Especially when it comes to Cycling it can be hard to clock in a solid session after work. Planning interval sessions during the week gets a challenge on its on. To tackle this problem I am using Zwift for indoor cycling quite often. As mentioned in my previous post time for training is always short during work week. Summer is also coming to a close and days get shorter and shorter.
But is indoor cycling not super boring? Yes. It gets boring very fast when you sit on your trainer. What can help is a good distraction. I have tried watching TV while sitting on the trainer: Still it remains a boring almost never ending ride. There is not really much going on around you. Simple put there is no connection to riding on a bike. To break through the monotony I discovered the power of Zwift.
Zwift is like a video game, but you have to do physical work in order to play it. The concept of the game is quite simple: You move an avatar sitting on a bike forward by pedaling on your trainer. Doing so you can explore artificial worlds and routes online with thousands of other riders. All this can be done at any time of the day and while any weather outside. When its cold and rainy you still can log in to this virtual race track and still have high quality workouts.
Improving your workouts using Zwift for indoor cycling
You can ride all by yourself or join others for group rides. If you want you can even race for glory against riders all over the globe by competing in frequently scheduled races. It is all just fun and games though. So far I really enjoy the experience of riding on Zwift. Before using Zwift I dreaded interval training on the bike. You always have to find a route suitable for the specific training you want to do. There is also the constant annoyance of traffic lights and cars. They always show up when you don’t need them. Cycling indoors eliminates all those factors disturbing your workout.
Zwift Sessions for effective training
You can use dozens of sessions or create your own custom workouts if you want to. I am using it for over a year now and I think my cycling has improved gradually by utilizing the power of Zwift sessions. By riding more indoors my training became more effective. Because I don’t have to worry about it getting dark or too cold outside when I just want to ride on my bike.
Cycling outdoors of course is more fun and my preferred way of training. But I always enjoy throwing in a few Zwift sessions in my training plan. These will become even more important for me in this winter. On my Road to Ironman New Zealand I have to focus a lot on cycling. I will also have to do longer rides indoors until March 2020 – distraction while doing these is more than welcome!
