Motivation

Ok been toying with Zwift for about a week now and can see the potential but there is a but…
I don’t know what is planned in the future for courses etc but the current one is a circuit and too short which for me creates an issue.
As we all know indoor training can be mind numbing and dull but over the past couple of years many apps and trainers have appeared to entertain us and here is where I’m having trouble with Zwift…

In the past on a dumb trainer staring at the cooker after a while I’ve had enough and just want to stop so end up doing so, this is happening with Zwift because there is no goal! If you take an app like VirtualTraining or Kinomap where you ride a realworld course there is a start and an end. The Motivation comes for me comes from the need to complete the course and better my previous best I am not getting this from Zwift, I just go round and round and then the boredom starts to set in and I want to give up so end up doing so!!

How are you guys getting past this? I have a KICKR and prefer virtual riding over intervals but as yet cannot see me being hooked on this unless there is something really cool planned.
I like to ride indoors for at least a couple of hours but Im struggling to manage an hour with this.
I am not knocking Zwift as it is in beta and could potentially take over the winter world but not just yet, Its not yet drawing me away from my app of choice…

Sorry

I’ll keep an eye on the release notes for each update and give it a go and feedback.

This is beta, this is what beta testing is like. It can honestly be kind of boring. Video game testers might be told to punch a wall for an hour and see if any bugs happen, then maybe punch it from different angles and so on. The thing here is that your feedback, suggestions for features and so on will help make this a great product or not.

To answer your question though :slight_smile:
I watch Netflix while I ride in my monitor and Zwift runs on my laptops screen. Currently I’m on a huge anime kick, previously I was trying to make it through every English dubbed martial arts flick. But when I see a few other folks ride and I recognize them for being similar in fitness I’ll ride together with them for a bit and we’ll take a stab at the sprint segments and so on until one of us blows up, or if I’m doing intervals just do what I normally do while Zwift runs. All the data they can get will help the product mature.

I’ve haven’t found Zwift lacking in motivation, that’s for sure. I’ve found sometimes I end up extending my rides just to complete another lap…then end up riding one more.

Also, I’ve found the LEVELS progress bar pretty motivating as I want to keep going to complete a level and see what new bling I can unlock. Right now you can complete up to Level 10. You get new wheels, kit and even a new bike.

Also, are you just getting on and riding aimlessly or are you training? Each time I log on I have a plan for what I want to accomplish, be it 20 minute or longer intervals, or short sprint efforts.

I’ve ridden over 750 miles on Zwift and I haven’t found it boring at all.

As the other poster said, this is beta…so right now the focus at Zwift is to work out the kinks as they scale the system. There are no doubt a lot of refinements to be made. It works pretty darn good right now…imaging it in a couple of years.

To be sure, we know the 5k course gets a bit repetitive after awhile! It’s still better than staring at a wall but we’ve got big plans lined up! We’re still a small company (with only a handful of artists and designers) but we know you’re clamoring for more variety.

As we continue to squash bugs, we’ll definitely be implementing new features and having a short course allows us to see how all those mechanics will work together. But we definitely appreciate your patience and your feedback! We’re of similar minds, here :slight_smile:

Just to add to the already great answers…

Keep an eye out for the metric challenges popping up… There’s already been a Thanksgiving challenge, and we’ve got 2 challenges running this christmas. I just did a test-run on the 40k, and the simple knowledge of real-life people being on the other end, going through the same pain (be it in your legs or in your head) keeps me motivated plenty…

Keep it up - see you out there :slight_smile:

Just to add my $0.02. Obviously indoor riding and motivation is a personal thing - so please don’t take this as criticism, but I find just the opposite. Riding with Zwift has given me way more motivation than any other indoor training setup I have ever done. I’ve never worked so hard on a trainer before and enjoyed it at the same time. It is the closest I’ve found to the experience of riding outdoors. I have no problem keeping my heart rate at or above threshold the whole ride. In fact the other night after finishing I felt like I was going to throw up - and that’s a good thing :-). While I too am a bit tired of the one circuit - it has enough variety to keep me going. I find myself eager to ride again. So far Zwift has exceeded my expectations and I can only imagine it will improve.

Think there is HUGE potential in this. I have a Tacx unit with the turbo training software and I have only used it a handful of times because I find it cumbersome. The software is pretty good for a Beta product and seems much smoother startup than Tacx’s version.

Whilst I think it really does need a few more circuits, I am sure that these will come once the engine has been refined.

I think the motivation factor could be easily added as well by adding in a new workouts section to the list of options on the main screen. I think Trainerroad have done some fantastic stuff and a kind of Trainerroad workout option in Zwift would be awesome, even better if there was some sort of way to integrate Sufferfest videos or AI riders into the game.

Keep up the good work!