Hi, I’d like to ask about my Rowing Power Profile in Athletica. I followed the testing protocol exactly as described and completed all the recommended intervals over the course of a week. However, my profile (see attached image) is very “stepped” and doesn’t look smooth as I would expect. I’m not sure if this is correct, or if there might be an error in the calculation/model.
Has anyone else experienced this? Is it possible there’s a data processing issue, or is there something I should adjust in my settings or testing process? Thanks for any advice or experiences!
I would say that this behaviour is quite common, especially if you targeted constant powers and all-out efforts.
What we suggest in the Test weeks is to perform these kind of sessions because they minimise the effort of testing. They allow us to detect exactly the “steps” or “deflection points” you mentioned.
Now, with time your profile will become smoother as new data will come in and it will help refine the estimations of the parameters. This is a pretty common procedure as we know that testing has a huge impact on the training preparation. We all digest testing in a different way, and completing a test might be quite invasive. So that is kept to a minimum.
What the AI coach suggest (after looking at your profile), is that the estimated maximal aerobic power is quite solid. However, the maximal power you can deliver for very short durations (<180 seconds) and prolonged duration (1h) might be improved. NOW: whether this is truly reflective of your abilities or it’s just lack of data is difficult for the AI coach to get. This is the best guess and, indeed, it’s asking: “did you perform max efforts between 3 and 5 mins?”. If you did, and you followed the test week to the letter then, in the future, I expect:
Your profile will be smoother
Peak power values will increase
Power delivered during prolonged duration will increase
To better understand whether the profile it’s reflective of your capacities or they are only indicating a lack of data, the AI coach will look at the ratios between MPP/MAP and CP/MAP.
I hope this can help you better understand how the AI coach interprets the profile, and how the profile is used to evaluate your preparation.
Hi @Andrea
Thank you very much for your detailed reply. I completed the prescribed tests a week ago, and after seeing my profile, I was worried whether everything was calculated and imported correctly – especially whether my training zones are now more accurate.
I noticed that my 1’ ALL OUT test might not have transferred all data properly from the platform (see attached image). I’m unsure if I should repeat this test to ensure data completeness, or if the current data is sufficient. For the 2k and 6k tests, it seems like the data transferred correctly.
Dear @Lurk thank you for your reply.
Unfortunately I do not see your power values for the 1k AO session on the 20th of May. Was this conducted on a different ergometer or with a different device? Anything to highlight?
If you click on “Data Analysis” you won’t see the Power (W) for this session, but you do see it for the other sessions. Did you change something in your equipment? If not, I need to dig deeper and find out why we do not have data and where the Power was lost on the way.
It seems the issue occurred due to the app I used for the test. I tried to connect my Concept2 to the EXR app, but the workout didn’t upload properly. During the session, I also recorded the activity on my Garmin, but since it wasn’t connected to my rower, not all data was captured. I also tried transferring data directly from the PM5 monitor, but unfortunately, I couldn’t retrieve all the recorded metrics. This is likely why the data is incomplete.
For the other tests, I used my usual setup without experimenting—specifically, the ErgData app connected directly to my rower. I defined the workout in the app, completed it, and everything transferred correctly.
I’d like to repeat the 1k test using the same setup as for my 2k and 6k tests. However, I’d appreciate some clarification: You mentioned a 1k test, but in the test description, I see a 1-minute all-out effort. Should I set up a 1000m test instead of a 1-minute test?
Thank you for the clarification. I thought it was probably the one-minute all-out (AO) test. I noticed that on that day I had a HIIT session planned, so I replaced it with this test to have complete data and moved the HIIT to another day. I also see that the AI coach’s message has changed, now suggesting a 30–60 second AO test and two maximal efforts lasting 2–5 minutes. So, I just need to continue training, and the profile will be updated as you mentioned, is that correct?
Additionally, I would like to ask what I should focus on during rowing training. Should I rely on watts or heart rate? Or should I monitor both and try to stay within the defined ranges for HR and watts?
I looked at the planned HIIT session where the 3-minute interval has a prescribed HR of 184–195, but I couldn’t reach that heart rate even during the test Should I always focus on watts for intervals then? Previously, I used to rely on pace, but that is missing here.
Should I always focus on watts for intervals then? Previously, I used to rely on pace, but that is missing here.