How To Train With Zwift
I know what you're thinking. Why train indoors – summer has arrived and it's time to let the trainer collect dust while you rack up the miles outside. While that's a fair point, there is an argument to be made for hitting the turbo year-round.
For many of us, the time it takes to complete a quality workout simply doesn't exist within the confines of our daily schedules. This presents a significant challenge to maintaining and building fitness for riding or racing goals. However, there is a solution for the time-crunched cyclist out there: Zwift.
That's right, I said it. Zwift is essentially a gaming platform that operates as a training app and a social network simultaneously. The app is a portal to a virtual riding paradise where you can ride car-free (even care-free) with thousands of other cyclists worldwide. A rider can connect and join the virtual peloton or hop into a live competition or structured workout in a matter of seconds.
No matter what level of rider you are, there's an advantage to be gained from tapping into the resource that is Zwift. Here are some of our tips for utilizing the app as a training tool.
- Build Fitness - Do you have an event or race you're training for this summer? Or are you coming back into the sport and looking for some guided workouts? Try a structured training plan from Zwift to build up your base week-after-week. Best of all, these plans can be selected based on how much time you have available to train every week.
- Maximize Your Time - Living within the confines of an urban environment can limit your ability to train on the open roads. Or perhaps you're looking for a 20-minute hill climb to test your climbing legs. There are no stop lights on Zwift and numerous courses with varying terrain to get the most out of every minute on the bike.
- Friendly Competition - Sometimes a healthy dose of competition is just what it takes to push you out of your comfort zone and into form. Using the Zwift Companion App, you can find and enter races of different fitness grades to add some variety to your training week. Yes, the virtual races are hard but also surprisingly fun! Hello, *Fun* Pain Cave!
- Recover With Others - This one is important. Take a break, ride easy, and let your body recover. This is a great opportunity to explore the social aspect of the app by spinning with friends and striking up a conversation using the Zwift Companion App on your phone.
So before you tuck your trainer away for the season, consider trying Zwift and discover what makes the platform such a fun training experience!
Check out our selection of trainer and trainer accessories here!