Workouts - Breaking the Mold

In theory, Zwift could offer a training experience unlike anything offered by other indoor training systems or even out on the road. It just takes a change in mindset, i.e., a recognition that Zwift frees us from the constraints of the physical world.

Here’s what I have in mind: the ability to build a structured workout out of “building blocks” that simulate outdoor riding, without having to use Erg mode.

Example:
• Step 1: 0:20:00 warm up on flatish roads
• Step 2: Hill Repeats x 3
•• Work Interval: 0:01:30 climb at grade 6-7%
•• Rest Interval: 0:03:00 on flatish roads
• Step 3: 0:20 Zone 2 on flatish roads.

For each step, Zwift would “transport” the rider directly to the stretch of road in any of its various worlds that best matches the criteria specified in the workout. So, you might start out with 0:20:00 in Watopia, and then ride through a “portal” to be transported to the climb on Box Hill for the first hill climb interval, and then ride through a portal to another road to do the rest interval, etc. This would better simulate outdoor riding by eliminating the need to use Erg mode, while still allowing the user to specify precise intervals.

Related to this: the user should be able to specify data shown on the screen just like on a Garmin Edge. Currently, I use my Garmin while doing certain rides in Zwift to get data like lap power, etc., It seems so obvious that the Zwift rider should be able to create a custom data display. Even, better, the data display should be “detachable” so it can be moved to a different monitor for people using a multi-monitor setup.