Site Update – October 2024

It’s been a while since I last posted an update on this website. If you’re wondering why, the short answer is that I had a pretty bad crash while out riding, which left me with a broken collarbone. I’m still not fully healed, and it looks like it could take at least another 18 months before I’m back to full fitness.

For the full story, you can read more about the accident here.

As a result of the accident, I’ve been riding exclusively indoors, using the MyWhoosh platform. I’ve encountered a few issues along the way, which you can read about here, but overall, I think I’m in a pretty good spot now.

The main way I use MyWhoosh is through the workout mode. Some frustrations with the existing implementation of the workout section sparked the recent improvements I’m about to share in this post.

Workout Categories#

The first change I’ve made is to the workout categories overview page.

Here’s how it used to look:

And here’s how it looks now:

This update aligns more closely with how MyWhoosh displays workouts, while also adding some extra stats. These stats help me identify workouts that are a good fit for my goals on any given day.

One thing I’ve aimed to do is mimic the colouring used in MyWhoosh. Each workout category now has a bordered outline that closely replicates MyWhoosh’s category colour, but with a lighter inner background.

Within each category block, I’ve included the total number of workouts—for instance, 68 workouts in the anaerobic category and 47 in the beginner category. Additionally, each category displays median stats, which I find more accurate than averages. I’m no maths expert, but I know the median gives a closer representation of typical values.

The displayed stats include median intensity factor (IF), Training Stress Score (TSS), calories burned (Kj), workout duration, and the median step count for each workout.

Workout Filters & Sorting#

Once you click on one of the categories, the biggest update is the addition of filters and sorting.

You can now filter each section by intensity factor, Training Stress Score (TSS), duration, and whether a workout includes a cadence target.

My typical approach has been to go into the MyWhoosh workout section and sort by one of these factors, usually either duration or TSS. But with these new filters, you can now sort by any combination you prefer, allowing you to pinpoint the exact type of workout you’re aiming for.

Here’s how it looked before:

And whilst there is a mobile optimised view, for simplicity it’s easier to show the desktop view for this section:

One feature missing in MyWhoosh—and something they don’t make particularly clear—is whether a workout includes cadence targets. Sometimes I’m looking for a specific type of workout, perhaps more endurance-focused, where I want to maintain a steady cadence, like holding 95 RPM throughout. It can be frustrating to start a workout only to be prompted on-screen to follow a different cadence, sometimes significantly lower or higher than I planned.

To address this, I’ve added a filter that allows you to exclude workouts based on whether or not they have cadence targets. This way, you can easily find workouts that align with your preferred cadence goals.

For each workout in the list, I’ve made a small change to increase the text size. You might not notice this unless you’re using the site on mobile, but from my stats, it appears that the vast majority of visitors are indeed on mobile. So, this should be a helpful improvement.

Additionally, I’ve added cadence targets (if they’re present in the workout) to the workout overview. This makes it easier to rule out workouts that don’t align with the type of cadence I’m aiming for.

All Workouts List#

The last change in this release is to the workouts list page. Now, I’ll be honest—I’m not a huge fan of this page as I don’t find it particularly useful. However, it’s been helpful for testing purposes.

How it used to look:

One issue I noticed (not due to anything I’ve done but rather how MyWhoosh stores its data) is that a workout with the same name can appear in multiple categories. Previously, this meant the workout would only display in the first category it was found in.

For example, the “10 Minute Best Effort” workout appears in both the “Testing” and “Threshold” categories. In this case, it’s the same workout listed in different categories, but in other cases, workouts with identical names are actually different workouts. This update addresses that issue, ensuring each instance of a workout displays in all relevant categories, even if the names are identical.

An example of this is the “40-20s into FTP #1” workout. If you select this workout from the “Under 35 Minutes” category, you’ll only complete one repeat of the primary set. However, if you choose it from the “Threshold” category, you’ll do two repeats of the same interval. In essence, it’s a completely different workout depending on the category.

Previously, this workout would have only appeared once, regardless of category, but now it correctly shows up in both places, reflecting the distinct variations in each category.

For this reason, the workouts list page now displays both the workout name and the associated category name. The category link allows you to view all workouts within that category, adding a small quality-of-life improvement.

As I mentioned, I mainly use this list for testing, but if you happen to use it, note that any links now redirect to the primary category (as they did prior to this update). If you’re expecting a link to direct you to a different category, you may need to double-check it. I suspect this will only affect a small handful of users.

I think that covers everything in this release. If you have any feedback, please feel free to leave a comment under this or any other post. I hope you find these updates useful!