Adaptive training plan. Not working

Phil said:

Once we create a training plan, it doesn't take into account real-time factors like readiness, body battery (fatigue), illness.

It does to a great extent. According to Garmin's patents, the DSW are created automatically to target a certain acute training load each week, within the constraints of periodization and overall training focus (the target focus is adapted for different type of races: more anaerobic share for 5k than for marathon, for example).

The acute training load is derived from EPOC (aerobic and anaerobic) which is the core (but not the only) metric behind other metrics like training readiness, etc.

I didn't find any indication that the DSW algorithm uses HRV state (a secondary metric behind readiness, the key metric for body battery). This is probably because a lower HRV status quality might not be an issue for training or for performance (whereas a persistent low HRV could be a sign that the body is not recovering properly).

The targets for the DSW are calculated based on your VO2 Max metrics (HR, HRV and Pace) which themselves reflect your general fitness trends, but also tempory stress factors or fatigue.

I am not aware of an automated training programming system that takes the physiological cost of training in a more complete fashion, but if you do, let me know.

I am adding that there is one thing that I hope the watch would do better: calculate the true anaerobic cost of strength training. The current EPOC model is HR based only for anything except running (using pace) and biking (using power). This is inadequate.

Sounds great @Etupes25

I created and followed a "Improve Fitness" plan, and now I've been sick for about a month, and haven't been out the door or done anything at all, except lying in my bed coughing. My vo2 is still the same, my acute training level has dropped to zero and I truly can't see any significant changed in my training plan, it is about the same as it was before I was sick... So something isn't adding up?

Your VO2max won't change until you've done some activities which record VO2max (if you haven't run for a month, even walking activities count). I can promise you that when you start doing those, your VO2max will plummet! (I also had to have a month off for cholecystectomy, and my VO2max dropped 5 % after I resumed training).

Thanks for the message, but the primary issue is the training plan not so much the V̇O₂

Well, they are relateted. If you have recorded no activities (because of your illness), the watch cannot know if you've just continued training without the watch or done nothing. So the training plan can only adapt after it has got information. As Etupes25 wrote, it's unknown whether DSW is able to use HRV for adaptation, that's of course a metric that is measured even without activities.

Just out of curiosity, did you pause your training on the watch when you got sick?

No it isn't paused or anything and I wear that clock 24/7.
Found it funny that it's measuring my acute load dropping each day and still haven't changed anything drastically as far as I can see in the training.
I can understand that it needs data too calculate "stuff", but it should also take into consideration the state when nothing is going on that the body drops in condition overtime... I assume the acute load would update something in the training

Phil said:

t's measuring my acute load dropping each day and still haven't changed anything drastically

I am not sure what your expectations are...

Would you expect the proposed training to become harder as the load diminishes? They will, but without drastic changes. A threshold run might become a threshold run with more time in Zone4, or a VO2 Max with shorter intervals, or a sprint session.

The key thing to understand is that the acute load value define *boundaries* for DSW scheduling.

So when the acute load decreases, it gives more room for DSW to accommodate expected training load and/or to optimize training focus, but if there is enough room already, no change is needed.