I realise that for many training indoors is an essential way to make sure you can meet your training hours. Whether it is because you live in the heart of the city and there is nowhere appropriate to run or ride, or because the climatic conditions (cold or hot) mean that training outdoors is virtually impossible.

A while back indoor training was the domain of the ‘gym bunny’ on the treadmill or the hard core rider on rollers or facing tedium of riding through glue on a turbo with zero momentum. In recent times this has changed significantly with the explosion of availability of ‘smart’ trainers. These have become increasing advanced, and led to all kinds on online offerings of cycling simulators such as Cycleops Virtual Trainer, FulGaz, TrainerRoad, and of course Zwift.

Of course each platform has its own merits, but Zwift seems to have an ever growing following with the game play platform allowing group rides, racing, structured training sessions and a variety of routes. But is Zwift a blessing or a curse? Many of my athletes have been using Zwift for a while, and been convincing me to look at virtual riding, rather than turbo tedium, so over the past few weeks I have immersed myself in the online platform and my thoughts are Zwift can be a great training tool:

Staring at a blank wall, listening to music or watching re-runs of your favourite TV series on a “dumb” trainer can be really valuable for fitness (especially when concentrating on a maintaining a heart rate, or hitting a power value), but the interactive element of Zwift has meant that I (and many of my athletes) have found the stimulation offered by Zwift very motivational.

Where else can you find training company 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year? The ability to hop online at any time, and have other riders on the same road as you, whether you are passing them, being passed, or able to get yourself in a group has given me great focus. So much so, that on some rides I haven’t wanted to climb off when I hit my ride target time!

I also really like the interactive nature of the smart trainer with changes in gradient, and the resistance on my turbo being increased or decreased. This means that whilst I may still be looking to hold a constant power or heart rate my cadence is continually changing, and I feel comfortable both in and out of the saddle. Much more like a traditional road ride.

….and when we are talking traditional road rides, there aren’t any other cars to knock me off!

The gameplay element of Zwift unlocks new bikes, wheels and clothing the further you ride. Or you can choose to “Everest” or meet distant targets (like riding across California) to unlock further specialised equipment (I really want a Tron bike!) . It is also possible to set ride goals of distance or time each week or month to further help motivation to get on the bike.

Want still more motivation? Zwift offers achievements for a variety of different skills mastered, like drafting, hitting big power numbers in sprints, riding fast, and riding daily etc, etc, etc. All designed to keep you coming back for more!

Then we move onto the workout mode. Not sure what session you want to do? There are multiple offerings from a variety of different sources. I’m not entirely convinced about the validity of some of the sessions, but they certainly can make your ride time pass by far faster.

For me as a coach, I can set specific sessions for my clients, and it is very way of hitting a specific session without having to do the maths, or getting the intervals wrong! 🙂

For me as a coach, I can set specific sessions for my clients, and it is very way of hitting a specific session without having to do the maths, or getting the intervals wrong! 🙂 In certain cases the workouts have also been incorporated into training plans, so if you want to build your FTP there’s a training block for you. Whilst I am not a fan of the currently available plans, you may soon see some offerings from Sportstest appearing soon… (watch this space)

Now for me, by far the best bit of Zwift is the ability to undertake both races and group training rides.

I have done a couple of races, and been able to successfully use these as high intensity training sessions. As I move closer to the European Duathlon Championships I certainly will be doing far more of these events. I also have a few of my coached athletes doing these both to push up the intensity of their sessions, and to think about the rigors of racing and race craft.

In terms of the group sessions, I have done more than a few rides organised by the team from World Bike Relief (WBR). These are organised and led rides, catering to riders of different abilities from steady group rides to high intensity interval sessions. For both me and my clients these can be really useful, pushing with a group in an interval session often gets me working harder than I would solo, and on the other end of the scale, working with a group looking to hold a steady pace can often help keep me focus, and above all motivated to get on the bike and train.

I have done a couple of races, and been able to successfully use these as high intensity training sessions. As I move closer to the European Duathlon Championships I certainly will be doing far more of these events. I also have a few of my coached athletes doing these both to push up the intensity of their sessions, and to think about the rigors of racing and race craft. In terms of the group sessions, I have done more than a few rides organised by the team from World Bike Relief (WBR). These are organised and led rides, catering to riders of different abilities from steady group rides to high intensity interval sessions. For both me and my clients these can be really useful, pushing with a group in an interval session often gets me working harder than I would solo, and on the other end of the scale, working with a group looking to hold a steady pace can often help keep me focus, and above all motivated to get on the bike and train. There are some really positive and inspirational stories on the many Facebook groups associated with Zwift from massive improvements in fitness to fantastic stories of weight loss.

So from both a personal perspective and for use with some of my coached cyclists and triathletes Zwift has proved to be highly motivational and given great focus in the riding. So what are you waiting for, if you haven’t already, logon and get yourself an account.

But whoa, hang on, I have also seen Zwift be a real curse too! Especially for those without a plan…..

It is not uncommon to see people racing nearly daily! ….and sometimes even doing more than one race a day.

Many riders push themselves too hard to stay within a group ride. Either because they have gone with a group that is too fast for their ability, or because the group has no ride leader.

The group rides are great because they can be incredibly social. As a result many athletes will undertake some of the faster group rides on a daily basis.

All of these can easily lead to riders missing vital recovery days, or rest days. Zwift itself doesn’t help as it actually offers “achievements” for riders who ride daily and complete a circuit for both 7 and 14 consecutive days. This in my opinion can easily overtraining, and ultimately illness or injury.

I have two final concerns about the use of Zwift…

Novice riders may chose a training plan unsuitable for their specific needs….and you know my thoughts on this!

Finally

It’s great for fitness, but not brilliant for road skills. Your group riding, descending ability, cornering all are not going to improve on Zwift….so don’t forget to get out and ride the roads IRL (in real life!).

So for me, and my coached athletes, Zwift is a real blessing, especially when you take my advice on how to get the most from those indoor sessions, but please, please, please don’t overdo things!!!

So, if you fancy heading over the virtual world, come seek me out on one of the many Club WBR rides that I frequent!

See you soon

Ride on!

Garry