Simply put, you want to make your hard days hard, and your easy days easy.
Zwift can be addicting, that’s for sure. And it’s a healthy addiction to have… until it’s not! (I know this from personal experience–I hit Zwift hard in my first 3 months before I noticed my power numbers dropping in races. Taking a week off helped me get back on my feet.)
Be sure to give your body time to recover between hard rides; otherwise your training efforts will become mediocre and thus less effective. And if you keep pushing long enough, you’ll overtrain and be forced to take extended time off! Remember: you don’t get stronger during the workout. You get stronger during the recovery.
If your riding schedule includes racing on Zwift, consider racing no more than three timesper week, with recovery rides, days off, and lighter training in between. And even if your training load is more steady (with few “race day efforts”) taking a day or two for recovery per week is smart.
Lastly, taking an “easy week” every ~4 weeks is a common practice in many structured programs.
#2: Miscalibrated Power
Serious Zwift training requires the use of a power meter. On Zwift you can get accurate power numbers by using a standard power meter or a smart trainer which calculates your power output. Either way, make sure your power meter or smart trainer is calibrated properly so your power numbers are accurate!
Even something as small as calibrating with a cold tire can make a difference of 20-30w, which can mess up your training intervals and reduce the effectiveness of your workouts.
You typically sweat more on indoor rides than outdoor due to reduced air movement and increased effort (which reminds me: get a fan). That pool of sweat beneath your bike and that condensation on your windows is all fluid from your body that you need to replace before bad things happen.
So make sure you drink plenty of water–but notjustwater. Make sure whatever you drinkalso replaces theelectrolytesyou’re losing.
How much you need to drink depends on your physiology and effort level, but 25-45 ounces per hour is a typical range.
Here are a few popular electrolyte drink mixes for cyclists:
It is tempting to hop on the trainer and go hard, then hop off once you’re done. But a proper warmup helps your body prepare for a solid effort, and a nice cooldownis the first step towards recovering from the ride you just finished. So don’t skip either of these portions of your workout!
Warmups and cooldowns should last at least 5 minutes, but 10-20 minutes or more may work even better for you.
If you are truly wanting totrainon Zwift, and not just ride for pleasure, you need to go into each ride with a plan. Otherwise, you risk riding too hard (or not hard enough) or too long (or not long enough). When your miles aren’t doing anything to helpmeet your fitness goals they are just junk miles.
When you have a training plan in place, each ride you take is done with a specific goal in mind: building sprint power, increasing aerobic endurance, recovering, etc. If you have a hard time avoiding junk miles, consider jumping into one of Zwift’s training plans, or paying a coach to plan your training.
New to training and want a good resource? Look no further than these two books:
What About You?
Which training mistake(s) above do you tend to make? Did we miss any other big ones? Comment below!
There's no coasting on Zwift, so it can be a more intense workout because you're constantly pedalling. This could give you a more intense and effective training session.
Zwift will certainly make you stronger; but it certainly won't help you when it comes to what it's like to ride outside (bike handling matters a lot; as does comfort and balance).
While indoor riding is incredibly efficient (not to mention much safer), it's also mentally and physically more challenging. There are many reasons while indoor riding is more challenging.
What makes Zwift addictive: Zwift is addictive, (especially when the weather is bad) because of two main factors – it's realism and the interactive element of riding alone in your 'Pain Cave' but you can be riding with people from the other side of the world.
Try to add 30-60min easy fasted sessions into your Zwift routine (2-3 times per week).These rides, preferably on an empty stomach before breakfast, will help you burn extra fat. Your energy system will tap into your fat stores right away as it will have very limited glycogen (carbohydrates) available to rely on.
The Über Pretzel route in Watopia is the hardest route on Zwift, with 2335m of elevation gain packed into just under 129 kilometres of riding – including a trip up Alpe Du Zwift.
Yes as climb gets steeper, speed gets slower and aerodynamic/wind resistance lowers and lighter rider is able to much more closely match the heavier rider. The heavier rider, riding at same w/kg, always has the advantage IRL and on Zwift IF, and a big IF, they can keep it up as long as the lighter rider.
If you're racing on Zwift, upgrading your frame and wheels can cut some significant time off your efforts. But figuring out where to spend your hard-earned Drops can be confusing! So we've put together this table which lists the fastest frame and wheelset available at every Zwift level.
Just like outdoors where aero is everything, Zwift calculates taller riders as offering more wind resistance. We've done a lot of automated test laps with various height/weight/equipment setups, and confirmed this: all other things being equal, the taller you are the slower you'll go.
This is why lightweight riders win mountain races outdoors while the heavier sprinters struggle to finish within the time cutoff. Conclusion: reducing your body weight by 1kg will save you ~45 seconds up Alpe du Zwift.
Yes, cycling can help lose belly fat, but it will take time. A recent study showed regular cycling may enhance overall fat loss and promote a healthy weight. To reduce overall belly girth, moderate-intensity aerobic exercises, such as cycling (either indoor or outdoor), are effective to lower belly fat.
Indoors, convective cooling is lower and may lead to an increased sweat rate which creates some dehydration and subsequent cardiac drift (a higher heart rate). All of which leads to feelings of higher exertion when riding indoors.
Cardiovascular health - Horseback riding has been shown to be good aerobic exercise. Core strength - Maintaining good posture in the saddle ignites your core muscles. Muscle strength - Riding requires strength – so does saddling a horse, and carrying buckets of hay and water.
If your riding schedule includes racing on Zwift, consider racing no more than three times per week, with recovery rides, days off, and lighter training in between. And even if your training load is more steady (with few “race day efforts”) taking a day or two for recovery per week is smart.
Regular cycling stimulates and improves your heart, lungs and circulation, reducing your risk of cardiovascular diseases. Cycling strengthens your heart muscles, lowers resting pulse and reduces blood fat levels.
Zwift offers several training plans that are designed to improve endurance, speed, strength, and power. To access the training plans, click on the “Training Plans” option on the main menu. You will then see a list of available training plans. You can filter the training plans by duration and goals.
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