Dirt Destroyer Workout - It needs a lot of rework

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#1

Setup:
Trainer - Kickr Core w/crank cadence sensor
Bike - Airdrop Edit enduro bike on 1x11 (32 x 11-40)

So i’ve finished my 2nd week of dirt destroyer, after previously completing all of pebble pounder.

My feedback based ony my experience of both.

Plus Points:

  • The workout itself is great. Really feel like i’m building up strength and power
  • It’s definitely a step up from the beginner one! and is pushing me to my limit sometimes

Needs work:

  • The warm ups and cool downs are insanely inconsistent. Sometimes there’s a 95w effort for 3mins, followed by a cool down that starts at 140w? It’s almost like no one at Zwift has actually tried the program. Often the cool down isn’t even cool down and it’s just a 5-10minute effort. This means I can’t keep riding if I feel I want to do a bit more and have to drop my power all the way down and ramp back up.
  • The dialogues are all over the place. You rarely get informed about the cadence of the effort and often get told about the effort you’re in half way through. Completely useless.
  • The freeride sections are a joke (A lot of people have commented here). Not sure what the idea was, but how am I meant to put out 110% FTP when I could be going downhill on a smart trainer?
  • Linked to the above comment, It doesnt seem to be very catered to the idea that I have my MTB attached to the trainer and i’m on a 1x11 drivetrain. I cannot physically crank out 200w at 65rpm on a 32/11 gearing unless i’m going uphill.
  • Also linked to the above, it often asks me to get out the saddle for when it gets hard. The issue is that the resistance isnt hard enough to suport me (i’m 90kg, only 184W FTP tbf).

I really think this workout needs a complete review and revamp. Pebble pounder and this are night and day! Such a shame given the great challenge and variety. I hope the Zwift team can spend a day or 2 cleaning this up and sorting out what could be a great programme.

#2

Rich,

Maybe something has been corrupted, I did this plan last April and I don’t remember anything messed up with the comments, although last April does seem like a lifetime ago.

Ref the freeride section, I don’t remember a specific freeride block in the plan that required you to do 110% FTP, like I said it was a while ago. In hindsight I would have picked a long climb (Alp du Zwift of Ven-Top) to do the workout on, so when you hit the freeride block you can have the added resistance of the gradient to work against.

Like you say it is a really good plan, apart from the training benefit I also learnt a lot about my trainer (Tacx Flux) with respect to ERG mode and in some cases to get the right cadence/power you do need to be in the right gear.

Enjoy the rest of the plan.

#3

Just completed 6 weeks of dirt destroyer. Went to trails locally where Strava has thousands of people listed riding segments and placed top ten and set new PRs everywhere. Unreal and all thanks to Dirt Destroyer. Guess trust the process because it works.

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