Post deleted, post deleted-

It can’t be long until zwift gets their act together with the plans and workouts.

I’ve had more than one questionnaire from them in the last year and one of the questions was specifically asking to rate the plans, while another multiple choice question was along the lines of ‘please name one of the above that you would like to see improved’ and I’m struggling to beleive the answer most people gave wasn’t their workout plans.

The entire workout section is in need of a complete revamp and I hope it comes soon.

1 Like

Zwift… soon… zoon ;). Just look at some Zwift threads / FB pages. There is an endless list of things that were requested/announced a long time ago to be released soon like the new UI, anti-cheat systems, rowing, etc. So I wouldn’t hold my breath for an overhaul of the training plans.

1 Like

Ah yeah, I’ve been doing that the whole time. Using TR to control the Hammer and Zwift taking power from my left sided power meter. I’ve also experimented with TR ant+ from my phone to control the Hammer, and zwift taking power via bluetooth. Works up until calibration, and then I have to reboot the hammer.

It’d just be nice to have it integrated I guess - It’s still a bit of extra faff at 6.45am!

1 Like

Sure is. The extra steps are workable, but would be nice to avoid. I also think having the TR workouts ported directly into Z.

Never say never, but I’m not holding my breath that it will happen. We can hope though. :smiley:

1 Like

With the amount if money zwift is pulling in I definitely don’t think it’ll be too crazy long before they get their act together, hire a cycling coach, and decide to compete with their biggest competitor on training plans.

If there’s a target in their visor on the training side of things, it would be Peloton, not TR or Sufferfest. But I think they’re way too busy on the eSport side of things to invest in that direction now. Nor on the UI, apparently. Nothing else is moving these days: running, training plans, bug fixes - all attention has been on virtual racing.

1 Like

Interestingly, they have a number of coaches involved to some degree with Z that should be able to do this, but they clearly haven’t been given the brief. Gaffney, Poulton, Rowe and Henderson are all involved still I think

2 Likes

Coincidentally, I just got an invite to a survey via VeloNews, about cycling with an indoor focus. Notably, my answers lead me into TrainerRoad and Zwift related questions… with LOTS of interesting questions about Zwift in particular. It seems a very clear attempt by Zwift to learn about different users (past, present, future) and their potential interest in Zwift. It included a bunch of training and plan related stuff, as well as some interesting equipment questions. Research in motion and who knows what direction it will lead them? :stuck_out_tongue:

1 Like

They should just give up the pretense and go with the TrainingPeaks’ model. Some of the group rides and “teams” are basically using the platform to sell services. Seems easier to capitalize on that than putting out half a$$ed plans with no real progression except to quickly ramp you up so the races are doable.

Zwift has essentially already done that. Any workout in your TrainingPeaks calendar syncs to Zwift and runs in Zwift’s workout mode. I think the reason you don’t see much movement from Zwift on workouts and plans is that anyone who cares is already just getting plans through TrainngPeaks or directly from a coach (who shares them via TrainingPeaks).

3 Likes

Not exactly what I was referring to. They could have easily monetized the workout mode like RGT or have a marketplace where plans can be purchased (and limit or make use difficult for “other” workouts).

Zwift considering instructor/coach led workouts with audio and video.

3 Likes

That is what I do. Works perfectly. Every (plan applied to the TP calendar or manually added workout) session just appears in Zwift and my head-unit so just get up and do the session indoors or outdoors, no fuss.

1 Like

New to power training (and the forum), and I/m a former CX/MTB/Crit racer trying to get back in shape for the Berryman Trail Epic. I started off with Zwift mainly because it looks fun, and if it’s fun, I’m more likely to do it. I acknowledge that TR probably has higher quality plans, but consistency is more important while the weather outside is frightful.

I’m on week 3 of the BMU plan, and I’d agree with @bobw and others, that some of the workouts are a little schizophrenic. There probably isn’t the most flexibility with the plan either. I just did a Novanta late last night, and am supposed to do Ham Sandwich in the next 18 hours. Seems kind of a fast turnaround if my legs are still talking to me from last nights training. Maybe that’s ok/normal?

In any case, I plan on switching to TR towards the beginning of March and focusing on my race (maybe just one race this year). Looking forward to it and participating in the forum.

Besides the quality of the workouts, the biggest complaint I had with Zwift was the ambiguity over when to do the workouts. TrainerRoad does make that clearer and you have more flexibility and control over your calendar.

But to answer your question, yes doing two workouts 18 hours apart is pretty normal. With many TR programs you will be doing workouts on back to back days.

good luck with your training.

1 Like

Thx for your input. I’ve done Zwift training plans for the past few winters & the critiques make sense. But it gets $ with 2 subscriptions. Any chance of a TR trial to help with the decision?

You can request a referral here.

I have done Build Me Up several times, as well as used Trainer Road.

My personal experience, while sure to be controversial, has been that Build Me Up lead to better gains, both in FTP, as well as in other metrics (ex: sprint, etc.)

My usual season is the summer is focused on long “ultraendurance”/multi day events, while the winter is focused on FTP and VO2 work, and occasional Zwift races. This tends to mean FTP sits around 260-270 by October, and is 300-320 by the beginning of spring.

Build Me Up much more consistently raised my FTP and Zwift race performance over the past few seasons than TR (SSB-MV, and SPB is what I’ve used).

That being said, Build Me Up is very inflexible, and there is no ability to switch over to similar workouts like with TR.

1 Like

I’ve run Zwift with TR for a while. I’m finding on hard workouts, I don’t bother with loading Zwift. I can’t look at it. Just want to focus on the blue blox of pain.

3 Likes