I’ve re-blogged, below, a description from trainingpeaks.com of the differences between their products (WKO4 and TRAINING PEAKS).

I’ve used similar power-related features to those in WKO4 in the free Golden Cheetah. The features are awesome and I’m sure will be awesome in WKO4 as well.

The best, for a sometimes-slacker like me, is the mFTP…modelled FTP…a CP30 without having to actually do it! super cool. And it mostly works which is even nicer 🙂

If you train with power you might as well invest a little extra time and/or money to get the best analysis out of your expensive hardware. These products DO offer a bit more in-depth insight over and above what you would get from Garmin Connect and SportTracks (also awesome but in a different way: great analysis, planning and collaboration).

To answer the question in the title about “What are the products?” I would say they are analytical/monitoring tools; listed below in increasing complexity/sophistication. I use the ones highlighted and don’t really have an opinion on the others – but MANY people use them so they must be good.

1. Garmin Connect
2. SportTracks
3. Training Peaks
4. Golden cheetah
5. WKO4

——————————————————————-

What’s the Difference Between TrainingPeaks Premium Edition and WKO4

Athletes and coaches often ask us which product, TrainingPeaks or WKO4, is right for them. Since everyone has different wants, needs, and goals, it is not an easy question to answer. Listed below is a breakdown of the features, capabilities, and usages of both products in order to help you decide which product is best for you.

TrainingPeaks Is For You If:

• You want to use a web-based calendar to plan workouts, apply training plans, and work with a coach.
• You want to create an Annual Training Plan for your entire season.
• You want to view your workouts, both future and past, on a free mobile app.
• You want to analyze your daily workout in an easy to understand manner.
• You want to easily view long term fitness trends using over 30 customizable charts
• You want to easily view weekly totals like distance, duration, and calories over a single workout, or a specific time frame.
• You are a coach and want to communicate immediately with your athletes through instant notifications to your account or email.
• You want to use one of over 5,000 plans developed by expert coaches fromour Training Plan Store.
• You are an athlete that is looking for the right coach. The TrainingPeaks Coach Match Service will find the right coach for you.

WKO4 Is For You If:

• You want to be able to analyze all of your data in amazing detail using the most powerful analytical engine available on either a PC or Mac.
• You want the ability to gain faster insights and create fully custom charts to compare one data point to another.
• You want your analysis to be based on unique physiology and not a bell curve.
• You want to use the new Power Duration Curve for determining Functional Threshold Power (FTP) with less testing.
• You want to quickly view if you or your athlete are a sprinter, pursuiter, all-arounder, or steady state rider through rider phenotyping.
• You want to use Pmax, the maximum power that can be generated over a short period of time.
• You want to view Functional Reserve Capacity (FRC), the amount of work that can be done above FTP before fatigue occurs.
• You want to use Modelled FTP (mFTP), a model-derived highest power a rider can maintain in a steady state without fatiguing.
• You want to use the new Coggan Individualized Power Levels to individualize your training.
• Crunching every piece of data is important and you want to be able to make custom charts based on every available metric.
• You want access to the WKO4 Chart Exchange, which offers free charts created by expert coaches.
• You want to pay only a one time fee. Currently, WKO4 can be downloaded for $199.99.
• You prefer to store all your files directly on your own computer and don’t want to share files.