Your Favorite Zwift Workout

1h Basic Training with 30/30 Intervalls When do I use it:

This is my favorite Workout in the Morning before breakfast and work. Collecting base miles on your indoor trainer is neither effective nor fun, but if you want to stay fit during winter without getting wet and cold outside, you'll have to do something. Perfect for starting your training in December after a well deserved brake.

Benefits:

This workout will help you to get as much oxygen through your muscles as possible without doing a hard effort. It will help you to use fat as source of energy.

Workout:

In this Workout you start with an easy warm-up. Grab your coffee and get awake. I usually start my working day right here - checking and answering the first mails during warmup and base miles in the first 20 minutes.

Afterwards we get a little more intense. We will to 10 times 30 seconds of effort at your threshold (95% to 105%) with a 30 second rest, but do not let your watts fall to much. We will repeat this set after 10 minutes of base miles one more time. Afterwards 10 minutes of base miles and a short cool down complete your start into the day.

Extensions:

Repeat the set three or four times.

1.5h 3x10 min Threshold Training

When do I use it:

This workout is a real evergreen for winter training. After my first rides on the indoor trainer after the training for the next season has begun, I want to increase intensity to build a solid threshold for the upcoming races. While the real hard intervals need to wait until it gets warm outside, I like to simulate a 10 minutes climb without reaching my limits.

Benefits:

The best way to keep or build your threshold up during the winter. It gives your workout a lot more TSS than any base miles workout.

Workout:

An easy two minutes spin for a warmup should be enough. Afterwards you have time for another 18 minutes to ride in a comfortable zone.

Now the first interval starts. You can go for a low cadence like 40 to 60 RPM, but you don't have to. I like to ride it with 70 to 80 RPM which comes very close to my usual cadence when riding up a hill. You will hold the power near your threshold for 10 minutes now. Depending on how you feel today, you can keep the power below, exactly at, or a little above the threshold. But keep in mind: You will repeat this for at least 3 times! You will notice how easy it feels in the first minutes. But keep an eye on your heart rate - after the 10 minutes it will be right at your threshold and the last minutes will be tough.

After the first 10 minutes, have an easy ride for at least 10 minutes - I like to extend it up to 15 minutes. Repeat the interval for 3 times. After the last one, you should add some base miles and end up with a free ride for the last minutes.

Variants:

When you do this one for the first time, you should consider to start with only 5 minutes of intensity. If you feel more comfortable or if you are short on time, you can shorten the break in between the intervals. You can add another repetition as well. Extending the interval to 15 minutes will give you the extra TSS you need.