Zwift online cycling

[Brent.ff]

Upgraded to the elite direto. Immediately went up 5W on FTP, and it’s head and tails better then the elite intera. Biggest difference is that it’s an actual power meter in it, so it’s definitely not giving me the same ‘smooth’ ERG mode as the old one. Bit of a learning curve with that

[Penguin_Racecar]

I'll be starting a training program this week - looking at this one: https://whatsonzwift.com/workouts/8wk-race-day-prep/
Stress points/week are pretty low so I will likely add a long ride (2-3 hours) on Saturdays into the mix.

[Brent.ff]

I'm doing the Gravel Grinder, even though im not really a gravel rider. Seems good so far

[Brent.ff]

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I'll be starting a training program this week - looking at this one: https://whatsonzwift.com/workouts/8wk-race-day-prep/
Stress points/week are pretty low so I will likely add a long ride (2-3 hours) on Saturdays into the mix.

@Penguin_Racecar Hows it going? I saw you were signed up for the FTP builder instead. I switched over to the TT tuneup as the gravel grinder was a little too low RPM focused (understandably). Feeling super strong on the bike though

[Penguin_Racecar]

Yeah, I originally selected the FTP builder program and it won't let me cancel the training. I've been doing the 8 week race day prep as mentioned, but this week got screwed up being busy at work so yesterday was just a Medium SST session to get some training in. For whatever reason it classified it as if it was under the FTP builder program.
I looked at the FTP builder and figured it's a bit too beginner level for what I'm doing, and likely wouldn't get the results I want. The 8 week race day prep has been good so far, though I have to make sure I don't do too much high intensity work this early in the season. I've been using the Elevate Chrome extension to analyze my rides and track fatigue / TSS. Aiming for 400-500 weekly TSS for 3 weeks on, then a week of slightly lower volume, then repeat that twice to complete the 8 week program. Research says I should be keeping intensity low throughout winter, but I get super bored doing long Zone 2 rides. I prefer to look at fatigue and see how my body is handling the training load and intensity - so far I've been feeling well recovered before starting the next workout in the program.

[Brent.ff]

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Yeah, I originally selected the FTP builder program and it won't let me cancel the training. I've been doing the 8 week race day prep as mentioned, but this week got screwed up being busy at work so yesterday was just a Medium SST session to get some training in. For whatever reason it classified it as if it was under the FTP builder program.
I looked at the FTP builder and figured it's a bit too beginner level for what I'm doing, and likely wouldn't get the results I want. The 8 week race day prep has been good so far, though I have to make sure I don't do too much high intensity work this early in the season. I've been using the Elevate Chrome extension to analyze my rides and track fatigue / TSS. Aiming for 400-500 weekly TSS for 3 weeks on, then a week of slightly lower volume, then repeat that twice to complete the 8 week program. Research says I should be keeping intensity low throughout winter, but I get super bored doing long Zone 2 rides. I prefer to look at fatigue and see how my body is handling the training load and intensity - so far I've been feeling well recovered before starting the next workout in the program.

I'll give that Elevate a try. I am running my rides on my garmin as well (and then deleting that file when uploaded to strava) to keep some idea of the intensity over the winter, but will compare this

[Penguin_Racecar]

So far still enjoying Elevate - gives me a good indication that I can take on more training load.
Had a lazy week last week so yesterday got on Zwift - must not have been many people riding on Watopia yesterday. Took the Volcano KOM, Watopia KOM, Watopia Reverse KOM, Watopia Sprint, Watopia Lap jerseys all at once

[Brent.ff]

@Penguin_Racecar k, so what does this actually tell me?

[Penguin_Racecar]

Just the basics from the Elevate plug-in itself:

Understanding modelization of fitness, fatigue and form
The modelization admits that each effort results in an amount of Fatigue and Fitness and the generated Fatigue is greater than acquired Fitness. Basically Fatigue is quite easy to explain. It's the tiredness which limits your performance. Fitness is the foundations, the potential availability of the athlete. An athlete can't get into big workouts or races without a minimum of fitness acquired. When resting, both fatigue and fitness are eliminated over days. The difference is that fatigue is lost faster than fitness.

This implies that Fitness can be higher than Fatigue on some periods. Since modelization also admits that athlete's Form is globally the difference between Fitness and Fatigue. In that case, it's a sign of a "freshness" Form. This state can be targeted by athletes for races or big days. Also, the Fitness can be lower than Fatigue it-self. It isn't necessary a sign of abnormal training. If difference is reasonable, athlete is probably in an "optimal" Form to build a solid fitness. However if Fitness is too low compared to Fatigue (difference is too high), athlete can reach an over-training Form. Athlete should consider rest at this point. These "limits" are covered in details through a training zones section below.

Training Peaks has a good article on using weekly TSS to set up your traning schedule. I'm aiming for 450-600 TSS weekly on my hard weeks. Around 300 TSS on the rest week.
Link: https://www.trainingpeaks.com/blog/h...-stress-score/

As a sidenote - make sure your FTP, resting heart rate, max heart rate are accurate in the athlete settings. I uses this to calculate TSS for each activity and will be inaccurate (won't match zwift either) if those values are incorrect.

[lilmira]

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So far still enjoying Elevate - gives me a good indication that I can take on more training load.
Had a lazy week last week so yesterday got on Zwift - must not have been many people riding on Watopia yesterday. Took the Volcano KOM, Watopia KOM, Watopia Reverse KOM, Watopia Sprint, Watopia Lap jerseys all at once

You missed the national championship on sun. Alberta boy won!

[Penguin_Racecar]

Can't seem to find results - got a link?

Edit: Must be this one: https://zwiftpower.com/events.php?zid=142265

Warren Muir's a machine - not too surprised. Looks like Mac had a good ride also.

[lilmira]

Yeah that’s it. There are a few video on YouTube. One shows the final sprint, +70k/hr. I know it’s virtual but the wattage is crazy. You should have done it.

[Penguin_Racecar]

I was about 550km away from my bike when the event happened, though.

[lilmira]

That sounds like excuse lol

[Penguin_Racecar]

I also would have been crushed. Average power wasn't that high but normalized power was through the roof. Taking it easy on the flats and then sprinting up the climbs, I bet.

[lilmira]

Yeah I wasn’t even hoping to hang with the lead group. It’s tough enough to stay with the group that I was with then gave it all at the end, which wasn’t much lol.

[ercchry]

So as winter is setting in I have been thinking more and more about setting up a stationary system that I will actually want to use.

So I guess what I’m really stuck on is what’s the most realistic riding options right now? You have trainers that vibrate if there is cobblestone, there is the whole kickr eco system with the climb and headwind. Then you have a couple smart rollers that give you way more movement... or what I just found today while checking on the inside ride rollers again was the e-flex for the kickr trainers, but doesn’t look like it would work with the climb as you need inside ride’s floating fork stand. Would be cool if they designed one for the climb, but I don’t see anything pointing to that happening?

I think I am leaning towards a kickr w/headwind for now, then when the inside ride e-flex is back in stock, grab one of those... but also not sure if I’d just be better off with their smart roller which has safety features from flying off the thing unlike most rollers. But worried about the noise and added tire wear.

Anything else I should be looking at? Would be good if I can take advantage of some Black Friday sales which might help sway me in a more definitive direction!

As for the actual zwift portion, I’m thinking just the extra 42” tv I have kicking around and hook up the laptop, anything I’m missing there?

[lilmira]

I recommend either the kickr or the neo plus a fan. The kickr is kinda fixed and the neo can flex somewhat. All the rocker stuff and the climb are kinda gimmicky. They really don't add much to training. Of course if money is no problem, there is the kickr bike. If you have too much money, there is the tacx magnum. The kickr bike will be hard to get at the moment, the magnum is even harder. Rollers are good for form but not so much for strength. You can't really do low rpm high resistance on rollers. I have used my rollers on zwift. It's so weird to spin at +90 rpm and barely moving on an incline lol.

[msommers]

The Neo is sweet.

Also a $400 fan? Are you high?

[ercchry]

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The Neo is sweet.

Also a $400 fan? Are you high?

$250usd... and wahoo is going to have a Black Friday sale, so will wait and see what that looks like... but it’s soooooo sweet! I think it will add a lot to the sensation of speed with zwift.

The “rocker” setup I’d be looking at looks like it would add a lot...



This has me leaning towards the kickr, plus if I want to try out a vr headset then it won’t be as sketchy as doing so on inside ride’s rollers

The goal is enjoyment over sheer exercise, so if the gimmick adds enjoyment then I am more likely to actually use the thing.

Have you guys used the smart rollers with the resistance? The inside ride claims to be able to mimic up to a 10% grade