus my training better. I can't really join a club because of my job, family, house maintenance etc. etc. I have to train when I find the time and can't commit to the same time each week. Plus I really prefer to train alone.
I found a link to the TrainingPeaks website in Joel Friel's Triathlon Bible book. I signed up for the premium for 1 month to see what it is like. It seems quite involved and despite the wizzards and things there is a lot of manual entry of information to be done. It is also based around Joel's methods so it looks like you really have to read and understand the bible in full.
Does anyone use this as a regular coaching tool? Are there better options out there? I don't mind paying a reasonably fee to use them if they are good.
It looks like I can upload my workouts from my Forerunner 301 to that site but it doesn't look like it accepts data from my Garmin Swim so will have to enter that manually.
What I really want is it to set a plan and let me track my progress which this seems to fit the bill, albeit with a lot of work.
Anyway I want to focus my training better. I can't really join a club because of my job, family, house maintenance etc. etc. I have to train when I find the time and can't commit to the same time each week. Plus I really prefer to train alone.
I found a link to the TrainingPeaks website in Joel Friel's Triathlon Bible book. I signed up for the premium for 1 month to see what it is like. It seems quite involved and despite the wizzards and things there is a lot of manual entry of information to be done. It is also based around Joel's methods so it looks like you really have to read and understand the bible in full.
Does anyone use this as a regular coaching tool? Are there better options out there? I don't mind paying a reasonably fee to use them if they are good.
It looks like I can upload my workouts from my Forerunner 301 to that site but it doesn't look like it accepts data from my Garmin Swim so will have to enter that manually.
What I really want is it to set a plan and let me track my progress which this seems to fit the bill, albeit with a lot of work.
I tried Training Peaks for a bit and I didn't get on with their training software at all . . . I found the interface very clunky and not very intuitive at all, which bugged me immensely as other than that, it's a fantastic site stuffed with a wealth of knowledge. I'm sure if you spent the time to sit down and get your head around their software, the data you'd retrieve would be immensely valuable, but if I'm paying £30 a month for it, it's got to be a lot better designed and certainly more a great deal more user friendly. I'm not a programmer, but it struck me as being designed on a very old platform.
If you take your training seriously though, you HAVE to use a method of logging and analysing your training/diet - the maxim "That which is measured is improved" is definitely true!
I use Garmin connect - it's free (not that I wouldn't pay for a good system), interfaces seamlessly with my Forerunner and Garmin Swim (via their ANT agent) so data uploads couldn't be any easier, the software is incredibly slick and user friendly (no need for any video tutorials!!), I can programme all my workouts months in advance (also, if you want to pick one of their training plans, you can literally with a couple of mouse clicks have it laid out in your training calendar running up to your A race), graphically compare workouts against one another, the list goes on . . . I just get up in the morning, log on to Garmin and everything I'm doing training wise for that day is all in front of me. Get home later, upload all the data and every workout I've done is up there.
The only thing it doesn't do is have a PMC draw me pretty graphs illustrating my TSS, CTL, ATL or TSB
(Training Peaks love their TLA's!) . . . but hey, I can live without that - the more training you do, the better you become at interpreting that kinda stuff for yourself anyway.
If you take your training seriously though, you HAVE to use a method of logging and analysing your training/diet - the maxim "That which is measured is improved" is definitely true!
I use Garmin connect - it's free (not that I wouldn't pay for a good system), interfaces seamlessly with my Forerunner and Garmin Swim (via their ANT agent) so data uploads couldn't be any easier, the software is incredibly slick and user friendly (no need for any video tutorials!!), I can programme all my workouts months in advance (also, if you want to pick one of their training plans, you can literally with a couple of mouse clicks have it laid out in your training calendar running up to your A race), graphically compare workouts against one another, the list goes on . . . I just get up in the morning, log on to Garmin and everything I'm doing training wise for that day is all in front of me. Get home later, upload all the data and every workout I've done is up there.
The only thing it doesn't do is have a PMC draw me pretty graphs illustrating my TSS, CTL, ATL or TSB
(Training Peaks love their TLA's!) . . . but hey, I can live without that - the more training you do, the better you become at interpreting that kinda stuff for yourself anyway.This is what I am finding. It seems to do everything I want but the interface is s
te. I've been a web applications developer for 10 years so can say that with confidence!
I upload all my stuff to Garmin Connect and use it for looking at my data but I have not explored any of the planning stuff on there so will take a look.
te. I've been a web applications developer for 10 years so can say that with confidence!I upload all my stuff to Garmin Connect and use it for looking at my data but I have not explored any of the planning stuff on there so will take a look.
For manually planning your training, go to Plan > > Workouts, create your individual workouts, then Plan > > Calendar, click on your chosen day to add workout (amongst other things) and simply drag and drop your workouts in. Once it's in your calendar, left click to remove, reschedule or edit workout.
If you want to browse their training plans, go to Explore > > Training Plans and if you choose a plan, you can enter your race date and it'll add the entire 10, 16 or 20 week plan to your calendar.
To change your preferences (metric/imperial, etc), click on your username (with the arrow beside it, top right of screen) and select "Settings" and there's then a whole bunch of preferences you can alter.
Very neat and tidy piece of software!
If you want to browse their training plans, go to Explore > > Training Plans and if you choose a plan, you can enter your race date and it'll add the entire 10, 16 or 20 week plan to your calendar.
To change your preferences (metric/imperial, etc), click on your username (with the arrow beside it, top right of screen) and select "Settings" and there's then a whole bunch of preferences you can alter.
Very neat and tidy piece of software!
I have spent a few days playing around with both. The TrainingPeaks site is a bit more powerful in terms of the options available but the Garmin site does basically 99% of what I want and is SO much easier to use than Training Peaks.
All the Garmin site needs on the workout creator is a Swim specific option and then it will be perfect.
Certainly not worth spending money on TrainingPeaks over the Garmin site. Particularly as I have a Forerunner 301 and a Garmin Swim and the Swim doesn't work on TrainingPeaks.
You need to Joel Friel book to understand TrainingPeaks anyway so I use that to develop my plan and then feed it into Garmin.
All the Garmin site needs on the workout creator is a Swim specific option and then it will be perfect.
Certainly not worth spending money on TrainingPeaks over the Garmin site. Particularly as I have a Forerunner 301 and a Garmin Swim and the Swim doesn't work on TrainingPeaks.
You need to Joel Friel book to understand TrainingPeaks anyway so I use that to develop my plan and then feed it into Garmin.
dangerousB said:
The only thing it doesn't do is have a PMC draw me pretty graphs illustrating my TSS, CTL, ATL or TSB (Training Peaks love their TLA's!) . . . but hey, I can live without that - the more training you do, the better you become at interpreting that kinda stuff for yourself anyway.
You can use Golden Cheetah (free) for that and you don't necessarily to have Power as it will compute LTS, STS and TSB via HR. It's quite useful. (Training Peaks love their TLA's!) . . . but hey, I can live without that - the more training you do, the better you become at interpreting that kinda stuff for yourself anyway.Gassing Station | Sports | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff